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09 March 2022
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Story Dr Cornelius Hagenmeier
Internationalisation professionals attending the Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies National Multiplication Training workshop at the UFS.
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.
Recognition from the United Nations and MACE
2013-11-22
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The University of the Free State received Excellence and Merit awards for its communication and marketing projects.
From the left is Leatitia Pienaar, editor of Bult magazine, Lacea Loader, Director Strategic Communication, Leonie Bolleurs, editor of Dumela and Ilze Bakkes, UFS Marketer: Publications and Broadcast.
Photo: Sonia Small |
The University of the Free State (UFS) was this week recognised by the United Nations (UN), as well as the national association for Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE), for its communication and marketing publications and campaigns.
The UFS was named by representatives of the UN to receive a special United Nations Award for a leadership communication campaign called ‘Talk to me’. The award, which forms part of the Golden Awards of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), is made annually to the campaign that best supports human development in line with the UN objectives.
The UFS also received seven awards from MACE during the Higher and Further Education Excellence Awards. The ‘Talk to me’ campaign was awarded an Excellence Award in the category integrated campaigns and projects; a television campaign on DSTV received an Excellence Award in the broadcasting category. The campaign also received an award as the overall winner in this category. The magazine Bult received a special Excellence Award in the category external publications (as the publication with the highest marks in the history of this award ceremony); the staff newsletter Dumela and a set of student recruitment publications each received a Merit Award in the categories internal newsletters and special publications respectively; and the Open Day campaign received a Merit Award in the category integrated campaigns and projects.
The Excellence Awards form part of the 2013 national MACE congress, which was hosted by the UFS on the Bloemfontein Campus from 18-20 November 2013 and attended by 139 delegates from 25 higher and further education institutions.
“I am extremely proud of the achievements of what is emerging as a truly world-class communications department at the UFS recognised increasingly for achievements nationally and abroad,” says Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS.
‘Talk to me’, which was implemented in 2010, is a leadership communication campaign that creates a way for staff and students to engage with Prof Jansen. With the campaign, he regularly spends time physically sitting on the university’s three campuses in a predetermined area giving staff and students the opportunity to talk and interact with him. The success of the campaign stems from the fact that it gives him the opportunity to pick up on issues or concerns of the campus community.
“The ‘Talk to me’ campaign is one of the key campaigns of the university’s Human Project, as it projects the scholarship of service and transformation leadership. It is an exceptional honour to be recognised by the UN and to receive this award,” says Lacea Loader, Director: Strategic Communication at the UFS.
“The MACE Higher and Further Education Excellence Awards provide an excellent platform to showcase the many projects and campaigns of the sector, and to receive this kind of recognition from our peers is a tremendous honour for the UFS,” says Loader.