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19 October 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs
Dr Pieter du Toit
Dr Pieter du Toit, President of the Convocation, recently addressed more than 200 Convocation members at the Annual General Meeting.

What if you knew there was a body whose endeavours sought to be dynamic and engaging, promote excellence, welcome inclusion, and serve its alma mater?

One of the aims of the UFS Convocation – a body of more than 40 000 members – is to pay close attention to and engage on matters pertaining to governance, administration, and academic affairs at the University of the Free State (UFS).

This entity seeks to ensure that the research outputs of the university are communicated in a positive light, and that feedback is provided to ensure that the current academic programmes are adequate to enhance graduate employability. Among their goals is to provide a forum for unemployed graduates to share their skills, expertise, and abilities.

Furthermore, this body attempts to establish dialogue around social issues and ongoing transformation.

 

Fostering a spirit of belonging

According to Dr Pieter du Toit, President of the UFS Convocation, it is important for this structure that it stays relevant to its members and society and that it fosters a spirit of belonging. He recently addressed members on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus at the Annual General Meeting, the first to be held in the past two years. Besides the in-person attendance, the meeting was also attended by more than 200 members via livestream.

Dr Du Toit explained to members – which, according to legislation, include all persons who have obtained a formal qualification from the UFS, as well as all permanent academic staff members that the Convocation strives to promote a positive image of the UFS, advancing and safeguarding its reputation.

Also speaking at the AGM was the UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen. He reflected on the state of the UFS, talking about the past five years to date. He touched on matters pertaining to the core functions of the university, including teaching and learning, research and internationalisation, and engaged scholarship.

As stated in its vision, the UFS strives to be a research-led, student-centred, and regionally engaged university in Bloemfontein, the Free State, South Africa, and the continent.

In the past five years, the UFS’ framework of guidance has been the Integrated Transformation Plan, which endeavoured to emphasise social justice; the UFS Strategic Plan, the focus of which was to enhance the scope of transformation by following a holistic approach; and the Vice-Chancellor’s Strategic projects, aimed at creating a high-performance institution. “To be able to do what you need to do, you have to be at the top of your game,” said Prof Petersen.

In addition, the UFS has also been guided by the University Risk Management Committee and the Institutional Multi-stakeholder Group, which is a safe space that impacts the progression of an inclusive culture of belonging at the UFS.

Prof Petersen also referred to the 2020/2021 period during the COVID-19 pandemic. “There were three imperatives to which the UFS was committed during this period – the health and safety of staff and students, ensuring that no staff member or student was left behind, and successfully completing the 2020/2021 academic year,” stated Prof Petersen.

According to him, the university has engaged in different strategies to ensure that students were not left behind academically, and that committed staff did not overextend themselves. “We have dealt with it in such a way that our success rate for undergraduate studies has improved, which indicates the resilience of our students and the commitment of our staff,” he said.

The UFS is one of the nation's top universities for student success.

 

Optimising our research capacity

Two of the research successes of this year were an increase in research outputs and in the number of postgraduate students. The university is also working towards increasing the number of academic staff with PhDs, as well as its number of postdoctoral fellows. “We are looking at optimising our research capacity,” stated Prof Petersen.

Regarding engaged scholarship, Prof Petersen believes that if you cannot positively impact society through teaching and learning and research, you should ask why you exist as a university.

“We as a university is in a good place and I think you can be very proud of your alma mater,” he said.

For the way forward, the university is working on Vision130 (a strategy spanning over 12 years). “The vision will be quite bold, including goals for 75% of academic staff to have obtained their PhDs, a bigger focus on the postgraduate programme, and to be one of the top-five institutions in the country and one of the top-600 in the world. We will also reduce our student numbers to around 35 000, because we believe this is the number that we should be focusing on,” stated Prof Petersen.

“As members of the Convocation, I ask you to find a place in Vision130, to see how you can contribute to make this university a better institution than it is today,” he added.

Concluding his presentation, Prof Petersen told members of the Convocation, “You are immensely important to us as a university – you are the continuity between the past and the present as well as the future.”

Full-time UFS staff and alumni are welcome to contact the President of the Convocation with suggestions at convocation@ufs.ac.za

 

 

What is the Convocation?

  • It is important for the Convocation that it stays relevant to its members and society and that it fosters a spirit of belonging for alumni by keeping the communication channels with members open.
  • The Convocation strives to promote a positive image of the UFS, advancing and safeguarding its reputation.
  • The Convocation seeks to ensure that the research outputs of the university are communicated in a positive light, and that feedback is provided to ensure that the current academic programmes are adequate to enhance graduate employability.
  • Furthermore, this body attempts to establish dialogue around social issues and ongoing transformation.
  • In addition to promoting the institution's business and community interests, this structure aims to instil respect for the UFS.
  • Its goal is to instil in alumni a sense of responsibility, obligation, and accountability towards the community in general and to their alma mater in particular.

