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Empowering female voices in collaborative online international learning

29 April 2024 | Story Marina Orsini-Jones and Thembani Nosipho Hoho | Photo Supplied

COIL 2024 — The Female Voices in the Third Space project team alongside attendees from various institutions.

On 18 March 2024, the inaugural international conference for the British Academy/Leverhulme-funded project, Female Voices in the Third Space: Researching Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in South-North Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), convened at the Coventry Conference Centre, held in hybrid mode. This gathering drew 70 participants worldwide, representing diverse regions including Brazil, South Africa, China, Vietnam, and several European countries. Experts spanning various disciplines, including students, academics, COIL consultants, and educational developers, converged in person and online. Additionally, many delegates congregated in Coventry to engage in workshops held from 19 to 20 March for the successful Erasmus+ funded COIL project, iKUDU.

The conference commenced with a warm welcome to Coventry and Coventry University by organiser, Prof Marina Orsini-Jones of the Research Centre for Global Learning (GLEA). Subsequently, the project team – comprising Prof Finardi from the Federal University of Espiríto Santo in Brazil, Prof Lynette Jacobs from the University of the Free State in South Africa, and Profs Wimpenny and Orsini-Jones from Coventry University – provided an update on the progress of the Female Voices in the Third Space project. This initiative explores the evolving landscape of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) in higher education (HE), focusing on female perspectives. COIL, defined as a collaborative online teaching and learning approach fostering intercultural dialogue with international partners, was discussed in light of a model previously co-designed by the applicants (Wimpenny, Finardi, Orsini-Jones and Jacobs, 2022), juxtaposed with insights garnered from interviews with female stakeholders across four continents. The research seeks to deepen understanding regarding digital inclusion and equality in HE, portraying COIL as a third space facilitating substantive equality and embedding global citizenship attributes within HE curricula. Emphasising a decolonial lens, the study aims to decentre the conceptualisation of ‘Internationalisation of the Curriculum (IoC)’, thus promoting alternative epistemologies rooted in knowledge generated by women.

Following the project team's presentation, former Coventry University students reflected on their COIL experiences, particularly highlighting the platform's role in fostering an equitable, diverse, and inclusive learning environment for women. Preeti Suri, Patience Mkpayah, Sofia di Sarno García, and Guray Koseaglu – all hailing from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds – provided poignant insights into the transformative impact of COIL on their academic and professional trajectories. Preeti Suri, for instance, underscored how COIL empowered her by amplifying her voice across geographical and cultural divides, enriching her academic journey, and nurturing digital literacy, communication skills, and teamwork. Meanwhile, Patience Mkpayah shared her journey of reclaiming linguistic diversity within English language teaching, advocating for a decolonised perspective. These narratives collectively validated COIL's potential as an inclusive and empowering educational platform for female students and staff in HE.

After lunch, female academics shared their experiences of integrating COIL into their pedagogical practice. Dr Valeria Baloyi highlighted the interdisciplinary potential of COIL projects, advocating for their alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and emphasising the significance of staff training and institutional support. Nomfundo Khoza echoed these sentiments, affirming the enriching educational experiences afforded by COIL-VE collaborations. Ané Church showcased the integration of gamification into COIL projects, demonstrating its efficacy in fostering active learning and knowledge co-construction. Dr Asuman Aşık and Prof Andrea Wehrli further elucidated the benefits of COIL in enhancing intercultural sensitivity and professional development among female participants.

Subsequently, an interactive knowledge-sharing workshop facilitated by COIL experts Eva Haug and Prof Ntsoaki Malebo, encouraged participants to reflect on their COIL experiences, discuss best practices, and explore recommendations for South-North COIL-VE collaborations. This session sparked a spirited debate, underscoring COIL's potential to develop transversal skills while identifying challenges such as technological constraints and workload issues. Recommendations for effective COIL implementation included extensive planning, institutional recognition, and robust technical infrastructure.

