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EMS Faculty hosts Inaugural Debate in Broadening Curricular Debate series

29 November 2023 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Anthony Mthembu and Reabetswe Parkies

The Economics and Management Sciences (EMS) Faculty at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently inaugurated its first Broadening Curricular Debate series, a concept conceived by the Dean of the Faculty, Prof Phillipe Burger. The inaugural debate, held on 22 November 2023 in the Equitas Senate Hall on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus, marked the beginning of a series designed to facilitate discussions among academics on crucial higher education matters. Annari Muller, Chairperson of the Learning, Teaching and Digitisation Committee (LTDC), expressed the series’ purpose: “We organised this debate series to provide a platform for academics to discuss vital higher education matters. These sessions aim to stimulate critical conversations that empower UFS staff to enrich our curricula, enhance teaching practices, and shape broader educational strategies.’’

The motion presented to the house was, ‘The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence in higher education perpetuates educational inequalities, widens the digital divide, and diminishes the value of personal instruction. The debate followed the structure of Intelligence Squared debates, with two teams comprising UFS staff from diverse departments, including the Department of Business Management, Department of English, Department of Public Management and the Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science.

Naquita Fernandes, the Master of the House for the debate, emphasised the deliberate inclusion of members from diverse fields to infuse varied perspectives into the debate. “We believed that this diverse amalgamation of expertise would offer multifaceted insights, ensuring a holistic exploration of the subject matter. The debate structure was meticulously designed to encourage engaging discussions rather than formal academic presentations, allowing for a robust exchange of ideas.’’

The audience had the opportunity to vote on their stance before and after the debate, determining the winning team based on their ability to sway the audience with compelling arguments. The winning team, composed of Dr Hilary Bama (Senior Lecturer in the Department of Business Management), Dr Martin Rossouw (Senior Lecturer in Film and Visual Media), and Dr Rick De Villiers (Senior Lecturer in the English Department), successfully argued against the motion.

The proposition team highlighted the existing gap between those with access to digital technologies and those without, advocating for a gradual and considered approach to AI integration in higher education. In contrast, the opposition team underscored the value of personal instruction in the face of AI, emphasising AI’s potential to provide constructive and effective feedback, contribute to adaptive learning platforms, and accommodate unique learning styles and preferences.

Following the debate, the audience was addressed by a team from Carnegie Math Pathways, providing insights into generative AI tools. Fernandes described the event as a proactive step in shaping the UFS academic landscape, moving away from reactive responses and exploring critical topics and strategies that could influence future policies and practices.

EMS Faculty hosts Inaugural Debate in Broadening Curricular Debate series

The Debaters- From left to right: Dr Martin Rossouw; Senior Lecturer in Film and Visual Media, Herkulaas Michael Combrink; Co-Director of Digital Futures, Dr Hilary Bama; Senior Lecturer in the EMS Faculty, Dr Rick De Villiers; Lecturer in the Department of English, Dr Michele Von Maltitz; Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science, and Nkosingiphile Emmanuel Mkhize; Lecturer and Researcher in the Department of Public Management.

News Archive

Master’s student awarded Mandela Rhodes scholarship

2015-11-25

Candice Thikeson’s name will be added to the Mandela Rhodes Scholars book
Photo: Valentino Ndaba

Candice Thikeson was recently selected as the only 2016 Mandela Rhodes Scholar from the University of the Free State. She is one of 50 young African postgraduate students, eager to contribute positively to the educational development of the continent.

The Mandela Rhodes scholarship is a fully-funded postgraduate scholarship awarded to promising future leaders by the Mandela Rhodes Foundation. It is named after the former president of our country, Nelson Mandela, and Cecil Rhodes, who was known for his business skills and political influence in South Africa. Instituted in 1999, the scholarship aims to advance scholars who demonstrate the principles of Leadership and Reconciliation embodied by Mandela and Rhodes’s legacy, as they relate specifically to Education and Entrepreneurship.

Thikeson expects the programme will educate her on how to integrate the four pillars in relation to her field of study.

For Thikeson, earning the scholarship served as an endorsement of her dream of becoming an academic. “I want to obtain a PhD, lecture at a university, publish papers, and speak at conferences,” she related. “I also want to produce academics, I want to mentor young people,” she added.

Her academic journey began in 2011 when she pursued a BA Fine Arts degree for a year. Thikeson then transferred to a BA General degree which she completed over two instead of the standard three years. She went on to study an Honours degree in Art History and Visual Culture Studies. In the same year, she travelled to Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (University of Groningen) in the Netherlands as part of an exchange agreement between the university and the UFS, where she completed her mini-dissertation in four months. Both her BA and Honours were passed with distinction. Currently, Thikeson is pursuing a Masters degree at the Department of Art History and Image Studies under the supervision of Prof Suzanne Human.

Some accolades to her name include the Jan Teurlinckx Prize for the best student in Art History (2011), the David Jacobs Prize, awarded to the best student in Philosophy (2013), and the Richard Miles Prize, presented by the Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities (2013). Thikeson was also selected as a member of the Golden Key Honour society in 2012, for her consistent academic excellence.

Last year, Lehlohonolo Mofokeng, Zola Valashiya, and Tumelo Morobane made the UFS proud by graduating as the class of 2015 Mandela Rhodes Scholars.

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