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UFS Community Engagement Indaba highlights sustainability solutions

24 July 2024 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

2024 Community Engagement Indaba — Attendees engage with community partners at information stalls showcasing innovative sustainability practices.

The Directorate Community Engagement at the University of the Free State (UFS) held its second Community Engagement Indaba on the institution’s Bloemfontein Campus this year.

The indaba, which was attended by a group of 130 academics, students, learners, NGOs, community partners, and community members, was titled Building Self-reliance, Self-sufficiency, Self-sustainable Livelihoods for Entrepreneurship, exploring new ways of addressing poverty, unemployment, lack of resources, and encouraging entrepreneurship.

Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, who is heading the Directorate Community Engagement, said that in challenging times where rising unemployment and poverty cast shadows over communities, he believes the theme of self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and self-sustainable living is applicable and timely; these are cornerstones of empowerment. According to him, the indaba is not just about theory, it is about action. “Together, we’ll explore practical steps, redefine our understanding of ‘JOB’ versus ‘WORK’, and unlock pathways towards entrepreneurship,” he commented.

Day one of the two-day event featured presentations on various topics. One of the speakers, Nontombi Velelo – a PhD candidate and Programme Director for the Bachelor of Social Science in the Faculty of The Humanities, addressed self-sufficiency and sustainable livelihoods. Dr Grey Magaiza, Lecturer and Head of the Community Development Programme on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus, discussed the significance of community development for societal impact. The theme of personal development and transformation was explored by Dr Rosaline Sebolao, Teaching and Learning Manager in the Faculty of The Humanities. Prof Jan Swanepoel – Associate Professor in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development – presented insights on subsistence farming with livestock.

Another notable addition was a presentation by Danie Jacobs, the founder and executive director of Young Entrepreneurs Virtual Academy, who introduced the Intentional Entrepreneurial and Skills Development Ecosystem Model. He focused on an ecosystem model designed to introduce entrepreneurship to children in schools, fostering an entrepreneurial mindset from a young age up to school leavers (kids, teens and young adults). These sessions provided invaluable learning opportunities, offering attendees practical insights and knowledge that can be applied to enhance personal growth.

Personal development and health

The Central University of Technology (CUT) contributed several engaging stalls to this year's indaba. Attendees explored the potential of 3D printing, delved into innovation – with insights from Rosita Rhode, Career Development Coordinator – and gained valuable tips on CV writing skills.

Another notable presenter was Ntsiuoa Kobo, a natural herbalist from Ditlakala Organics in Tweespruit, who shared her extensive indigenous knowledge about herbs. Her display was supported by research related to indigenous knowledge, highlighting various traditional practices and their contemporary applications. In line with this presentation was the information shared by Dr Ida Manduna, an ethnobotanist at CUT, who talked about indigenous herb farming that fosters nutrition and health. Also interesting was the presentation of Wilfred Dahli from Tala Growers, who informed the attendees about cannabis cultivation and products. The Agape Foundation from Qwaqwa introduced attendees to rose hip berry juice and also shared indigenous knowledge about herbs known for their medicinal properties, including anti-fungal and anti-bacterial benefits, as well as being a rich source of vitamin C.

The event featured several workshops, which attracted a lot of attention. Active Community Citizens through Engaged Scholarship for Sustainability (ACCESS) conducted a workshop on worm farming, led by students who shared their expertise. The eco-bricks workshop, led by Lenosa Mahapang, an artist and environmentalist, and Dr Anita Venter, a researcher and climate activist in the Centre for Development Support, captivated attendees. The session included a pre-motivational talk on the dangers of plastic pollution and highlighted the role of eco-bricks in environmental sustainability.

A particularly innovative workshop demonstrated how to create raised garden beds from recycled pallets – highlighting the opportunity to start a micro-enterprise. The workshop, presented by Katlego Mpoihi from Golukisa General Trading, is part of an initiative with the Carel du Toit School to teach learners and community partners how to build these beds. The community has a larger vision – developing maize-formed gardens, which would serve as a stimulating environment for children and contribute to food availability.

Thabo Olivier energetically also led a workshop on food security, sharing innovative ideas and practices. Notably, an attendee from last year’s event successfully applied Olivier's potato cultivation idea. In response, Olivier provided him with a bag of potatoes that has the potential to yield a harvest of 500 kg. This practical application highlighted the impactful and lasting benefits of the knowledge shared at these workshops.

Attendees were also captivated by a presentation on the production of biogas as a renewable energy source, delivered by Dr Christy Stephen, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Centre for Applied Food Sustainability and Biotechnology at CUT.

Gift of the Givers introduced the Mina Cup – a menstrual cup designed to last five years – offering a more economical and sustainable alternative to traditional sanitary products. In an effort to empower young women and end ‘period poverty’, Community Liaison Officer Kefiloe Chuene dispelled myths and spoke frankly about menstruation. According to Dr Karen Venter, Head of Service Learning in the Directorate Community Engagement, this project – part of the health and well-being initiative by ACCESS, which is driving a menstrual health campaign – would also be incorporated into the service-learning module of second-year Nursing students in the Bachelor of Nursing Programme in the School of Nursing.

