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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

Academic volunteers time on community radio

2017-12-25

Dr Marian Human-Nel
Photo: Supplied

Superior Scholarship. Human Embrace. Institutional Distinctiveness. Emergent Leadership. Public Service.

These are the core values underpinning both the university’s academic and human projects. It is the last one, public service, that resonates well with Dr Marian Human-Nel. She does her part as a radio presenter and news reader on Maluti FM 97.1, a Bethlehem-based community radio.

“As a community radio station, we are not only responsible for entertaining and informing the public, but we also do a lot of community fundraising projects. We also do a lot of wellbeing activities in the Eastern Free State,” said Dr Human-Nel, Subject Head and Lecturer in the Department of Afrikaans, Dutch, German and French on the Qwaqwa Campus.

Sharing of information and knowledge
Dr Human-Nel volunteers her services as presenter of two programmes. “I present Kollig in which I invite my Qwaqwa Campus colleagues and professionals in the community to talk about their specific fields of interest and research. The focus here is on information and sharing knowledge. We have a slot called ‘This Week in History’ written and prepared by my colleague from the History department.”

Another show that Dr Human-Nel presents is called Fluit-Fluit Storietyd on which she reads and does voice performance of Afrikaans short stories and poems with specific music. “The Fluit-Fluit programme informs and entertains through cultural activities,” she said.

Maluti FM broadcasts over a 160-kilometre radius around Bethlehem and is also available online.

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