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29 March 2023
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Story Samkelo Fetile
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Photo Simba Matema
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.
Commonwealth research publication on teacher qualifications launched
2010-03-15
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At the launch were, from the left: Mr Samuel Isaacs, CEO: SAQA; Dr Louis van der Westhuizen, Quality Assurance Manager: Planning Unit, UFS; Dr Roli Degazon-Johnson, Education Advisor: Commonwealth Secretariat, United Kingdom; Prof. Jansen; Ms Simoné de Cormarmond, Chairperson: Commonwealth Foundation, and Dr Keevy.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs |
The 5th Annual Commonwealth Teacher Research Symposium, which is taking place at the University of the Free State (UFS) this week, was formally opened with the launch of the Commonwealth publication, A Fair Trade For Teachers, at the Willows Restaurant just outside Bloemfontein.
The publication, co-authored by Prof. Jonathan Jansen, the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, and Dr James Keevy, Director of International Liaison at the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), offers a rich one-stop resource point for a wide range of data that policy makers in the participating Commonwealth nations can tap in to formulate or improve policies that deal with teacher qualifications.
The aim is to develop a pan-Commonwealth teacher qualifications comparability table to provide the basis for pathways for the recognition of qualifications of teachers when they move across borders.
This research report is located within the cross-section of two current discourses: one being the international migration of highly skilled labour, specifically teachers, and the other being the cross-border provisioning of education and training.
The research is limited to primary and secondary teacher qualifications offered within 35 Commonwealth countries. |