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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

Faculty of Health Sciences celebrates various successes

2015-01-12

The Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State achieved a number of successes in the course of 2014. This included awards, presentations and keynote addresses at conferences, as well as publications in various journals.

Some of the highlights are:

• Dr Madelein Koning from the Department of Internal Medicine received the Vice-Chancellor’s award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning during November. Prof Alan St Claire Gibson said the award is richly deserved, given Dr Koning’s many years of high-quality teaching and input to particularly the fifth-year MB ChB students.

• Prof Schalk Wentzel, Head of the Department of Urology, was elected President of the South African College of Urology, and Prof Alicia Sherriff from the Department of Oncology was elected President of the South African College of Oncology. Prof William Rae was appointed to the College of Radiologists. These are the highest and most prestigious offices an academic clinician can hold or be elected to in the specialty of their choice. Prof Rae also published an article in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

• Prof Nats Mofolo, Head of the Department of Family Medicine, gave a keynote address at the Free State Health Indaba hosted by the Free State Department of Health.

• Dr Holtzhausen from the Department of Sports and Exercise Medicine chaired and delivered a presentation at the 6th Clinical Sport and Exercise Medicine Conference of SA held in Cape Town from 22 to 24 October 2014. He was also the convener of the conference. His presentation was titled ‘Safer exercise in apparently healthy individuals and those with possible risk factors for chronic disease and injury’.

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