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UFS implements interventions to increase diversity of researchers

03 January 2022 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied

Seven supported academics from the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) on the Qwaqwa Campus saw an increase in their H-indices (Google Scholar) during 2020.

Over the past few years, the university has implemented special interventions to increase the diversity of UFS researchers, including targeted appointments and focused research capacity development and support. Strategic interventions relating to National Research Foundation (NRF) rating resulted in the UFS having a well-established cohort of rated researchers.

According to the recent internal research report, the UFS has 144 researchers in the A, B and C categories (established according to NRF criteria), and 57 researchers under the age of 40 who are considered emerging researchers in the P and Y categories. This brings the total to 201 rated researchers in 2021, compared to 188 in 2020, and 164 in 2019. The university also has 57 Y-rated researchers.

Furthermore, the university submitted 51 applications to the NRF under the 2020 rating call, including 21 first-time applications (of which four were unsuccessful) and 26 who were invited to reapply to keep their ratings active (of which all were successful).

Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research and Internationalisation, says the UFS has been able to appoint outstanding young researchers over the past eight years. “Not only did these exceptional individuals contribute to our scholarship and research productivity, but they also increased our diversity. The increase in the diversity of our NRF-rated academics is an aspect of the research portfolio that I am most proud of,” says Prof Witthuhn.

Highlighted trends regarding NRF-rated researchers

• There has been a constant growth in the number of rated researchers, from 127 in 2016 to 202 in 2021.
• The majority of NRF-rated researchers (186 in 2021) are from the Bloemfontein Campus. The number of rated researchers from the Qwaqwa Campus increased from 4 in 2016 to 13 in 2021. The South Campus increased its number of rated researchers by two in 2021, with a current total of three rated researchers.
• The Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences has the highest percentage of rated researchers (45%) in 2021, followed by the Faculty of the Humanities (29%).
• The percentage of rated white researchers declined from 92% in 2016 to 78% in 2021, and the rated black researchers increased from 6% in 2016 to 17% in 2021.
• The percentage of rated female researchers increased from 27% in 2016 to 34% in 2021.
• Rated researchers in the C2 and C3 rating categories declined slightly, from 52% in 2019 to 47% in 2021. There is still positive growth in the number of young (Y1/Y2) rated researchers – from 14% in 2016 to 27% in 2021.

Ratings and promotions

The university hosts a total of six South African Research Chairs (SARChI) funded by the NRF / Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), of which four are held by women. Three chairs are appointed in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and the Faculty of Education, while the faculties of Economic and Management Sciences and Health Sciences appointed one chair each. Two research chairs have been renewed for 2021-2025.

Seven supported academics from the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) on the Qwaqwa Campus saw an increase in their H-indices (Google Scholar) during 2020, while one new Y1 NRF rating was awarded and another was increased to C2 level. Two ARU-supported academics achieved professorial status in the same year.

Twenty-five young academics on the cusp of NRF rating and promotion to the rank of Associate Professor are participating in the Future Professoriate Mentoring Programme, while the 25 participants of the ESAP group have completed their doctorates over the past three years and are working towards obtaining a Y-rating. As a result of the outstanding progress of the first cohort of the mentoring programme during 2020, a second cohort of ESAP scholars was selected in March 2021. More than 80% of the 75 group members are younger than 40 years.

Drs Frans Kruger and Lodewyk Sutton also received NRF Y-ratings in November 2020. The ESAP programme currently has three recipients of the FirstRand NRF Black African Advancement Fellowship Programme: Dr Eugene Baron (Practical Theology), Dr Mirriam Moleko (School of Mathematics and Science Education), and Dr Neo Pule (Psychology). Dr Lizemari Hugo from the School of Nursing also received a FAIMER (Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research) fellowship. Dr Mikateko Höppener (Centre for Development Support) has been selected to participate in the national DHET Future Professoriate Programme.

Publication output units show significant increase

The publication output units (books, conference proceedings, and journal articles) by UFS researchers, as measured and reported to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), show consistent growth from 2016 to 2020. The output units increased significantly in 2019 and 2020 after a slight decrease in 2017.

There has also been a notable increase in books/chapters since 2018. Journal articles also showed constant growth from 2017 onwards, especially from 2019 to 2020, with a 20% growth in journal outputs visible; however, conference proceedings declined last year.

