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13 April 2021 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Sonia Small (Kaleidoscope Studio)
Nicole Morris
Nicole Morris
Student Affairs divisions occupies an important role within higher education, and there is a constant need for development and reform in the services and programmes they offer to support students. This was the input from the Acting Dean of Student Affairs at the UFS, Nicole Morris, at a virtual President-to-President dialogue hosted by the Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke Institute (CMMI), commemorating Human Rights Month and #TheRightToEducation on 30 March 2021.

Morris participated with a handful of prestigious panel members, including ANC Headquarters General Manager, Febe Potgieter-Gqubule; Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Buti Manamela; CMMI Brand Ambassador, Musawenkosi Saurombe; author and entrepreneur, Busisiwe Seabe; the leaderships of various student representative councils; and Chairperson of the Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke Institute, Yonela Njisane.

Delegates delved into subjects concerning access to free education, the criteria and measures involved, as well as the proposed methods of implementation needed to operationalise free and equal education.

Morris contributed to the discussion that reflected on the revolutionary spirit and political contributions of renowned political activist, Charlotte Maxeke, identifying her as a “stalwart for the fight of equal opportunities and progress”.

The Acting Dean said Maxeke’s quest for education and the need to use it to support changes in humanity, encouraged the liberation of women in mainstream politics and other leadership roles – developing her fight into one that sought equal opportunities and progress for all.

Morris went on to highlight the importance of student counselling and development, career services, and other student affairs services to support students at university and higher education spaces.

She encouraged student leaders to emulate Maxeke’s methods by continuously employing innovative ways of thinking to ease the challenges faced by students in higher education, ensuring that each of them has an equal opportunity to succeed in today’s society.

News Archive

UFS strengthens ties with Mexican university
2010-05-11

 At the First Joint Subcommittee on Technical, Scientific and Technological Co-operation were, from left: Prof. Nahum Marban-Mendoza, Chairperson of the Department of Agroparasitology, UACH; Dr Gisela Pena-Ortega, Director of the Office for International Affairs and Academic Exchange, UACH; Prof. Wijnand Swart, Director of UFS Strategic Academic Cluster 4: Technologies for Crop Industries in Semi-arid regions; and Dr Victor Pinto, Department of Parasitology, UACH.
Photo: Mercedes Cuenca


In 2006, the University of the Free State (UFS) signed an institutional agreement with the Autonomous University of Chapingo (UACH) in Mexico. This made the UFS the first South African academic institution to establish scientific relations with Mexico.

It was for this reason that Prof. Wijnand Swart, Director of the UFS Strategic Academic Cluster 4: Technologies for Crop Industries in Semi-arid regions, was invited to participate in the First Joint Subcommittee on Technical, Scientific and Technological Cooperation held recently in Mexico City. During his visit, Prof. Swart secured the working relationship between the UFS and the UACH.

During the first meeting of the Mexico-South Africa Bi-national Commission, the Mexican Foreign Secretary and Minister of Foreign Affairs and South African Minister for International Relations and Cooperation signed a joint statement. The statement, “Mexico and South Africa: Towards a Priority Relationship”, together with a Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement, will lay the foundations for monitoring existing collaboration and promote new actions between institutions in Mexico and South Africa.

Prof. Swart spent the remainder of his stay in Mexico presenting lectures to staff and students at the UACH on integrated pest management and challenges facing South African agriculture. He also engaged in discussions with Dr Gisela Pena-Ortega, Director of the UACH Office for International Affairs and Academic Exchange, about the establishment of a staff and student exchange programme with the UFS.
 

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