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Learners from UFS Creative Clubs Programme shine at Bloemfontein Science Expo

16 August 2023 | Story Angela Stott | Photo Supplied

Participants of the UFS Creative Clubs Programme — 23 grade 10 participants in the UFS Creative Clubs Programme proudly pose with their awards.

All 23 grade 10 learners taking part in the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Creative Clubs Programme were awarded medals at the Bloemfontein regional Eskom Expo for Young Scientists (EYS) competition from 3 to 5 August 2023.

The learners, who attend Bloemfontein township schools, had been working on their projects for over a year as part of the Creative Clubs Programme, which is run by the UFS Faculty of Education. Guided by veteran Expo facilitators Dr Angela Stott and Coretha van den Heever, they attended 30 sessions on the UFS South Campus, with a total of 140 hours of face-to-face contact time, coupled with many hours of individual work at home, to prepare for the competition.

Their hard work paid off handsomely, with all 23 learners (who worked on 21 projects) achieving medals: six bronze, seven silver, and eight gold. Additionally, five of the learners won best-in-category awards, three won SA Youth Water prizes, and three were shortlisted for the international EYS competition.

“As an introvert, I found it difficult to explain my project to people, but I’ve developed communication skills and confidence through Expo,” said 15-year-old Nicolas Hugo, from Kagisho Secondary School, whose project won a gold medal. Nicolas studied water pollution levels at two inflow sites in the Bloudam catchment area, as well as the dam itself and its outflow, showing the astounding cleaning effectiveness of water reeds.

In addition to his gold medal he won the prize for the best project in his category, a special award in the category of water projects, and for the Best Development Project.

The UFS has a strong commitment to community engagement, and has been working with township schools throughout the province via school-university partnerships for over a decade. The 2023 Bloemfontein EYS competition celebrated the legacy of these partnerships not only through the 23 learners who were directly involved in the UFS programme over the past year, but also through the participation of 14 learners from two schools (Senakangwedi and Setjhaba Se Maketse) in Botshabelo as a direct result of the UFS’s work in those schools in the past. Before UFS ended its partnership with these schools, learners who had been involved in Expo programmes conducted by Dr Stott established science clubs in their schools. These clubs have continued to operate years after UFS exited the schools and the founding learners matriculated. This year these clubs yielded the winning project, Solar Power Stand, by Simthembile Hlahliso and Kabelo Sekoere from Senakangwedi High School.

Many of the learners said they have learned important skills through this process. “I didn’t know how to use a computer, but now I’m so good,” said Sylvia Hlangabeza, who won a gold award.

“I’m so proud of her, I cried,” said Sylvia’s proud mother.

News Archive

Race, technology, and maritime labour in the 19th century

2016-06-23

Prof John T. Grider

“When employers
impose
worker identity,
it creates problems.”

What does identity mean to people today, and how is it formed? Religion, politics, race, ethnicity, and gender make up individual and community identity. However, Prof John Grider (University of Wisconsin – La Crosse) is of the opinion that employment moulds our identity, since we spend so much time on the job.

Prof Grider joined the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ) on the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses to discuss his research on the maritime industry, published in his book, Foreign Voyage - Pacific Maritime Labour Identity: 1840 to 1890. “When employers impose worker identity, it creates problems,” he said. Particularly, this “creates instability in communities, and a vulnerability and insecurity amongst the employees”.

To illustrate his point, Prof Grider expanded on the history of 19th-century Atlantic sailors, a highly-skilled workforce, who failed to adapt to changes in their labour environment. Initially, the sea-faring community was very diverse racially. However, as the Pacific, and particularly Asian, marine community gained precedence, this tide turned to such an extent that, in 1886, the Atlantic sailors formed their own Coastal Seamen’s Union in San Francisco, causing a split between Asian and non-Asian sailors. Atlantic sailors had failed to integrate with the new technology of the day (steam power), nor had they accepted the demographic changes that flooded their community rapidly with cheap labour from Chinese shores.

Prof Grider highlighted the need to maintain an adaptable mentality in the ever- and rapidly-changing labour world, since division amongst workers could lead only to further exploitation of the workforce.

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