The conference concluded with remarks from Dr Andrew Turner, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Curriculum, who expressed his support for COIL integration into the curriculum, citing its role in fostering intercultural competence and community building among students. The event received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with attendees lauding the informative sessions, inclusive atmosphere, and engaging discussions. Moving forward, insights gleaned from the conference are expected to contribute to the continuing research on the Female Voices in the Third Space project, as well as to facilitate further collaboration and knowledge exchange within the COIL community.

News Archive

UFS Department of Physics offers unique learning experience with on-campus radio telescope

2015-12-14

Athanasius Ramaila, an Honours student in the Department of Physics, and Dr Brian van Soelen, a lecturer from the same department, in the laboratory where the radio telescope is housed in the new wing of the Physics Building on the Bloemfontein Campus of the UFS. The telescope will be used to expose graduate students to the basic techniques of radio astronomy.
Photo: Charl Devenish

The university this year added a four-storey wing to the existing Physics Building on the Bloemfontein Campus. The new development, which includes four lecture halls and four laboratories, complements other world-class facilities such as the X-ray photoelectron spectroscope and the scanning electron microscope.

A unique asset that distinguishes the UFS Department of Physics from other similar institutions, is the Boyden Observatory situated approximately 27 km northeast of Bloemfontein. The observatory houses a powerful 1.5 m optical telescope, and several smaller, but well equipped telescopes.

According to Pieter Meintjes, Professor in the Department of Physics, the observatory has acquired a new addition - a 0.5 m optical telescope donated by the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) to the UFS Astrophysics Group. This optical telescope is one of two powerful optical telescopes used to introduce students to techniques such as photometry and spectroscopy.

“The telescope at Boyden forms an integral part of the Department of Physic’s student training and research programme. Because the UFS is the only university in South Africa operating such a facility, and one of only a few globally, Astrophysics students at the UFS have the unique privilege of having unrestricted access to these telescopes for their MSc and PhD studies,” says Prof Meintjes. In addition, the department has also built a radio telescope as part of a post-graduate student project. The telescope, housed in the new wing of the Physics Building at the Bloemfontein Campus of the UFS, will be used to expose graduate students to the basic techniques of radio astronomy, especially in light of the fact that the SKA is nascent. Prof Meintjes would like to act proactively by grounding his students in the relevant techniques of radio astronomy. The telescope will be used to introduce students to the manner in which radio flux calibrations are performed in order to determine the energy output of an emitting source.

At undergraduate level, the radio telescope will be used, together with optical telescopes in the Astrophysics laboratory, to place students at a high baseline regarding the level of multi-wavelength astrophysics training received at the UFS.

Third-year and Honours students will also have the opportunity of practical training in a research laboratory with 15 computers. The laboratory is equipped with software used to reduce and analyse multi-wavelength data.

“My goal is for the UFS to become the major centre of multi-wavelength astrophysics in South Africa and a key role player in the international arena. To be able to do this, our training should be world class,” Prof Meintjes said.

Aided by its world-class facilities and research, the Department of Physics is competing with the best in the world. Research-wise, a group from the Department of Physics is intensively involved with the SKA Project (Square Kilometre Array), with 3 000 dishes reaching from Carnavon in the Karoo to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. According to Prof Meintjes, many detailed studies can be conducted with the SKA system of sources, showing major eruptions and mass effluent from the systems. Athanasius Ramaila, a BSc Honours student in Astrophysics at the UFS, has also received a two-year SKA internship, where he will be engaged in the SKA software engineering programme to help with developing software for the telescope.

The UFS Astrophysics Group is focusing on the multi-wavelength study of high-energy astrophysics sources. “This multi-wavelength approach to astrophysics is in line with the recent announcement by government that multi wavelength astrophysics will be the main focus for astrophysics research in South Africa. It is also a very important focus for research in the international arena, as can be seen from the large number of international conferences having a multi-wavelength character,” Prof Meintjes said.

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