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Dr Johan Coetzee nominated as senior member of the Pan-African Scientific Research Council

25 February 2021 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo Supplied

Dr Johan Coetzee_web read more — Dr Johan Coetzee of the UFS nominated as senior member of the Pan-African Scientific Research Council.

Dr Johan Coetzee, Senior Lecturer and researcher in the Department of Economics and Finance and the UFS Business School at the University of the Free State, has been nominated as a senior member of the Pan-African Scientific Research Council. Dr Coetzee has also been a visiting senior lecturer at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences since 2008. He has published extensively in several local and international journals focusing on banking in particular, and recently also on the impact of fintech developments on the strategic goals of banks. Dr Coetzee’s research interests include understanding the dynamics of bank-client relationships, especially in a banking environment that is increasingly becoming digital.

The main goals of the Pan-African Scientific Research Council are to highlight excellence in research on the African continent, to promote career development of young scholars, and to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. Members have been selected for their proven excellence in research, potential for growth, and ability to contribute to engagement with policy makers on the African continent. The council will also strive to influence evidence-based policy making in Africa, and to communicate scientific research to a wide audience through public engagement.

The council includes leading scholars in social sciences from not only across the African continent, but from top universities in the world such as Duke, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Stanford, and Princeton universities. Researchers from institutions such as the Bank of Canada, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa further constitute the makeup of the council.

“I am extremely proud to be part of the inaugural cohort of the Pan-African Scientific Research Council, as it provides a valuable platform to share ideas with fellow African scholars who understand the economic and management challenges faced by our continent,” Dr says Coetzee.

“Africa sits with a wealth of talented scholars who merely need the platform to engage and to be part of this research council will surely set the tone for more meaningful research collaboration that solves unique African problems,” he added. “In a world entering a post-COVID-19 environment, we have an opportunity here to not only latch onto the opportunities offered by technology and all that comes with it, but also to do so in a way that showcases the quality of the Academic Project that is proudly African.”

News Archive

Launch of the Africa office of the IIDE

2006-05-25

Attending the launch of the Africa office of the IIDE were from the left Prof Sytse Strijbos (Chairperson of IIDE Europe), Rev Kiepie Jaftha (Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS) and Prof Frederick Fourie (Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS).

Attending the launch were from the left Prof Lucius Botes (Director: Centre of Development Support at the UFS), Dr Samuel Kareithi (Head: Community Development at the Cornerstone Christian College, Cape Town), Rev Kiepie Jaftha (Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS), Prof Sytse Strijbos (Chairperson of IIDE Europe) and Dr Ezekiel Moraka (Vice-Rector: Student Affairs at the UFS).

Africa office of IIDE launched on UFS main campus

The Africa office of the International Institute for Development and Ethics (IIDE) was today (26 May 2006) launched on the Main Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein.

“The IIDE specialises in the studying and research of general questions of developmental theory and practices and provides services and support in education, strategic planning, policy formulation, advocacy and capacity building of development agencies,” said Rev Kiepie Jaftha, Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS.

According to Rev Jaftha the IIDE in Africa will focus on the conceptual and normative aspects of developmental processes in Sub-Saharan Africa. “We want to foster local and international partnerships with various relevant role-players in civil society, the private sector and public sector in the SACD region and later expand our operations to the rest of Africa,” said Rev Jaftha.

The IIDE in Africa cooperates with a similar foundation in Europe, functioning as the IIDE Europe. This institute was founded in 2003 and its head office is situated in the Netherlands. The UFS is a funder of the IIDE in Africa together with the Paul Foundation and private sponsors from the Netherlands.

“We have already started with various projects which are in various stages of implementation,” said Rev Jaftha. Some of these projects include, among others, the broadening of the master’s degree in Christian Studies of Science and Society (MACSSS) which is currently housed at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam to tertiary institutions in South Africa such as the UFS, the University of Stellenbosch and the Potchefstroom Campus of the Northwest University.

“Another project is an investigation into the possibility of initiating a broad development initiative in the poverty stricken Qwaqwa area. This initiative will attempt to concentrate on issues like the training and empowerment of prospective entrepreneurs in the region, the identification of prospective entrepreneurs for the rendering of development support and the monitoring of the impact of information and communication technology on local communities during the implementation of sustainable development initiatives,” said Rev Jaftha.

“The establishment of the Africa office of the IIDE on the UFS Main Campus is an indication of one of the aims of the UFS to play a role in South Africa and Africa. It also signifies our aim to contribute meaningfully to research and development and to establish links between the academe and practice,” said Rev Jaftha.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
26 May 2006

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