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African Union Panel honours UFS South Campus Principal

24 May 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

Dr maria Madiope and and Dr Justina Dugbazah — Dr Marinkie Madiope, the Campus Principal of the South Campus, recently received an award from Dr Justina Dugbazah (right), the Senior Programme Education and Social Development Coordinator of the African Union Panel on Emerging Technologies.

Dr Marinkie Madiope, the Campus Principal of the University of the Free State (UFS) South Campus, recently received an award from Dr Justina Dugbazah, the Senior Programme Education and Social Development Coordinator of the African Union Panel on Emerging Technologies’ Calestus Juma Executive Dialogue (APET-CJED) programme.

Dr Madiope was recognised for the work she is doing in Africa through the CJED. She collected the award during CJED’s 6th Dialogue, in the presence of more than 20 African member states.

Fit-for-purpose policies and curricula

The focus of this event, which took place in Dakar, Senegal, was on effectively harnessing educational innovations and technologies for formal and non-formal teaching and learning in Africa.

During the dialogue, the UFS was also appreciated for its visibility and impact on the African continent and was recognised as a prospective partner and collaborator on different science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) projects, which will be discussed and confirmed later in May 2022.

Dr Madiope, the Vice-President of the Technical Working Group (TWG) of the CJED, also gave a presentation at the dialogue, speaking about the education policy implementation curriculum review in Africa. Speaking from a South African context, she highlighted the different education policies and shared her views on how the relevant role players on the continent can collaborate to ensure that policies and curricula are designed and developed fit for purpose.

Some of the recommendations were to contextualise education, science, technology and innovation policies, and teaching methods to the African context, and have science subjects translated into local languages for easy understanding and interpretation. It was also recommended to incentivise STEM education as to encourage girl participation in STEM projects.

In the discussion following the dialogue presentation, member states also recommended that the funding set aside for education be increased to 25% of countries’ national budget.

Supporting the development of scarce skills

With AUDA-NEPAD’s support for skills development programmes that promotes the occupational prospects of young Africans, Dr Madiope’s presentation, which highlighted some of the scarce skills on the continent, was welcomed. According to her, the Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (MICTSETA) has identified a number of scarce skills on the continent. These skills, aligning with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, include artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing, data science, software development, internet of things, robotic processing automation, design thinking, and quality engineering. The university are planning to get involved in developing the skills of the youth on the African continent in terms of three-dimensional printing, drone manufacturing, and drone awareness.

• CJED is supported by APET, the African Union Development Agency, and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) strategic initiative. APET advises the African Union and member states on harnessing emerging technologies for economic development, and AUDA-NEPAD provides a platform to promote inter-country and inter-regional learning and knowledge exchange on science, innovation, and emerging technologies across Africa.

News Archive

State-of-the-art physics equipment and investment in students result in academic success

2017-09-26

At the recent nanotechnology facility tour at the UFS,
were, from the left, Dr Mthuthuzeli Zamxaka, SAASTA;
Prof Hendrik Swart, Sarchi Chair in the Department of Physics;
and Xolani Makhoba, Department of Science and Technology.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Nanoscience, which is revealing new properties of very small arrangements of atoms, called nanoparticles, is opening a new world of possibilities. The Department of Physics at the University of the Free State is undertaking fundamental research with potential commercial applications. Its equipment and expertise is giving solid state physics research the edge in South Africa.

The UFS team of researchers and students are passionate about studying planets and atoms, all under one roof. Recently, the department, in collaboration with the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA), hosted a nanotechnology facility tour to give the public, learners and the media the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the science of nanotechnology, its origins, potential applications and risks.

Successes of the department
According to Prof Hendrik Swart, Senior Professor in the Department of Physics, the increase in resources since 2008 is playing a big role in the success rate of its research outputs. The Sarchi Chair awarded to Prof Swart in 2012 (bringing with it funding for equipment and bursaries) also contributed to the successes in the department.

The UFS Directorate Research Development also availed funding that was used for bursaries. These bursaries made it possible for the department to appoint 10 post-doctoral fellows, not one of them originally from South Africa.

The investment in people and equipment resulted in researchers and students publishing some 80 articles in 2016. Their work was also cited more than 900 times by other researchers in that year.

Another highlight in terms of the department’s growth in the past 10 years is the new wing of the Physics Building. Physics at the UFS is the only place in sub-Saharan Africa where state-of-the art equipment is found under one roof.

Antonie Fourie, Junior Lecturer in the UFS Department of
Physics, explained to a group of delegates and
members of the media the workings of an electron beam
evaporation system.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Application of research
The department is a unique research facility with equipment that includes the X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (for the study of atoms), the Scanning Auger Microscope, as well as the Ion Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (revealing the chemical bonds in a sample, and drawing maps of the positions of atoms).

One of the areas on which the department is focusing its research, is phosphors. Researchers are exploring light emitting diodes (LEDs) which use less energy, are brighter and provide a wider viewing field. They are also looking into LED displays (LCDs) which are used in flat screens – the phosphors create the different colours and backlighting.

The research on solar cells reveals that phosphors can increase their efficiency by increasing the range of light frequencies which can be converted into electricity. Glow-in-the-dark coatings absorb light in the day and emit it later so cells can charge at night. As glow-in-the-dark phosphors become cheaper and more effective, they can be used as a lighting substitute on the walls of houses, street numbers and stop signs.

Video production of the Department of Physics research and equipment

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