Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

MoU signing: Internationalisation of the Health Sciences in Africa

29 March 2023 | Story Samkelo Fetile | Photo Simba Matema

MoU Latest News — From left to right: Prof Jean Bernard Lekana-Douki, Director General at the CIRMF; Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS; and Prof Jean-Fabrice Yala, Scientific and Technical Director at the CIRMF.

The University of the Free State (UFS) recently welcomed senior members from the International Centre for Medical Research in Franceville (CIRMF), Gabon to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two entities.

CIRMF is a non-profit medical research centre that was established in 1974. Its primary focus is on diagnosing infectious diseases that pose immediate problems in Gabon and the Central African sub-region. The centre is dedicated to improving public health through various initiatives, including the training of Gabonese health executives in doctoral and post-doctoral education.

“The signing of the MoU with CIRMF is a step in the right direction as the UFS continues to strengthen its footprint on the African Continent. This is seminal in driving the university’s internationalisation processes and opening an avenue to expanding research networks, especially in the African continent,” said Bonolo Makhalemele, Coordinator of strategic projects at the Office for International Affairs, UFS.

In the interest of developing broader research collaborations, the CIRMF delegation met with some UFS academics in a series of engagements, particularly in the Health Sciences Faculty and the Natural and Agricultural Sciences Faculty. “The integration of knowledge and practices that emanate from the continent provides opportunities for the co-creation of knowledge that can be shared with the rest of the world,” said Kagiso Ngake, Coordinator for Partnerships, Collaborative Degrees, and Outgoing Mobility at the Office for International Affairs, UFS.

A concrete roadmap was established to formalise the collaborations that resulted from these engagements and will commence as soon as April 2023. “We have laid a solid foundation and are on the way to a strong and rich partnership!” exclaimed Prof Jean Bernard Lekana-Douki, Director General at the CIRMF.

Prof Francis Petersen, Rector, and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, further highlighted how the newly established partnership with the CIRMF aligns with the mandate of the UFS Vision 130 of expanding the UFS Africa research network.

News Archive

Afrikaans can be learnt online for the first time

2017-11-29

The launch of the online course in Afrikaans at the University of the Free State
took place in the Centenary Complex at the Bloemfontein Campus on 21 November 2017.
From the left are Profs Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor; Angelique van Niekerk,
Head: Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French; and Gerhard van Huyssteen,
Executive Director: Virtual Institute for Afrikaans.
Photo: Supplied

There is a need among visiting international students and foreign visiting lecturers and researchers to be able to speak Afrikaans. According to Prof Angelique van Niekerk, this is the reason why the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French at the University of the Free State (UFS) has been offering short courses in Afrikaans on campus for more than 15 years.

As from January 2018, those people wishing to learn Afrikaans outside of the UFS campus will be able to do so fully online. This is the first time that Afrikaans can be learnt fully online. The course is part of a short learning programme, Gesellig Afrikaans 1 and 2, which has been presented at the UFS since 2007. It is presented with the support of the Virtual Institute for Afrikaans (VivA), and Afrikaans can now be learnt as foreign language globally.

Need to speak Afrikaans
Prof Van Niekerk, Head of the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French, believes people who come in contact with the language have a need to learn to speak Afrikaans. “Afrikaans is a vernacular in the workplace, education, and social circles, especially in Bloemfontein, the Free State, and South Africa,” she says.

On average, 15 students per semester are enrolling for the existing contact-based course. Prof Van Niekerk says these students are from countries such as The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Poland, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and some are from the East.

English used as teaching medium
In 2018, the 20-week course will be taught online via the VivA website or on campus through contact sessions (within 13 weeks). “The online course for international students is currently being marketed for the first time, and in 2018 we will officially be enrolling international students for the online course from beyond UFS borders,” says Prof Van Niekerk.

The teaching medium will be English, with all the information and explanations taking place in Afrikaans and English. Supporting material such as Afrikaans films, music, pronunciation guidelines, and continuous self-assessment are part of the online course material.

Click here to see the course structure of the online programme.

Direct enquiries to Prof Van Niekerk at vnieka@ufs.ac.za, or geselligafrikaans@gmail.com or visit www.gesellig-afrikaans.org

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept