Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
03 March 2022 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo istock
Online news

The University of the Free State (UFS) has joined The Conversation Africa (TCA) as a funding partner.  TCA, a not-for-profit media initiative, is part of a global platform that publishes articles written by academics and researchers.  The platform’s objective is to make the knowledge produced in the academy accessible, easy to understand, and freely available to the general public. Articles are published daily on the TC-Africa website - https://theconversation.com/africa. 

The platform uses a Creative Commons republishing model. This means articles can be republished by other media on the continent and internationally, ensuring even greater reach to audiences including academics, policy makers, funders, and the general public. 

To date, more than 55 UFS researchers and academics have published with TCA, and their articles have garnered more than 1,3 million readers globally. UFS researchers and academics are encouraged to publish with The Conversation. 

As part of the partnership, TCA will run writing workshops for UFS academics and researchers who want to enhance their writing and science communication skills. Dates for these will be announced soon.

How you can publish with The Conversation Africa

• Engage with The Conversation Africa editors when they contact you directly to write about your research area and expertise. The articles are short, ± 800 to 1 000 words.

• Pitch your idea for an article directly to The Conversation Africa here   

• Register as an author, and set up a profile

• Engage with the Communication and Research offices. Every week, The Conversation Africa sends an expert request for expert authors on topical issues to the Communication and Research offices, which can identify researchers. 
- Interested researchers are put into contact with the relevant editor at The Conversation to discuss the potential article

Why should you get published on The Conversation Africa?

Benefits for researchers and academics:

• Articles on the platform help to raise the profile of academics, often leading to policy engagement with governments, businesses, industry or professional bodies, conference invitations, academic collaborations, and further media exposure. 
• In the course of writing, academics get bespoke editorial assistance from the team working in consultation with them. 
• The opportunity to take part in a hands-on science communication writing workshop.
• Readership and republication metrics for each published article.
• A global readership with up to 1,2 million readers monthly.

Benefits for Communication and Marketing and the Research office:

• Provides well-curated, ready-to-use communication material for websites and social media. 
• Helps to profile the work of the university for marketing, communication, and awareness.
• Provides media exposure to the talent pool of UFS academics and researchers. 

Benefits for and across the university:

• Shines a spotlight on the excellent research and innovation at the UFS.
• Demonstrates the UFS’ commitment to facilitating greater engagement with society and promoting interdisciplinary communications.
• Visibility for the institution and researchers nationally and globally.
• Access to institutional analytics, including detailed data on the content published by UFS researchers.

Contact The Conversation Africa:

To arrange departmental meetings and introductory sessions to The Conversation Africa team, contact: Pfungwa Nyamukachi, Strategic Partnerships and Stakeholder Relations Manager: pfungwa.nyamukachi@theconversation.com 

News Archive

Researcher in Otorhinolaryngology advocates education in deafness and hearing loss
2015-12-17

Description: Dr Magteld Smith  Tags: Dr Magteld Smith

Dr Magteld Smith

The annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities falls on 3 December. Statistics reveal that 7.5% of the South African population suffer from some form of physical disability.

More than 17 million people in South Africa are dealing with depression, substance abuse, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia - illnesses that round out the top five mental health diagnoses, according to the Mental Health Federation of South Africa. The South African Federation for Mental Health is the umbrella body for 17 mental health societies and numerous member organisations throughout the country.

On disability, world-renowned author Helen Keller, who was both deaf and blind, once said that the problems that come with being deaf are deeper and more complex than those of blindness, and is a much worse misfortune. For it means the loss of the most vital stimulus - the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir, and keeps us in the intellectual company of man.

According to Dr Magteld Smith, lecturer and researcher in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the University of the Free State (UFS), hearing loss of any degree at any age can have far-reaching psychological and sociological implications which affect an individual’s day-to-day functioning, and might prevent him or her from reaching their full potential. She says that even though advancements have been made in aiding deaf persons, there’s still considerable room for improvement. She’s making it her mission to bring about changing the stigmatisation around deafness, and the different choices of rehabilitation.

Dr Smith was born with bilateral (both ears) severe hearing loss, and became profoundly deaf, receiving a cochlear implant in 2008. Not letting this hinder her quality of life, she matriculated in 1985 at a School for the Deaf in Worcester. Today she is the only deaf medical-social researcher in South Africa.

Her research focuses on all aspects of deafness and hearing loss. Through first-hand experience, she knows that a loss of hearing can be traumatic as it requires adjustments in many areas of life which affect a person’s entire development. However, she has not let her deafness become a stumbling block. She has become the first deaf South African to obtain two Master’s degrees and a PhD, together with various other achievements.

Her work is aimed at informing and educating people in the medical profession, parents with children, and persons with various degrees and types of hearing loss about the complexities of deafness and hearing loss. She believes that, with the technological advancements that have been made in the world, deaf people can become self-sufficient and independent world changers with much to contribute to humanity.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept