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Drone awareness training pilot on UFS South Campus

16 March 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Leonie Bolleurs

Drone training — Khanyisile Khanyi, trainer at Alpha One Aviation, and Alinah Nomthandazo Bokopt from Free State News, at the drone awareness training presented on the UFS South Campus.

A mixed group of 20 young people attended a Digital Television Broadcasting training session on the South Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS). The excited group of students received their first practical on drone awareness.

The UFS South Campus was the venue for this session, which formed part of a pilot project for drone awareness training. If the training curriculum is approved by the aviation accrediting body, the UFS Division of Social Responsibility Projects will collaborate with Sollywood South Africa to present a six-month course consisting of theory and practical sessions, including a focus on heritage and culture, converting from analogue to digital format, drone conferencing, creative writing, safety management, entrepreneurship, event management, and drone manufacturing.

Promoting self-employment

Campus Principal, Dr Marinkie Madiope, is thrilled about the possibilities of this pilot development opportunity. “Not many people in South Africa manufacture drones,” she says.

The university will ensure that the training is fit for purpose and that the qualification is recognised. “With its focus on impact and visibility in 2022, the UFS will impact disadvantaged communities by equipping the unemployed youth with the necessary skills to create their own employment.”

The service providers will source funding from the MICTSETA (Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority) to formalise the course content.

Investment in scarce skills

Thandeka Mosholi, Head: Social Responsibility, Enterprise, and Community Engagement on the UFS South Campus, says this project will not only contribute to job creation, but it will also bridge the gap in areas where there is a shortage of skills, such as drone manufacturing. “The skills obtained through this project also align with the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” Mosholi adds.

Dr Zama Qampi, Executive Producer at Sollywood South Africa, says the company will erect a warehouse in the Free State later this year, specifically for the drone project.

News Archive

Stanford University Talisman group blows Qwaqwa Campus away

2013-03-28

'Angelic'. That is how some students described Talisman's rendition of well-known South African hymns and classics.
Photo: Thabo Kessah
28 March 2013

The UFS Qwaqwa Gospel Choir hosted a concert and shared the stage with the Stanford Talisman, a unique group of students from Stanford University in the USA, who sing a wide repertoire of genres, which include indigenous South African songs. According to their website, ‘Talisman was created to explore and perform substantive, cultural music’ and this is some of the music they brought to the Qwaqwa Campus.

“This unique pre-Easter concert brought all of us together through music which knows no boundaries,” said Sipho Mnyakeni, who heads Residence Life on the Qwaqwa Campus.

The Stanford Talisman choir left crowds in awe and disbelief with their rendition of indigenous Sesotho, IsiZulu and IsiXhosa hymns. Some of the songs were well-known classics composed and previously performed by the likes of Hugh Masekela and the late Miriam Makeba. One song that blew the audience away, was the well-known South African struggle song 'Asimbonanga' by Johnny Glegg, which was a tribute to the then incarcerated Nelson Mandela.

The groups were supported by Hlanganani, an IsiZulu traditional music student ensemble, and the poet, Black Butterfly.

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