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Science chose me

11 February 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Ané van der Merwe

Dr van der Merwe_web read more — Dr Ismari van der Merwe was instrumental in establishing the new Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development.

Dr Ismari van der Merwe believes that by forging strong relationships, women can affect virtually every aspect of their students' lives, teaching them vital life lessons that will help them succeed beyond term papers and standardised tests.

She states that it is not always easy to change a student's life, so it takes a great teacher to do so. “You, as a teacher, have a very significant, lifelong impact on all your students. This impact involves not only the teaching of particular academic skills, but as importantly, the fostering of student self-esteem.”

“Reinforcing self-esteem in the classroom is associated with increased motivation and learning,” she says.

Dr Van der Merwe is Lecturer and Programme Director in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development at the University of the Free State (UFS).

On 11 February – International Day of Women and Girls in Science – the UFS is celebrating her not only for the impact she has on her students, but also for being instrumental in establishing the new Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, putting the UFS on the international forefront.

A sustainable food system

“We want our students to be part of a sustainable food system that provides healthy food that meets food needs, while maintaining healthy ecosystems that can also provide food for generations to come, with minimal negative impact to the environment,” she says.

“The right to food is a fundamental human right.”

Dr Van der Merwe believes that a healthy personal food system and how it is managed is now more critical than ever before.

Her current work involves managing the five main food-related values of taste, health, cost, time, and social relationships, as well as other less prominent values of symbolism, ethics, variety, safety, waste, and quality within these personal food systems. She feels the prominence of these values varies among us as well as across our eating situations. “More research on this will be fascinating,” says Dr Van der Merwe.

A male-dominated field

On the role of women in science, Dr Van der Merwe says it is often considered a male-dominated field. “According to United Nations data, less than 30% of scientific researchers worldwide are women,” she states.

Telling her story about becoming a scientist, she says that science chose her. “Many scientists have reported that their interest and curiosity in science or the natural world started in early childhood.”

We want our students to be part of a sustainable food system that provides healthy food that meets food needs, while maintaining healthy ecosystems that can also provide food for generations to come, with minimal negative impact to the environment. – Dr Ismari van der Merwe

“I started as a teacher and ended up working for the Agricultural Research Council, where I was responsible for a research programme on dry beans and started a small-scale research factory.”

“Later when we moved to Bloemfontein, I joined the UFS. Here I am privileged to be able to do research and teach. Science chose me as part of my life journey, and I never looked back.”

News Archive

UFS to get transformation plan for African context

2005-02-04

The University of the Free State is to draft a comprehensive Transformation Plan to give impetus to the process of making the UFS an inclusive, non-racial, non-sexist, multi-cultural and multi-lingual university within the African context.

Delivering a keynote speech at the Official Opening of the UFS today, the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie, said the Transformation Plan would include aspects such as employment equity, institutional culture, academic excellence, and other elements.

He added that another aspect to be considered in the academic element of the Transformation Plan was the issue of the African context, of a university for Africa, in Africa, of the African university.

According to Prof Fourie, the best way of understanding the role of the UFS in Africa and for Africa, is for the university to become a truly engaged university that bridges the gap between the institution and the community. He said the UFS had for more than 10 years been at the forefront of transformation in higher education, and had gone through several phases of transformation. However the UFS needed to embark on a new phase of transformation which would be guided by a comprehensive Transformation Plan.

The Transformation Plan would be the result of an inclusive consultation process involving staff, students, alumni and other stakeholders. It would also be based on a review of current policies and practices.
The process would be led by a Transformation Plan Team, co-ordinated by the Vice-Rector: Academic Operations, Prof Teuns Verschoor, and the Vice-Rector: Student Affairs, Dr Ezekiel Moraka.

“Obviously we should also not underestimate the complexities of transformation and of building a new society, given our complex history and the legacies of poverty, underdevelopment, colonialism and apartheid.

“We must consider support for staff involved in these transformation steps, including appropriate staff development, capacity to support transformation processes, as well as flexible and supportive administrative practices,” Prof Fourie said.

He said the UFS management understood the urgency of transformation in the current democratic South Africa and the changing global environment and appealed to staff and students to participate fully in drafting the Transformation Plan for the UFS.

“Transformation at the UFS has been and will continue to be a process with many facets that seek to enhance excellence in all spheres of university life, and is much more than merely ensuring employment equity,” he said.

Prof Fourie said: “We have reached a historic moment in the life of the UFS where innovative thinking and bold steps yet again are necessary because failure is not an option.”

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
4 February 2005

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