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National multiplication training on internationalisation in South Africa

09 March 2022 | Story Dr Cornelius Hagenmeier

The University of Venda (Univen) and the University of the Free State (UFS) have been awarded a grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies (DIES) National Multiplication Trainings (NMT) programme to implement training on internationalisation for higher education leaders and managers. It is co-funded by the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) and the two coordinating universities. Two emerging internationalisation managers, Mr Matome Mokoena (UFS) and Mrs Nontlanhla Ntakana (Univen), are coordinating the programme, which is supported by DAAD with 25 000 euros.

Dr Segun Obadire (Univen) and Dr Cornelius Hagenmeier (UFS), who serve as directors responsible for the international offices at their universities, are part of the training committee. The theme of the training programme is ‘Enabling Internationalisation in Light of the 2020 Policy Framework for Internationalisation of Higher Education in South Africa 2022’; it comprises two training workshops and several virtual engagements. The first training workshop was held at the UFS from 1 to 3 March 2022.

Trendsetters

Mrs Nontlanhla Ntakana and Mr Matome Mokoena are alumni of the biannual DAAD DIES Training Course on Management of Internationalisation (MOI) at the Leibniz University Hannover in Germany. They seized the opportunity to forge a multiplication training that would impact internationalisation leaders and managers from across South Africa and empower them to leverage the 2020 Policy Framework for Internationalisation of Higher Education in South Africa to advance the internationalisation process at their institutions.

Internationalisation experts

Dr Nico Jooste and Mrs Merle Hodges served as external experts on the training committee. Both are internationally renowned experts in the field and former presidents of the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA). Mr Leolyn Jackson (Central University of Technology, CUT) and Prof Lynette Jacobs (UFS) also contributed to the first training workshop.

Structure

This programme commenced in February, with participants engaging in topical readings and submitting their first assignment. First, a virtual workshop introduced participants to the UNIVEN Moodle e-learning platform used for the course. The face-to-face workshop at the UFS will be followed by a second in-person training at the University of Venda in September 2022. Virtual workshops and support of the participants through a dedicated WhatsApp group and other mentorship programmes will ensure the continuity of the training between the face-to-face workshops. Participants who were unable to attend the UFS and UNIVEN workshops in person could participate via a virtual link, thus ensuring that no participant is left behind.

Participants

Twenty participants from eight public higher education institutions were selected by the training committee to participate in the training programme. Two participants from this year’s NMT cohort were also accepted into the DIES MOI course at the Leibniz University Hannover in Germany. They are Prof Nontokozo Mashiya from the University of Zululand (Unizulu) and Mbali Mkhize from the Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT). Participants in the first workshop have indicated that they gained a lot from the numerous exercises and activities in the programme. They also mentioned that the programme would change the outlook of internationalisation at their universities in the future.

News Archive

UFS leads the way with GMO testing

2003-08-25

A formal agreement linking Africa’s first testing facility for genetically modified organisms (GMO) to an international organization was signed at the University of the Free State.

According to the manager of the GMO testing facility, Dr Chris Viljoen of the Department of Plant Sciences, the facility is now part of GeneScan, a world leader in food diagnostic testing, which has its headquarters in Germany with subsidiaries in the Unites States, Brazil and Hong Kong.

The facility at the UFS has been selected by the second largest international food company to do all its South African GMO testing for export products.

The GMO testing facility is the brainchild of Dr Viljoen, who is a specialist in the field of marker biotechnology and its applications in crop science.

He says the need for such a testing facility arose due to the international regulations on GMOs in food, especially Europe and Asia that requires South African exporters to certify whether their products contain any GMO.

“The regulations in Europe and Asia reflect a consumer need for choice in what they eat due to concerns over the safety of GMOs, as well as environmental and ethical issues. GMO testing and labelling allow consumers the right of choice to eat genetically modified foods or not. According to EU regulations, any product with a GMO content of 1% or higher is labelled as containing GMO.”

According to Dr Viljoen only four products in South Africa are currently GMO. They are white and yellow maize that have been made insect resistant, soya bean that is herbicide tolerant and insect resistant cotton. He says that the awareness of GMOs among South Africans is still very limited, especially in poorer communities, but it is likely to increase with the efforts being made in consumer education by government, seed companies and NGOs.

The testing facility has been established to accommodate the local as well as international market. The GMO testing at the UFS facility is performed using real time PCR, the most advanced means of GMO detection currently available, and using GeneScan developed technology that is recognized worldwide.

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