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07 September 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs
Two lecturers in the Department of Computer Science and Informatics at the University of the Free State (UFS) authored and presented a paper that received the best paper award at this year’s 50th Annual Conference of the Southern African Computer Lecturers’ Association (SACLA). 

SACLA is an association for academics teaching Computer Science, Information Systems, and Information Technology subjects at universities and other higher education institutions in Southern Africa. The Academy of Computer Science and Software Engineering at the University of Johannesburg hosted the conference.

Dr Pakiso Khomokhoana, Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Informatics, presented the paper titled Mapping the problem-solving strategies of novice programmers to Polya's framework: SWOT analysis as a bottleneck identification tool. He chose this topic because he was concerned that students (especially novices) are always encountering challenges when it comes to understanding source code and working with related problems.

Prof Liezel Nel, Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Informatics, co-authored the paper with Dr Khomokhoana.

“When the time came to announce the best paper, my heart was panting, and I was thrilled to hear elements of my paper mentioned in preparation for the final announcement,” says Dr Khomokhoana, who reckons that the amount of work one puts into a paper is equivalent to the yield you receive in return.

He is convinced that one should feel the ‘pinch’ for whatever you do in life. Those who are studying can relate to nights spent toiling, headaches, and stressed muscles, with the pain only going away after reaching your goal. “One has to work hard in order to succeed in life,” he states.

He says that being recognised for this paper not only means that he can produce more acceptable research in the future; with the feedback received from reviewers, he can help other upcoming researchers by imparting to them the research skills he obtained over the years.

The UFS also presented a second paper at the conference. Mokotsolane Mase, Lecturer from the same department on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus, presented a paper co-authored by Prof Nel as well, titled: Common code writing errors made by novice programmers: Implications for the teaching of Introductory Programming.

Continuous excellence

The SACLA programme committee is committed to keeping papers earmarked for journal publication to a very high standard. “Since only the top papers are earmarked for journal publication, it was a great achievement to have both papers selected for inclusion in the 2021 publication,” says Prof Nel. 

However, the highlight of the conference for her was when the paper she co-authored with Dr Khomokhoana was recognised as the best paper. 

“What makes this achievement even more special, is that it is the second time in three years that Dr Khomokhoana and I have received this award (2019 and 2021). This is also the third time (since the inception of the ‘best paper award’ in 2014) that I have been the co-author of the best paper.”

“Being recognised at this level for our research in the field of Computer Science Education (CSE) is testament to the quality and importance of the research being conducted within the CSE research group of the UFS Department of Computer Science and Informatics,” she says. 

The way forward

Prof Nel believes in the potential of the CSE research group, and her goal for the next five years is to continue to expand the CSE research group within the department. 

“What I love most about this type of research is that it requires a close integration of the lecturing and research roles of academics. As educational researchers, we must reflect critically on our current teaching and learning practices and consider ways in which we can ultimately provide our students with the best possible learning experiences that will adequately prepare them for the world of work. Mentoring young academics who are interested in this field of research, is one of my biggest passions. By sharing our research at conferences (such as SACLA) and through publication in international journals, we contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning on a much broader scale,” she says. 

Dr Pakiso Khomokhoana reckons that the amount of work you put into a project is equivalent to the yield you receive in return.
Dr Pakiso Khomokhoana reckons that the amount of work you put into a project is equivalent to the yield you receive in return.
Prof Liezel Nel believes that educational researchers need to reflect critically on their current teaching and learning practices and consider ways in which to ultimately provide students with the best possible learning experiences.
Prof Liezel Nel believes that educational researchers need to reflect critically on their current teaching and learning practices and consider ways in which to ultimately provide students with the best possible learning experiences.
Mokotsolane Mase, lecturer from the same department on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus.
Mokotsolane Mase, lecturer from the same department on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus.

News Archive

Multi-disciplinary research approach at UFS
2005-10-25

UFS follows multi-disciplinary research approach with opening of new centre 

“A new way of doing business in necessary in the research and teaching of agriculture and natural sciences in South Africa.  We must move away from  departmentalised research infrastructures and a multi-disciplinary approach to research involving several disciplines must be adapted,” said Prof Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean:  Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS).   

Prof van Schalkwyk delivered the keynote address during the launch of the Centre for Plant Health Management (CePHMa) at the Main Campus in Bloemfontein today (21 October 2005).  CePHMa is an initiative of the UFS Department of Plant Sciences.

According to Prof van Schalkwyk a tertiary institution must practice multi-disciplinary research to be a world-class research institution.  “It is difficult for researchers to admit that they do not know a lot about each other’s area of speciality.  It is therefore necessary for researchers to make a paradigm shift and to focus on inter-disciplinary co-operation.  To do this, we must encourage them to work together and to find a common language to communicate ideas en establish symbiotic relationships,” said Prof Van Schalkwyk.

“We tend to think that research is better and faster if it is specialised.  This is not true.  The new generation of scientists are young and they are trained to form a concept of the total system and not to focus on a specific area of speciality.  At the UFS we encourage this approach to research.  This was one of the main reasons for the establishment of CePHMa,” said Prof Van Schalkwyk.
CePHMa is the only centre of its kind in Africa and is established to extend the expertise in plant health management in South Africa and in Africa, to train experts in plant health and to conduct multi-disciplinary research about the health of agricultural crops.  

“CePHMa is a virtual centre comprising of ten disciplines applicable to crop production and crop protection,” said Prof Wijnand Swart, Chairperson of CePHMa during the opening ceremony.

“The UFS is the leading institution in Africa in terms of news crop development and manages three research programmes that concentrate on new crops, i.e. the New Crop Pathology Programme, the New Crop Development Programme and the Insects on New Crops Programme.  Other applied research programmes that are unique to the UFS are genetic resistance to rust diseases of small grain crops and sustainable integrated disease management of field crops,” said Prof Swart.

“Because the expected growth in population will be 80% in 2020 in sub-Saharan Africa, the future demands of food produce in Africa will be influenced.  Therefore research will in future be focused on ways to improve food security by employing  agricultural systems that are economically viable and environmentally sound,” said Prof Swart.

“Thorough knowledge of the concept of holistic plant health management is crucial to meet the challenge and it is therefore imperative that innovative crop protection and crop production strategies, with particular emphasis on plant health, be adopted.  This is why the Department of Plant Sciences initiated the establishment of CePHMA,” he said.

According to Prof Swart there is a shortage of expertise in plant health management.  “The UFS has shown the potential to address the demand of the sub-continent of Africa regarding expertise training and CePHMa is the leader in southern Africa to provide in this need,” he said.

The appropriateness and quality of training in plant health management is reflected in the fact that students from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania, Cameroon, Angola, Mozambique and Lesotho have already been trained or are in the process of being trained in at the UFS.

Scientists from CePHMa have forged partnerships with numerous national and international institutions including the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), various community trusts, seed, pesticide and agricultural chemical companies, in addition to overseas universities. 

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

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