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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.
Invitation to International Cardiothoracic congress
2011-06-01
Our Faculty of Health Sciences is pleased to announce the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgeons Academy (EACTS) and Hannes Meyer Cardiothoracic Surgery Registrar Symposium, which will be taking place on our Bloemfontein Campus from 3 to 5 June 2011.
The congress first started in 2004 as the Hannes Meyer Registrar Congress, which was jointly hosted by the UFS and the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons of South Africa. This event was hosted on our Bloemfontein Campus annually, except in 2009, when the University of Cape Town was the host.
The focus of this year’s symposium is new techniques in perfusion and surgery, with specific emphasis on research methodology, inflammatory lung disease and cardiac surgery in children and adults, which can be performed without the aid of a heart-lung machine in developing countries.
Prof. Francis Smit, Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in the Faculty of Health Sciences, says EACTS identified the UFS as the Sub-Saharan training unit they will support in terms of training. The first of these symposiums was accordingly hosted in 2010.
This year’s symposium will be attended by approximately 70 delegates from cardiothoracic units from across South Africa and 10 doctors from 6 African countries, as well as 30 perfusion technologists.
“We are fulfilling a leadership role in Africa and South Africa with this course,” says Prof. Smit.
Several international visitors will be present, like Prof. Paul Sergeant and Prof. Marko Turina, two previous EACTS presidents and Prof. Charles Yankah, a Ghanaian Cardiothoracic Surgeon from the Charite Medical University in Berlin. The current president of the European Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion (EBCP), Mr Frank Merkle, will also be one of three international speakers delivering lectures on perfusion technology.
You are invited to attend the conference on the following dates:
Date: 3 - 5 June 2011
Time: 09:00
Venue: Faculty of Health Sciences in the Francois Retief Building on our Bloemfontein Campus