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14 June 2024
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Story Anthony Mthembu
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Photo Suplied
Jeremiah Hlahla, a UFS student completing his PhD in Botany at the University of Debrecen as part of an exchange initiative funded by the Erasmus+ Mobility Programme.
As part of an exchange initiative facilitated by the Erasmus+ Mobility Programme, Jeremiah Hlahla, a student at the University of the Free State (UFS), is nearing the completion of his PhD studies at the University of Debrecen in Hungary. Hlahla’s journey, which began in February 2024 and is set to conclude in July 2024, has been a remarkable learning opportunity. “As a first time-traveller to Europe, I have thoroughly enjoyed engaging with people from different countries and cultures,” he said.
The benefits of international collaboration
Hlahla is currently pursuing a PhD in Botany, focusing on plant stress physiology. “My current PhD project investigates the physiological, biochemical and morphological responses of vegetable-type soybean, or edamame, to combined drought and heat stress,’’ he explained. He considers the University of Debrecen the ideal institution to complete his research due to its extensive expertise and resources in similar projects. He noted that his colleagues at Debrecen conduct significant work on plant protection against biotic and abiotic stresses, including salt and drought stress, as well as proteins and amino acids in barley and other legumes.
Given the vast knowledge available on similar projects, Hlahla has found substantial engagement with his work at the University of Debrecen. “Upon arrival, I delivered an introductory lecture presenting my UFS project on the synergistic effects of combined drought and heat stress on the physiology and biochemistry of edamame. It was an engaging session as everyone could relate to my work and asked many questions,’’ he said.
Insights gained from the exchange
Hlahla has also gained valuable lessons that will assist him in his research career, including biotechnology and physiology tools. “I learned how to prepare samples and use high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and reversed-phase ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) to quantify proteins and amino acids,’’ he said. These techniques are beneficial not only for his current work but will also support future soybean research.
As his experience at the University of Debrecen nears its end, Hlahla reflects on the collaborations and friendships he has formed, which stand out as a significant highlight.
Newton Fellow at UFS focuses on land and labour
2017-10-28
Dr Rory Pilossof
Photo: Charl Devenish
Dr Rory Pilossof is a senior lecturer in economics at the University of the Free State (UFS), a Postdoctoral Fellow at the International Studies Group at UFS, and a Research Fellow at the University of Kent in the UK.
He became interested in his research field when he studied land reform and land issues in Zimbabwe for his PhD at the University of Sheffield. From there, his research interests have expanded to look at other issues connected to land, such as whiteness and labour.
Dr Pilossof's study field links up with the important issue of land reform in Southern Africa due to its past colonialism and post-colonial politics of land and land ownership. These intersect with a wide range of labour issues that are pressing in the region. He has a keen interest in elite transitions and changes in economic structure in Southern Africa since the 1960s.
Dr Pilossof was nominated to the South African Young Academy of Science in 2017, and received an NRF Y1 rating during 2017. He is also a member of the Amsterdam-based International Institute for Social History’s ‘Global Collaboratory on the History of Labour Relations’. He is a participant in the Leverhulme Trust-funded initiative ‘Comparative History of Political Engagement in Western and African Societies Programme’ at the University of Sheffield.
Dr Pilossof's primary research focuses on issues of land, labour and changing social and economic structures in Zimbabwe and South Africa. He is also interested in finding alternative ways of looking at change. To this end, he has studied various newspapers and periodicals in the region.
Currently, he spends most of his research time as part of a three-year British Academy-funded Advanced Newton Fellowship into labour relations and occupational structures. In future, he wants to expand his research in the labour field by looking at labour and migration in the region over the course of the 20th century.