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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.
UFS receives exclusive copy of Pasture Science research volume
2010-04-22
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From the left are: Dr Malcolm Hensley (Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences, UFS), Prof. Brian Roberts, Ms Cathy Giesekke (UFS Sasol Library) and Prof. Neil Heideman (Acting Dean: Natural and Agricultural Sciences, UFS).
Photo: Lize du Plessis |
The University of the Free State (UFS) became the proud recipient of a copy of a Pasture Science research volume.
The 508-page volume was presented by Prof. Brian Roberts, an adjunct professor at the James Cook University in Cairns, Australia, to the UFS Sasol Library. It consists of 43 papers on his agricultural research work in the Free State from 1956 to 1975.
He said the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS had the power and expertise to lead the way in food security in South Africa and in building a sustainable society. He also stated that not enough people were taking food security seriously.
“Whatever else you regard as priority, none is more basic than support for the nation’s food producers,” he said.
The papers in the bound copy are arranged in two groups. The first section focuses on Pasture Management. “This series forms a useful overview of Pasture Science,” he said.
The section on Grassland Science covers all aspects of the maintenance, improvement and utilisation of veld and cultivated grasslands.
The second part is a series of publications arising from his fieldwork in the Free State, Eastern Cape and Lesotho.
“Having read with great interest the curriculum vitae of the Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, I felt a strong inclination to contribute somehow to the transformation process and the emerging future UFS,” said Prof Roberts.
Although he acknowledged that change could not happen overnight he was, however, positive that medium-term results could be achieved in that regard.
“One way of doing this is to focus staff and students’ attention on working towards a sustainable society, an on-going curriculum challenge which should, at an early date, replace the past preoccupation with race – an issue that has dogged progress for too long,” he said.
Prof. Roberts was a foundation lecturer in Pasture Science at the UFS 36 years ago before he left for Australia where he plays a fundamental role in land-use planning.
He is also recognised as the father of Landcare, an Australian partnership between the community, government and business to protect and repair the environment.
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 April 2010