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Tebogo Machete
Tebogo Machethe has recently been appointed Director for Innovation and Contracts in the Directorate of Research Development (DRD) at the University of the Free State (UFS).

The recently appointed Director for Innovation and Contracts in the Directorate of Research Development (DRD) at the University of the Free State (UFS) would like to see the university’s research outcome being adopted by industry and research output translating into commercial opportunities and more income.

Tebogo Machethe, who is experienced in managing intellectual property and commercialising technologies, amongst other things, assumed his new role on 1 June and has felt right at home. He is looking forward to a good working relationship and environment with all the stakeholders. 

“I would also like to see a huge drive wherein the commercialisation activities and income of the university from commercialisation of Intellectual Property (IP) increases from the research been undertaken. We will also be intensifying the entrepreneurial drive at the university with a view to creating more entrepreneurship opportunities and skills for researchers and students. This will prepare our graduates to venture into entrepreneurship once they are done with their studies,” says Machethe.

According to him, South Africa now needs research that responds to the needs of society and provides solutions to society’s problems.  

Intellectual property, commercialising technologies, contracts 

Before joining the UFS, Machethe had been a Senior Manager: Technology Transfer at the University of Johannesburg for the past six years. He also spent some time at CIPRO (currently known as Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) from 2004-2006 before joining Hahn & Hahn Inc as a Candidate patent attorney until late 2008. He then moved to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR): Materials Science and Manufacturing business unit in the Intellectual Property & Technology Transfer office. 

“Most of my duties revolved around managing intellectual property, commercialising technologies and drafting and managing contracts only related to IP and Technology Transfer. My current duties have expanded to all forms of contracts and also involvement in grant funding and other forms of funding,” says Machethe.

He says as a research office, the DRD exists in an eco-system wherein there are different role players. Through different role players, there is always a convergence of thinking and approaches which when all put together, puts the institution on a path to achieve the goals of the university.

Fun facts about Tebogo Machethe

  • He grew up in a small village called Ga-Raphahlelo, in Sekgosese, Mopani district, Limpopo. He is married with three children. 
  • When he is not pre-occupied with office matters, he tries to spend as much time with his family. He loves reading, running and cycling, which he often does.
  • He has lived for the last two decades in Pretoria and is finding the Free State winter challenging. “It feels personal,” he says. 

News Archive

First Global Leadership Summit brings partner universities to our university
2012-05-17

The University of the Free State (UFS) is gearing up for the Global Leadership Summit when students from universities all over the world will visit the UFS. The summit will take place from Sunday 8 July to Friday 20 July 2012. About 180 staff and students from universities in the United States, Asia and Europe are expected to visit the UFS during these two weeks and eminent scholars and politicians have already confirmed their participation. Among them are Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Dr Tim Murithi, Prof. Mark Solms, Fulbright Scholars who were previously tenured at the university, and a number of ambassadors.

Prof. Aldo Stroebel, Director: International Academic Programmes, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, says that our university has increasingly embedded internationalisation in its strategic priorities. The Leadership for Change Programme, jointly hosted by International Affairs and Student Affairs, is a significant step forward in this context. This innovative and unique programme, initiated in 2010, serves as a leadership development programme focused on first-year students. It aims to build layers of new thinking and engagement among students from diverse backgrounds. As part of a year-long engagement, each student spends a period abroad where there is intense exposure to the academic, social, cultural and residential lives of students in other countries. A formal mentor development programme for staff runs concurrently with the initiative.
 
In the 2010 programme, 71 students in various cohorts were placed at nine universities in the USA. Following on the success of this initiative, in 2011, 150 students were hosted at partner universities in the USA, Europe and Japan. The impact of cross-cultural and cross-border experiences on changing and enriching the participants’ minds and attitudes has been manifested in a wide variety of ways at both the UFS and the partner institutions.
 
The Global Leadership Summit, with the theme, “Transcending Boundaries of Global Change Leadership”, is a reciprocal programme of the Leadership for Change initiative. It will focus on international engagements in addressing salient issues around change leadership, diversity and racial reconciliation in Higher Education through critical dialogues between staff and students from all over the world.
 
The programme will be continued during 2013 when 150 students will again be selected for participation and placement abroad.


Media Release
17 May 2012
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Tel: +27(0)51 401 2584
Cell: +27(0)83 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

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