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24 January 2022 | Story Nonsindiso Qwabe | Photo Supplied
Dr Bekithemba Dube at Appalachian State University.
A visit to the Appalachian State University in North Carolina has led to significant contribution towards international intellectual diversity, including broadening understanding of the world, and new conversations around global scholarship. Following the visit of Dr Bekithemba Dube, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education on the Qwaqwa Campus, to the university as part of the staff exchange programme, the UFS will strengthen its partnership with the Appalachian State University through the production of globally relevant graduates and knowledge. This move, according to Dr Dube, is aimed at advancing the agenda of decoloniality studies on a global scale.

This will include doctoral students from the Appalachian State University spending a semester on the Qwaqwa Campus from 2023. Furthermore, an exciting book project titled ‘Curriculum beyond Borders’ is also in the pipeline, and Dr Dube will himself be a regular visitor to the Reich College of Education, teaching on African education and decoloniality studies.
Dr Dube, who left for North Carolina in August 2021, said his time at the Appalachian State University was very fruitful. He was also the keynote speaker at the university’s doctoral symposium, where he talked about ‘Decoloniality: A Quest for Identity in Knowledge Production’ – from a Global South perspective.

“It was my first time travelling for this type of engagement; it’s been a once in a lifetime experience for me, and I would not be able to substitute it with anything. Students raised the need to learn more about African education, which is something that was not there before.”

He will be teaching undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students in North Carolina from 2022 onwards.

“Being at the university gave me the opportunity to interact with international scholars and showcase African scholarship as an ideal to reinvent a better world beyond Eurocentric modernity. As Africans, we need to announce our presence in scholarship with boldness and courage to reformulate an Africa capable of solving world problems. African scholarship is just as good and can compete in the global space,” Dr Dube said.

Prof Jesse Lutabingwa, Associate Vice-Chancellor for International Education and Development at the Appalachian State University, said Dr Dube’s presence at AppState helped to deepen the institutional relationship between the two universities.  “I am so pleased with the work that Beki did while at AppState, and how he has engaged his colleagues at the UFS. He was a model for the kind of engagement I would like to see in our international visiting scholars from our global partners when they are at AppState. He was not greedy but worked hard to spread the wealth and share opportunities. I can confidently say that both the UFS and AppState are seeing the return on the investment we made in Beki.”

News Archive

Equipment worth R23 million to carry out research at nanometer level
2009-05-28

The Department of Physics at the University of the Free State (UFS) has just received equipment to the value of R23 million that will be utilised for research at nanometer level.

By purchasing the NanoSAM and VersaProbe XPS systems, the UFS also became the only university in Africa that has both these instruments at its disposal.

This also places the UFS at the forefront of surface characterisation at nanometer scale.

Prof. Hendrik Swart, Head of the UFS’s Department of Physics, described the acquisition of this research apparatus as an amazing event for the department. Prof. Swart said this meant that the department would now become a national facility for research on surface characterisation, and that this would also help to ensure that the department’s publication contributions would be included in higher-impact publications.

According to Prof. Swart, this apparatus would not only be valuable for fundamental research on nanophosphors and segregation, but in particular would also assist in the industrial development of better catalysts to synthesise petrol and chemicals from gas or coal supplies. Prof. Swart continued to say that Sasol was one of the industries that would benefit from this, and that Prof. Jannie Swarts from Chemistry was closely involved in the latter.

The equipment was purchased with funds donated by the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, the University, the National Research Council and Sasol. Technicians from the manufacturing company are currently visiting the department to assist with the installation and to train staff.

Media Release:
Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt.stg@ufs.ac.za
28 May 2009

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