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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.
Vote for Kovsies’ achievers!
2011-03-29
Two Kovsie students are finalists in two very prestigious competitions and need your support to pull them through into the home stretch!
Marelize Visagie and Roeline Strauss are finalists in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) 50th Anniversary Video Competition and the Miss Varsity Cup competition, respectively.
UFS students and staff and the general public can help them win these competitions by voting for them on the respective competitions’ websites.
To vote for Marelize, please go to
http://www.oecd.org/videocontest and vote for her video entitled:
Progress is sharing the burdens. The video deals with progress through sharing of individual and group burdens and could win her a trip to Paris, where she will represent South Africa at the final ceremony of the competition.
The closing date for voting is 14 April at 12:00.
To vote for Roeline, log in to
www.varsitycup.co.za and click on the pink rose at the bottom of the page. Then click on the link which reads:
click here to vote. Then vote for Shimlas’ Roeline Strauss to make sure she stands a chance of being crowned as the national Miss Varsity Cup, who will be announced at the finals of the tournament on 11 April.