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23 November 2022
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Story André Damons
Prof Motlalepula Matsabisa, Professor and Director of Pharmacology, will play host to the various stakeholders to network and share knowledge on current developments in indigenous knowledge research and product development, biodiversity, innovation, and commercialisation of the IK-based research products. The Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) for Health unit in the Department of Pharmacology within the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences was last year awarded an annual Technology Innovation Agency Platform (TIA) grant of R17 million for the next five years.
The research and teaching programme in the School of Clinical Medicine has since been rebranded and is now known as the African Medicines Innovation and Technology Development Platform (AMITD), which will strive to respond to community health needs and address industry research needs and challenges.
The indaba will showcase progress made by TIA and other entities in enriching the development and commercialisation of IK-based innovations. It will take place from 24 to 25 November 2022 in the Equitas Senate Hall at the UFS.
Prof Matsabisa is the chairperson of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Regional Expert Advisory Committee on Traditional Medicines for COVID-19. He is also a visiting professor at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM) in Beijing, China, and the Deputy President of the South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology.

UFS becomes the first university in Africa to sign a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations University
2009-12-01
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During the signing of the memorandum of agreement between DiMTEC and the United Nations University in Bonn, Germany were, from the left, seated: Prof. Konrad Osterwalder, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Rector of the United Nations University; and Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS; back: Prof. Dusan Sakulski, Academic Officer, UNU Cooperative Unit for South Africa; and Mr Andries Jordaan, Director of DiMTEC at the UFS.
Photo: Supplied
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The University of the Free State (UFS) has become the first university in Africa to sign a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations University. The memorandum of understanding was negotiated by Mr Andries Jordaan, Director of the UFS's Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa (DiMTEC).
Mr Jordaan negotiated with the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) to foster a relationship and combine their pool of resources for training in different aspects of Disaster Management. A triangular agreement between DiMTEC, UNU-EHS and the University of Novi Sad in Serbia will be established in three phases. The first phase is the signing of a memorandum of understanding between DiMTEC and UNU-EHS. This phase was completed in September 2009, when Prof. Konrad Osterwalder, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Rector of the United Nations University, and Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS signed the memorandum in Bonn, Germany. The second phase is a memorandum of understanding between UNU-EHS and the University of Novi Sad.
The memorandum of understanding entails among others joint projects between DiMTEC and the UNU-EHS, research for specific projects, exchange of lecturers and that the UNU will assist DiMTEC with external evaluation. As a result of this memorandum, the two universities have already combined their pool of resources by presenting a vulnerability short course and a visitation to the Republic of the Congo. |