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05 November 2020 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah
Prof Geofrey Mukwada says funding from the US Embassy and Consulates in South Africa will reinforce the ARU mandate.

The University of the Free State (UFS) will further strengthen its ties with the Appalachian State University in the next two academic years through a mountain-to-mountain research project funded by the US Embassy and Consulates in South Africa.

The R8 million project between the UFS and the US institution will cover the two master’s degree programmes in underdeveloped niche areas, meteorological weather stations, leadership capacity building for black women in academia, and doctoral research projects. Qwaqwa Campus departments that will be involved are Physics, Geography, Community Development, and the ARU.

Talking about this collaboration, the project leader, Prof Geofrey Mukwada, said it would bring together researchers from both the UFS and Appalachian State University and enable them to work together to develop what is currently an underdeveloped research niche, i.e. mountain studies. 

“This project will reinforce the mandate of the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU). It will provide the basis for a long-term development agenda through training and infrastructure development. For instance, the project will fund the implementation of two master’s degree programmes – the MSc in Mountain Environments and the MA in Community Development – which are long-term projects,” he said. 

“It will also support innovation in climate change research. Through this project, it will be possible to receive climate data from weather stations that are situated in distant, isolated, and generally inaccessible locations without travelling to those locations. We will be able to understand how the climate of the region is changing and assist in developing adaptation measures and decisions that are applicable to agriculture, water, tourism, environment, and other sectors. This will enhance the capacity of the ARU to contribute to the development of research in mountain environments,” he added. 

There will be a virtual launch of the project on Tuesday 10 November 2020 at 15:00 (CAT).

News Archive

UFS awards honorary doctorate to chemist
2008-04-16

 

The degree Doctor Scientiae (honoris causa) was awarded to Prof. Daneel Ferreira this week during the autumn graduation ceremony of the University of the Free State (UFS) on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein. Prof. Ferreira was honoured with an honorary doctorate for his significant contributions to the field of organic chemistry. Prof. Ferreira, a former professor in organic chemistry at the UFS, is professor and chair of Pharmacognosy in the School of Pharmacology at the University of Mississippi, United States of America (USA), as well as research chair of the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at that university. Attending the chancellor's dinner were, from the left: Prof. Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ferreira, and Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

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