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UFS team shines at Southern African public administration conference

26 April 2024 | Story Athembele Yangaphi | Photo Supplied

Dr Tafadzwa Maramura and Christopher Strydom at 2024 ASSADPAM Ceremony at the University of Pretoria's Future Africa Campus.

A trio of 2024 University of the Free State (UFS) honours-degree graduates recently represented the UFS at the 2024 Association of Southern African Schools and Departments of Public Administration and Management (ASSADPAM) Conference.

Nameera Bade, Christopher Strydom, and Thato Tshabalala’s presentation was based on their 2023 honours research titled ‘Exploring the Influence of Loadshedding on Water Governance: A Case of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality’, which earned them each a distinction on their honours degree completion.

The 2024 ASSADPAM Conference was held at the University of Pretoria's Future Africa Campus and brought together academics and practitioners in the field of public administration and management.

The three graduates are currently continuing their studies by taking on master’s degrees in administration – Bade and Strydom at the UFS and Tshabalala at the University of South Africa.

“Presenting our study at the ASSADPAM Conference was an absolute honour,” Strydom said. “However, I did experience some imposter syndrome, because usually it is only PhD candidates and tenured academics that present their work at the conference, [not a] first-year master’s student presenting out of his honours mini-dissertation. But I quickly got over my imposter syndrome by reframing the situation.”

The trio’s conference presentation was preceded by their recognition for Best Presentation at the UFS second Library and Information Services Honours and Undergraduate Seminar (LISHURS) Symposium on 5 April 2024.

“Being awarded the best presentation at the second LISHURS confirmed how impactful our research is, how it resonates with people. And it was also satisfying to get credit for the hard work we have put in,” said Strydom, who also received two awards at the 2024 Faculty of Economic Management Sciences (EMS) Prize Function: Best Honours Student in the Department of Public Administration and Management, and Best Honours Student in the EMS Faculty – prizes sponsored by the Kovsie Alumni Trust.

Dr Tafadzwa Maramura, Senior Lecturer in the UFS’s Department of Public Administration and Management, co-presented the research with the students at the conference. “Working with Nameera, Chris, and Thato has been a great experience. All of them are talented and unique individuals,” Dr Maramura said.

Impactful research in public governance

He highlighted the significance of the students' research, stating, “[Their paper] has certainly had a profound impact on the EMS Faculty.”

Dr Maramura further emphasised the department's commitment to addressing real-world challenges through rigorous academic inquiry, praising the students for engaging in relevant and timely research initiatives.

The collaboration between the three students and Dr Maramura extends beyond conference presentations: they are set to write an article based on their honours research for publication in a journal, which will further establish their names within the water-energy sphere and contribute to ongoing discussions in public governance.

News Archive

New name and format for UFS Rag

2017-11-02

The community garden project will help individual student communities
to begin and maintain their own vegetable gardens to address food insecurity
within their own environment.
Photo: Pixabay

Get ready for celebrating with a cause at the University of the Free State (UFS). After an external review and internal consultation process, our “giving back” will get a fresh new look. Our RAG, as you know it, will have a new name and format going forward.

Innovative thinking will align the UFS Student Affairs, RAG Community Services (RCS), Community Engagement (CE), and Services Learning (SL) to deliver suitable contributions for current community needs. We will guide the alignment process with an integrated framework for learning and developmental outcomes. If the RCS, CE, SL, and Student Affairs align their specific programmes and activities to achieve the same developmental outcomes, we believe that the collective effect will be enhanced. You get further if you pull in the same direction, rather than various good-intentioned movements on different routes.

Stronger together An Institutional Committee for Civic and Social Responsibility (CSR) will act as the overarching structure for accountability, alignment, and advice to the RCS, CE and SL divisions. In a collective effort, four exciting programmes will take flight.

1 Schools project for first-year students Mentored by senior students, groups of first-year students will be assigned to, and participate in local school projects. Students will learn to solve problems and work together in small groups as they collaborate on a specific community project involving primary or secondary schools in the Mangaung region.

2 Community gardens This project will help individual student communities to begin and maintain their own vegetable gardens to address food insecurity within their own environment.

3 Eco-vehicle project for senior students The aim of the eco-vehicle project is to create an interdisciplinary experience. Undergraduate senior students from a Student Life College (SLC) can work together to build an eco-vehicle from waste material. The track day, along with creative pit stops, will take place on 16 February 2018, preceding the Community celebration of 17 February 2018.

4 Community celebration To foster good relationships between the UFS and the community, we aim to host an annual celebration that will be open to the broader Mangaung community. The celebrations will kick off on the morning of 17 February 2018 with a business relay and a showcase of the eco-vehicles. The festive day will conclude with an evening music concert.

We have yet to rename “RAG”, and while this creative process is brewing, you can look forward to paying it forward with value! Any suggestions with regard to a new name for our new process can be forwarded to scheepersk@ufs.ac.za

Name suggestions will be accepted until 30 November 2017.

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