Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
22 February 2024 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo SUPPLIED
Action Learning Workshop 2024
Along with Prof Richard Teare (far right) are some of the workshop attendees, which consisted of a group of 15 students, academics, and community organisation leaders.

The Directorate Community Engagement at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently hosted Prof Richard Teare, the President of the Global University of Lifelong Learning (GULL). During his visit, he presented a workshop on action learning.

GULL, established 17 years ago, offers lifelong learning opportunities for people in communities and workplace organisations around the world. It provides frameworks and awards in support of lifelong learning.

Prof Teare described what the process of action learning entails and how it differs from the notion of ‘training’. According to him, action learning occurs when people learn from each other, create their own resources, identify their own problems, and form their own solutions. He stated, “The process is so enriching that every learner is able to identify personal and life-transforming outcomes. These commonly include expressions of enhanced self-confidence, self-belief, renewal, enthusiasm for learning, a new sense of direction and purpose for career and life – along with news skills, insights, and the sense of being equipped for the future.”

The workshop, attended by a group of 15 students, academics, and community organisation leaders, had an element of self-directed development, according to Dr Karen Venter, Head of the Division of Service Learning at the University of the Free State (UFS). “Participants learned how action learning can enable self-directed personal and professional development,” she said.

Skills and leadership characteristics

GULL pathways were also profiled to outline some of the innovative ways in which it can be used to facilitate continuous development aligned with professional certification. It offers three generic pathways, each with five levels (or certification points) leading to professional bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees,” explained Dr Venter.

“In practice, community leaders who have obtained one of these professional degrees can now become change agents for community development in their own community organisations, using the action learning pathway and certification offered by GULL,” she said.

Dr Venter added that a group of students from the UFS – the Active Community Citizens through Engaged Scholarship for Sustainability (ACCESS) group – embarked on a Professional Bachelor pathway certified by GULL last year. Not only did the group of 11 students successfully earn certification, including one Level Two certificate, five Level Three diplomas, three advanced diplomas, and one bachelor’s degree at the Engaged Scholarship Awards 2023, but they also developed a range of skills and leadership characteristics during the process. These include eco-brick making, vermiculture and gardening, eco-entrepreneurship, soap and candle making, and creative recycling, to name a few. 

Furthermore, the pathway is underpinned by community-based research to drive initiatives of student structures towards implementing impactful community engagement in three clusters, namely sustainable environment, well-being, and social justice.

Addressing SDGs and embracing Vision 130

Lifelong action learning is one of the innovative approaches for the development of graduate attributes. In this light, the outcomes of not only the action learning workshop, but also the learning opportunities presented by GULL, align with the UFS Vision130. “Using action learning for bringing social change, students can address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and embrace the values of the UFS’ Vision130 – impact, care, excellence, sustainability, accountability, and social justice,” stated Dr Venter.

One of the attendees communicated the experience as follows: “I learned that action learning is a process for self-determined personal and professional development – the change starts with me developing myself and then sharing it with others.” 

For further opportunities presented by GULL, visit the website here.

News Archive

Kovsies in top four in Global Business Challenge
2015-05-06

Photo: Mark Steenbok (Bloemfontein Courant) 

 

Christiaan Paulsen (team leader), Sias Conradie, Jannie de Wet and Frikkie Jacobs.

Four Kovsies in the Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Sciences are one of the top four teams in the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants’ (CIMA) Global Business Challenge. 178 teams registered to participate in the competition.

 

Team Bernoulli from the UFS will compete against two teams: one from the University of Pretoria and one from the Chartered Accountant Training Institute in Sandton. The winning team will win a trip to Poland, Europe to represent their university and country at the 2015 global final.

 

This international business competition is for undergraduates around the world, designed to bring out the best in the young business leaders of tomorrow.

 

Team leader, Christiaan Paulsen, said: “We are overjoyed to be in the final. However, our true success is in what we learned along the way”.

 

The team has to present a business case study, showcasing their talent in business management. During this competition, the team has

  • learned to analyse and solve a real-life business case study;
  • -obtained first-hand experience of the skills required to be a business leader;
  • enhanced their team building skills; and 
  • developed their presentation skills.  

Students from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Ghana, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Ireland, GCC, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Phillipines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vietnam, and Zambia are taking part in the competition.

 

This competition is organised by CIMA in conjunction with Barclays.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept