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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.
US Consul-General speaks at the UFS
2010-09-23
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Mr Andy Passen, US Consul-General, and Mr Arthur Johnson from the Internationalisation Office at the UFS.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs
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The Consul-General of the United States of America, Mr Andy Passen, recently presented a public lecture at the University of the Free State (UFS). He focused on the importance of youth development in the current dispensation and introduced President Barack Obama's Young African Leaders Forum. In his presentation he pressed upon the young leaders that they possessed both the privilege and responsibility to shape the future of Africa for the next 50 years.
He also engaged the UFS as a potential host of the Brown vs Board of Education exhibition, namely Separate is not equal. The exhibition is hosted annually at various cities and higher education institutions in South Africa. The multimedia exhibition uses films, photographs, sound recordings and reconstructions to tell the history of segregation in the USA, the landmark supreme court ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education on 17 May 1954, and the subsequent decades of struggle for racial equality. The exhibition also highlights parallels to the South African experience.