 Who is part of the Convocation?

  • All persons who have obtained a formal qualification from the UFS, as well as all permanent academic staff members.

 How often does the Convocation meet?

  • The Convocation sees to it that members meet at least once every two years.


News Archive

Higher than expected prevalence of dementia in South African urban black population
2010-09-22

 Prof. Malan Heyns and Mr Rikus van der Poel

Pilot research done by University of the Free State (UFS) indicates that the prevalence of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s disease is only one of the causes, is considerably higher than initially estimated. Clinical tests are now underway to confirm these preliminary findings.

To date it has been incorrectly assumed that dementia is less prevalent among urban black communities. This assumption is strongly disputed by the findings of the current study, which indicates a preliminary prevalence rate of approximately 6% for adults aged 65 years and older in this population group. Previous estimates for Southern Africa have been set at around 2,1%.

The research by the Unit for Professional Training and Services in the Behavioural Sciences (UNIBS) at the UFS and Alzheimer’s South Africa is part of the International 10/66 Dementia Research Group’s (10/66 DRG) initiative to establish the prevalence of dementia worldwide.

Mr Rikus van der Poel, coordinator of the local study, and Prof. Malan Heyns, Principal Investigator, say worldwide 66% of people with dementia live in low and middle income countries. It is expected that it will rise to more than 70% by 2040, and the socio-economic impact of dementia will increase accordingly within this period. 21 September marks World Alzheimer’s Day, and this year the focus is on the global economic impact of dementia. Currently, the world wide cost of dementia exceeds 1% of the total global GDP. If the global cost associated with dementia care was a company, it would be larger than Exxon-Mobil or Wal-Mart.

The researchers also say that of great concern is the fact that South Africa’s public healthcare system is essentially geared toward addressing primary healthcare needs, such as HIV/Aids and tuberculosis. The adult prevalence rate of HIV was 18,1% in 2007. According to UNAIDS figures more than 5,7 million people in South Africa are living with HIV/Aids, with an estimated annual mortality of 300 000. In many instances the deceased are young parents, with the result that the burden of childcare falls back on the elderly, and in many cases elderly grandparents suffering from dementia are left without children to take care of them. “These are but a few reasons that highlight the need for advocacy and awareness regarding dementia and care giving in a growing and increasingly urbanized population,” they say.

Low and middle income countries often lack epidemiological data to provide representative estimates of the regional prevalence of dementia. In general, epidemiological studies are challenging and expensive, especially in multi-cultural environments where the application of research protocols relies heavily on accurate language translations and successfully negotiated community access. Despite these challenges, the local researchers are keen to support advocacy and have joined the international effort to establish the prevalence of dementia through the 10/66 DRG.

The 10/66 DRG is a collective of researchers carrying out population-based research into dementia, non-communicable diseases and ageing in low and middle income countries. 10/66 refers to the two-thirds (66%) of people with dementia living in low and middle income countries, and the 10% or less of population-based research that has been carried out in those regions.

Since its inception in 1998, the 10/66 DRG has conducted population based surveys in 14 catchment areas in ten low and middle income countries, with a specific focus on the prevalence and impact of dementia. South Africa is one of seven LAMICs (low and medium income countries) where new studies have been conducted recently, the others being Puerto Rico, Peru, Mexico, Argentina, China and India.

Mr Van der Poel says participating researchers endeavour to conduct cross-sectional, comprehensive, one-phase surveys of all residents aged 65 and older within a geographically defined area. All centres share the same core minimum dataset with cross-culturally validated assessments (dementia diagnosis and subtypes, mental disorders, physical health, anthropometry, demographics, extensive non-communicable risk factor questionnaires, disability/functioning, health service utilization and caregiver strain).

The local pilot study, funded by Alzheimer’s South Africa, was rolled out through an existing community partnership, the Mangaung University of the Free State Community Partnership Programme (MUCPP).

According to Mr Van der Poel and Prof. Heyns, valuable insights have been gained into the myriad factors at play in establishing an epidemiological research project. The local community has responded positively and the pilot phase in and of itself has managed to promote awareness of the condition. The study has also managed to identify traditional and culture-specific views of dementia and dementia care. In addition, existing community-based networks are being strengthened, since part of the protocol will include the training and development of family caregivers within the local community in Mangaung.

“Like most developing economies, the South African population will experience continued urbanization during the next two decades, along with increased life expectancy. Community-based and residential care facilities for dementia are few and far between and government spending will in all probability continue to address the high demands associated with primary healthcare needs. These are only some of the reasons why epidemiological and related research is an important tool for assisting lobbyists, advocates and policymakers in promoting better care for those affected by dementia.”

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za  
21 September 2010

 

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