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08 February 2022 | Story Nonkululeko Nxumalo | Photo Supplied
UFS alumna and Principal Economist at the Bank of Namibia, Grace Hamauka
The University of the Free State (UFS) continues to deliver top graduates who excel nationally and internationally in their chosen fields. 

Grace Hamauka, an alumna from the UFS, currently serves as a member of the Namibian Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Task Force.
Appointed in July 2021 by President Hage Geingob of Namibia, Hamauka is one of eight members of the task force selected to assist the Namibian government in preparing the country for the 4IR over a period of twelve months.
“I feel highly honoured being recognised by the president. I could not believe it,” she responded when asked how she felt about this achievement.

Serving on the panel with Prof Tshilidzi Marwala, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg, and Dr Martyn Davies, Managing Director: Emerging Markets of Deloitte South Africa, she deems this a remarkable opportunity and appreciates the diversity in the team.

Hamauka is also a principal economist at the Bank of Namibia and had much to say about the 4IR. "We need to harness the benefits offered by these technologies, because there is so much to gain from them," she said.

4IR Explained

The 4IR is recognised by an ever-changing world that is constantly developing. It is a combination of advances in various technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), wireless technology, robotics, and the internet of things (IoT), among others. “I head the work stream on Policy, Regulations and Governance. We need to ensure that the legal environment is conducive to 4IR and that laws become accommodative for technologies. For example, courts in South Africa have become virtual, and in Namibia we don’t have that infrastructure. So, the president wanted a team to assess and ascertain if the country is ready for 4IR and if it’s not ready, what is it that we still need to do to be ready,” she explained.

With an undergraduate qualification in Economics, Hamauka completed a Bachelor of Commerce Honours (BComHons) and a Master of Commerce (MCom) in Financial Economics and Investment Management at the UFS. “I’ve always wanted to be an economist and when I completed my undergrad, I wanted a combination of finance and economics for my postgraduate studies, that’s why I chose the UFS. It had a mixture of the two, something other universities in South Africa didn’t offer,” she highlighted.

Studying at the UFS

When asked how her experience at the UFS contributed to her success, she proudly emphasised that the university had taught her that there is nothing she could not do. Hamauka further outlined: "Lecturers at the university taught me the importance of preparation and believing in myself. Two lecturers who stood out were Prof Philippe Burger and Dr Jesse de Beer. Prof Burger expects excellence and is willing to help you achieve that excellence. If you're willing, he'll meet you halfway. He works with you and helps you get it right. Dr De Beer encouraged me by saying that I can do it. I learnt to apply myself, to do massive research, to work on my case studies, and to ask for help when I needed it. I gained confidence at the university, something I didn't have before I started there,” she outlined.

What stood out most about being at the UFS?

"For me, it was the culture of hard work, dedication, and commitment the university had. If you don't have that mindset, you won’t make it. A combination of all that really paid off,” Hamauka said.
“I wanted to give up because the work was so complex, but then I realised that I just needed to put in more effort. All you need is a mind shift, consultation, and being open to tutors. If I can do it, anybody can!”

News Archive

Researchers international leaders in satellite tracking in the wildlife environment
2015-05-29

 

Ground-breaking research has attracted international media attention to Francois Deacon, lecturer and researcher in the Department Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences at the UFS, and Prof Nico Smit, from the same department. They are the first researchers in the world to equip giraffes with GPS collars, and to conduct research on this initiative. Recently, they have been joined by Hennie Butler from the Department of Zoology as well as Free State Nature Conservation to further this research.

“Satellite tracking is proving to be extremely valuable in the wildlife environment. The unit is based on a mobile global two-way communication platform, utilising two-way data satellite communication, complete with GPS systems.

“It allows us to track animals day and night, while we monitor their movements remotely from the computer. These systems make possible the efficient control and monitoring of wildlife in all weather conditions and in near-to-real time. We can even communicate with the animals, calling up their positions or changing the tracking schedules.

“The satellite collar allows us to use the extremely accurate data to conduct research with the best technology available. The volume of data received allows us to publish the data in scientific journals and research-related articles.  

“Scientific institutions and the public sector have both shown great interest in satellite tracking, which opens up new ground for scientific research for this university. Data management can be done, using Africa Wildlife Tracking (AWT) equipment where we can access our data personally, store it, and make visual presentations. The AWT system and software architecture provide the researcher with asset tracking, GPS location reports, geo-fencing, highly-detailed custom mapping, history reports and playback, polling on demand, history plotting on maps, and a range of reporting types and functions,” Francois said.

Data can be analysed to determine home range, dispersal, or habitat preference for any specific species.

Francois has been involved in multiple research projects over the last 12 years on wildlife species and domesticated animals, including the collaring of species such as Black-backed Jackal, Caracal, African Wild Dog, Hyena, Lion, Cheetah, Cattle, Kudu, Giraffe, and Black Rhino: “Giraffe definitely being the most challenging of all,” he said.

In 2010, he started working on his PhD, entitled The spatial ecology, habitat preferences and diet selection of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa) in the Kalahari region of South Africa.

 

Since then, his work has resulted not only in more research work (supervising four Masters students) but also in a number of national and international projects. These include work in the:

  • Kalahari region (e.g. Khamab Nature Reserve and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park)
  • Kuruman region (Collared 18 cattle to identify spatial patterns in relation to the qualities of vegetation and soil-types available. This project took place in collaboration with Born University in Germany)
  • Woodland Hills Wildlife Estate and Kolomella Iron Ore – ecological monitoring
  • A number of Free State nature reserves (e.g. Distribution of herbivores (kudu and giraffe) and predators (camera traps)

Francois is also involved with species breeding programmes and management (giraffe, buffalo, sable, roan, and rhino) in Korrannaberg, Rustenburg, Hertzogville, Douglas, and Bethlehem as well as animal and ecological monitoring in Kolomella and Beesthoek iron ore.

Besides the collaring of giraffes, Francois and his colleagues are involved in national projects, where they collect milk from lactating giraffes and DNA material, blood samples, and ecto/endo parasites from giraffes in Southern Africa.

With international projects, Francois is working to collect DNA material for the classification of the nine sub-species of giraffe in Africa. He is also involved in projects focusing on the spatial ecology and adaptation of giraffe in Uganda (Murchison Falls), and to save the last 30 giraffe in the DRC- Garamba National Park.

This project has attracted a good deal of international interest. In June 2014, a US film crew (freelancing for Discovery Channel) filmed a documentary on Francois’ research (trailer of documentary). Early in 2015, a second crew, filming for National Geographic, also visited Francois to document his work.

 

More information about Francois’ work is available at the GCF website. 

Read Francois Deacon's PhD abstract

Direct enquiries to news@ufs.ac.za.

 

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