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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.
Vice-Chancellor to receive prestigious lifetime achievement award in the United States
2013-05-23
23 May 2013
- Acceptance Speech
The University of the Free State (UFS) is proud to announce that yet another major international award will be bestowed on the Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Prof Jonathan Jansen.
On 3 June 2013 the Education Africa Lifetime Achievement Award for Africa will be added to the multiple international and local achievements and awards Prof Jansen has received over the past months.
He will receive the award at a gala dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City, United States. The glamorous event is hosted in collaboration between Education Africa and Brand South Africa. Prof Jansen will join an illustrious list of recipients, including Sir Bob Geldof, Sir Richard Branson and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
“I am deeply humbled by this award which I dedicate to the great teachers of our country, who under difficult conditions make our schools work for children of the poor; they are the real heroes of education," says Prof Jansen.
The Education Africa Lifetime Achievement Award for Africa is a highly regarded recognition on the world stage, awarded to individuals who focus the attention of the global community on the obstacles some of the poorest African nations face.
“He is a pioneering South African educator who is successfully transforming what was once a bastion of apartheid-era segregation and ideology into one of his country’s most inclusive and dynamic institutions of higher learning,” the organisers said in a statement.
As an extra honour to the UFS, one of its Council Members will also receive an award together with Prof Jansen at the ceremony in New York City next month. Ndaba Ntsele, also the Executive Chairman of Pamodzi Gold Limited and President of the South African Black Business Council, will receive the Education Africa Allegiance Award. This award is given to persons for their ‘steadfast support of the organisation [Education Africa] over many years.”
Prof Jansen’s other recent international awards and honours include the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance from the University of California in the US and membership of the Laureate Chapter of the Kappa Delta Pi International Honour Society in Education.
For more information on these as well as the other awards Prof Jansen has recently received, click here.