"These information stalls brought unique insights and knowledge to the event," said Dr Venter.

Education and entrepreneurship

Other engaging stalls included a booth for making cast-iron fireplaces, and another offered CV writing skills. These stalls provided practical skills and knowledge applicable to various professional and personal development areas.

According to Dr Venter, the impact of the indaba stood out to her. “The workshops had a profound impact on attendees, reinforcing the UFS’ values of sustainability in various ways.”

The indaba also aligned with the UFS' Vision 130, which emphasises care for the community. By providing valuable opportunities for attendees to engage with community partners, learn about innovative practices, and explore the intersections of traditional knowledge and modern applications, the event fostered a sense of community and shared purpose. It demonstrated the university’s commitment to creating a sustainable and caring environment, both within the university and in the broader community.

News Archive

UFS responds to concerns around high costs of higher education

2015-10-15

Dear Students

UFS responds to concerns around high costs of higher education

There is an understandable and shared concern among students in the country around the high costs of higher education. As you know, this also is a matter of deep concern on our campuses, which the University of the Free State (UFS) has made a priority in discussions with student leaders - and through new strategies to relieve the burden of costs on poor students and their families. In fact, in the past two weeks, the UFS leadership has again engaged students on the matter of fees in the future.

This is what we have done so far. We have maintained our position as one of the universities with the lowest tuition fees in the country. As you would have seen from recent newspaper reports on the cost of a degree at various institutions over the past five years, the UFS has had consistently low fees. This is not an accident; both the University Council and the executive leadership of the UFS is of one mind that we must offer a high quality education at minimum cost to all our students, despite the rising costs of operating a large multi-campus university with 30 000 students. Our commitment to you is to continue to keep those costs to students as low as possible, without compromising on the quality of education.

In addition, we took a decision earlier this year to become the first university to drop application fees for first-year students. We are proud of that achievement, since so many students fall at this first hurdle as they contemplate post-school education and training. We also waived registration fees for postgraduate students and now Research Master’s and PhD students can study tuition free under certain conditions. We raised more than R60 million from the private sector to enable talented students, who do not receive NSFAS funding, to complete their degree studies at the UFS. We set aside some of the university’s own funds to enable even more students to access finance for their studies. And we now have a special office set aside to counsel and assist students to apply for more than one scholarship to support their studies. The university does not follow a policy of maximizing exclusions. It has endeavoured and succeeded to turn around the majority of its potential deregistration cases. During 2015 we had 2 700 students at the risk of being de-registered, but our serious efforts resulted in only over 200 instances of exclusion we could not mitigate. As is the practice for the past few years, these students’ debt for 2015 has been reversed.

But, we do not only look for funds from outside to support our students. Last year we set up a Staff Fund to which ordinary members of the academic and support staff can contribute from their own, and sometimes very modest, salaries to enable Kovsie students to finish their degrees. We have volunteers who work on the No Student Hungry (NSH) Bursary Programme to raise funds for students who cannot afford a regular meal. We have an open line to rural and township schools to nominate poor students with good results for support by the Rector’s Fund, and some of those students are now in their final year of studies. And many of our staff support individual students in their homes and with their families, without being asked to do so. This is what we call the Human Project and it remains central to the way in which we deal with students.

We will of course continue to make representation to government, the private sector, and individuals to increase funding, especially for first-generation students, and for families where more than one student is at university. We will continue to take to the road to raise funds from companies and foundations to finance our students. We will expand on-campus opportunities for limited working hours for students who wish to earn some money to support their studies. As we have said often before, no student who passes all their courses or modules will be turned away simply because they do not have the funds to study.

The UFS discusses and agrees to fee increases with our students well in advance of the next academic year. None of these decisions are taken without the agreement of the student leadership and thus far these engagements, while tough, have always been done in good faith and with the students’ interests at heart.

It is important for you to know that, with the declining government subsidy, in real terms, and the expanding needs of our students, we will not be able to keep the university running without fees - even though this source of revenue comes mainly through scholarships and bursaries. We need to compensate staff, purchase new library books and renew journal subscriptions (which is very difficult given the low value of the Rand), upgrade computers and software, pay rates and taxes, purchase laboratory equipment, pay the water and electricity bills, expand internet services, upgrade campus security, and hire more academics to keep class sizes reasonably small. It is important for you to know that the university has managed to avoid increasing student fees as a result of much higher municipal rates. Our lecturers are not the highest paid in the country and financially we run a tight ship. We consistently achieve unqualified audits and we are known to be one of the universities that manage its NSFAS contributions with great efficiency. We do this because of our commitment to ensure that our students are able to enjoy a high quality of education on a stable campus where there is a deep respect for all campus citizens.

Despite all these efforts, the most important message we wish to communicate, is that the door remains open for continued discussion with student leaders as we continue to find ways of keeping university education open and accessible to all qualifying students. At the same time, the UFS leadership is involved in discussions with government about how to best manage the escalating cost of higher education for our dents.

Thank you for your support and understanding at this time and be assured, once again, of our commitment to students as a matter of priority to the university leadership.

Best regards

Prof Jonathan Jansen
Vice-Chancellor and Rector

University of the Free State
19 October 2015

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