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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

Dr Khotso Mokhele joins ranks of distinguished Chancellors

2010-11-21

Attending the inauguration ceremony are, from the left: Mr Pule Makgoe, MEC for Education in the Free State and member of the UFS Council; Judge Ian van der Merwe, Chairperson of the UFS Council; Dr Khotso Mokhele, newly inaugurated Chancellor of the UFS; and Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS.
Photo: Dries Myburgh

Dr Khotso Mokhele joined the ranks of distinguished Chancellors of the University of the Free State (UFS) with his inauguration as the new Chancellor of the institution at a ceremony on Friday, 19 November 2010.

The lustrous ceremony took place on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein and was attended by hundreds of guests from all over South Africa.

Dr Mokhele said in his speech: “I am excited to have been invited by the UFS to join its community at the time when it is attempting to reinvent itself into an institution that will be counted amongst those that will shape the local, regional, national will, and by so doing, contribute to the shaping of an African will.”

Dr Mokhele follows in the footsteps of Dr Franklin Sonn, former Ambassador of South Africa in the United States of America and receiver of many awards, acknowledgements, and honorary doctorates, who retired earlier this year. Dr Sonn was preceded by Ms Winkie Direko, former premier of the Free State.

His acceptance of the role of Chancellor is a great honour for the UFS.

According to Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, it is a proud moment to welcome someone from the Province as the Chancellor of this university. With his strong academic values and deep sense of human compassion, Dr Mokhele is one of but a few uncompromising leaders. He is also an inspiring, determined pioneer and a role model to all our students.

Few have done as much to guide the development of science in South Africa since democracy in 1994 as Dr Mokhele. His vision and actions as a senior science manager have been guided by his deep conviction that for a truly democratic society to emerge in South Africa all people must be empowered to be its architects and must have unhindered access to those careers upon which our economy is built.

Dr Khotso Mokhele was born and raised in Bloemfontein. After matriculating from the Moroka High School he went on to study at Fort Hare, where he graduated with a B.Sc. in Agriculture, winning the Massey-Ferguson award for the best student in that field. As a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright-Hays Scholarship, he entered the University of California in Davis where he took a M.Sc. and a Ph.D. degree, both in Microbiology. He was awarded post-doctoral fellowships at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, and at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Dr Mokhele returned to South Africa in 1987, set on becoming a top-class academic and researcher. He held lecturing posts at the Universities of Fort Hare (1987-1989) and Cape Town (1990-1992). In 1992 he joined the Foundation for Research Development (FRD) as one of its Vice-Presidents. He succeeded to its presidency in 1996 and then from 1999 to 2006 became the first President of the National Research Foundation (NRF). He successfully merged the FRD and the Centre for Science Development of the Human Sciences Research Council. Under his visionary leadership the NRF has come to play a pivotal role in the development agenda of the country. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the South African Academy of Sciences serving as its founder president (1996-1998).

Dr Khotso Mokhele's contribution to science in South Africa has received wide recognition locally and abroad. He has received nine honorary doctorates. He was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by the President of France in recognition of his personal efforts in strengthening scientific ties between France and South Africa, and was appointed a director of the Salzburg Seminar, an institution focused on global change, and subsequently a member of its Council of Senior Fellows.

He also serves on the boards of major companies such as Implats, Adcock Ingram and Afrox.

Complete speech (Pdf)

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za19 November 2010

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