Main contributors

The faculties of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, the Humanities, and Theology and Religion remain the main contributors to the university’s publication output. Four faculties (Economic and Management Sciences, Education, Health Sciences, and Theology and Religion) increased their share of units in 2020 compared to the 2016-2019 period.

The journal output units generated from scholarly articles published in internationally indexed journals remained more than 80% (82% in 2017, 85% in 2018, 81% in 2019, and 85% in 2020). Only 15% of journal articles were published in South African indexed (DHET) journals (compared to 24% in 2016). Since 2016, there has been a clear shift towards publications in internationally indexed journals.

The following nine in-house journals are being administered by the UFS:

Acta Academica (editor: Henning Melber), Acta Structilia (editor: K Kajimo-Shakantu), Acta Theologica (editor: Jan-Albert van den Berg), Communitas (editor: Willemien Marais), Journal for Juridical Science (editor: Bradley Smith), Journal for Translation Studies in Africa (editor: Kobus Marais), Perspectives in Education (editor: Jan Nieuwenhuis), Southern Journal for Contemporary History (editor: Neil Roos), and Town and Regional Planning (editor: Maléne Campbell).

All are DHET-accredited, except for the Journal for Translation Studies in Africa, a new KovsieJournals title.

News Archive

Space-based information plays vital role in disaster-risk reduction

2017-02-28

Africa is one of the continents most affected by disasters triggered by natural hazards. The result of climate change is a reality that affects every human being, whether it is extreme heat waves, cyclones, or the devastation of drought and floods. Climate change can provoke injuries or fatalities and affects the livelihoods of people in both rural communities and urban areas. It triggers damage and losses in various sectors of development, such as housing, road infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, telecommunications, energy, and affects routine economic processes leading to economic losses.

According to Dr Dumitru Dorin Prunariu, President of the Association of Space Explorers Europe, space programmes have become an important force defining challenges of the 21st century. “Space observation is essential for climate-change monitoring,” he said.

Dr Prunariu was the keynote speaker at a two-day symposium on climate resilience and water that was hosted by the Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa (DiMTEC), at the University of the Free State (UFS). He participated in the Soviet Union’s Intercosmos programme and completed an eight day-mission on board Soyuz 40 and the Salyut 6 space laboratory, where he and fellow cosmonaut Leonid Popov completed scientific experiments in the fields of astrophysics, space radiation, space technology, space medicine, and biology. He is the 103rd human being to have travelled to outer space.

The focus of Dr Prunariu’s lecture was: Space activities in support of climate change mitigation and climate resilience.

Dr Dumitru Dorin Prunariu, the 103rd human
being in outer space and President of
the Association of Space Explorers Europe.
Photo: Charl Devenish

Space-based information, an extra eye that can detect a way out during disasters
“For governments to support communities affected by any disaster, precise and up-to-date information on its impacts is essential as a way to respond in a timely and effective way,” said Dr Prunariu.

Space-based information (derived using Earth observation, global navigation satellite systems, and satellite communications) can play a vital role in supporting disaster-risk reduction, response, and recovery efforts, by providing accurate and timely information to decision-makers.

“With space-based information, disaster management teams will be able to take note of recently established roads that may not appear in typical maps produced by National Geographic Institutes, but which could be used as emergency evacuation routes or as roads to deliver humanitarian assistance to those who require it in remote areas."

Space-based tools help decision-makers to improve planning
“Space-based tools and spatial data infrastructure is also crucial for policy planners and decision-makers in increasing the resilience of human settlements. Using geographic data and information collected before the occurrence of major disasters in combination with post-disaster data could yield important ideas for improved urban planning, especially in disaster-prone areas and highly-populated regions.

“In the recovery process, information on impact is used by governments to provide assistance to those affected, to plan the reconstruction process, and to restore the livelihoods of those affected,” said Dr Prunariu.

“Space observation is
essential for climate-
change monitoring.”

The symposium was attended by representatives from Liberia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, with various international scientists from Europe imparting their expert knowledge on water and global resilience. The presence of these international experts strengthened global networks.

It isn't important in which sea or lake you observe a slick of pollution, or in the forests of which country a fire breaks out, or on which continent a hurricane arises, you are standing guard over the whole of our Earth. - Yuri Artyukhin: Soviet Russian cosmonaut and engineer who made a single flight into space.

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