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Legal Education Colloquium sparks book project at UFS

01 March 2024 | Story VALENTINO NDABA | Photo SUPPLIED

Prof Geo Quinot and with Ntando Ncamane — Prof Geo Quinot from Stellenbosch University, pictured with Ntando Ncamane, a Lecturer in the UFS Department of Mercantile Law.

The Department of Mercantile Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently spearheaded a Legal Education Colloquium, marking the genesis of a groundbreaking book project with the vision of revitalising legal education across South Africa. Attended by luminaries from academia, legal practitioners, and students, the event featured Professor Geo Quinot from Stellenbosch University, a distinguished figure renowned for his profound insights into legal education, as the keynote speaker.

Ntando Ncamane, a Lecturer in Mercantile Law, provided a comprehensive overview of the colloquium’s objectives, outcomes, and future trajectory. "The dynamic evolution of legal frameworks, notably the promulgation of the Constitution, statutes, and landmark cases, has necessitated a reformation in South African legal education," Ncamane remarked. He underscored the pivotal role of digital transformation, particularly in the context of the pandemic, and emphasised the joint commitment of regulatory bodies and academic institutions towards fostering an ethos of engaged scholarship. The colloquium served as a platform to dissect and explore transformative trends, inviting stakeholders to deliberate on novel perspectives and navigate emerging challenges in legal education.

Insights from Prof Geo Quinot and eminent experts

Reflecting on the invaluable insights garnered from deliberations, Ncamane highlighted Professor Quinot's keynote address, which advocated for a reimagining of collaborative endeavours, particularly involving students. Discussions spanned an array of topics including innovative methodologies, enhancing assessment frameworks, leveraging digital platforms for education, integrating competition law into curricula, promoting engaged scholarship, nurturing emotional intelligence among students, and addressing complexities within modules such as civil procedure. Stimulating dialogues on decoloniality, decolonisation, and ubuntu ethos also permeated the discourse.

The forthcoming book, a culmination of the colloquium, will traverse themes encompassing Digital Education, Student Engagement, and Decolonisation. Ncamane elucidated, "Contributors will be aligned with one of the themes based on the relevance of their contributions…A call for papers was issued, eliciting abstract submissions from prospective contributors."

Scholars hailing from diverse academic institutions including the UFS, University of the Witwatersrand, University of Limpopo, University of Fort Hare, North-West University, Varsity College, and Stellenbosch University, have been enlisted for participation. Each chapter will undergo a peer review process, ensuring scholarly rigour and academic excellence.

Role and impact of the book

Articulating the envisioned role of the book, Ncamane underscored its potential to reshape legal education and curriculum development. He said, "The book offers key approaches that can be adopted by legal scholars to improve teaching methods, ultimately benefiting students, academics, and society at large."

With regards to timelines, Ncamane indicated that the publication is slated for release in late 2024 or early 2025, contingent upon the duration of the blind review process and editorial refinement. The Legal Education Colloquium and its ensuing book project exemplify a concerted endeavour to address the evolving imperatives of legal education, foster scholarly discourse, and contribute meaningfully to the enhancement of legal praxis in South Africa.

News Archive

Launch of the Africa office of the IIDE

2006-05-25

Attending the launch of the Africa office of the IIDE were from the left Prof Sytse Strijbos (Chairperson of IIDE Europe), Rev Kiepie Jaftha (Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS) and Prof Frederick Fourie (Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS).

Attending the launch were from the left Prof Lucius Botes (Director: Centre of Development Support at the UFS), Dr Samuel Kareithi (Head: Community Development at the Cornerstone Christian College, Cape Town), Rev Kiepie Jaftha (Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS), Prof Sytse Strijbos (Chairperson of IIDE Europe) and Dr Ezekiel Moraka (Vice-Rector: Student Affairs at the UFS).

Africa office of IIDE launched on UFS main campus

The Africa office of the International Institute for Development and Ethics (IIDE) was today (26 May 2006) launched on the Main Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein.

“The IIDE specialises in the studying and research of general questions of developmental theory and practices and provides services and support in education, strategic planning, policy formulation, advocacy and capacity building of development agencies,” said Rev Kiepie Jaftha, Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS.

According to Rev Jaftha the IIDE in Africa will focus on the conceptual and normative aspects of developmental processes in Sub-Saharan Africa. “We want to foster local and international partnerships with various relevant role-players in civil society, the private sector and public sector in the SACD region and later expand our operations to the rest of Africa,” said Rev Jaftha.

The IIDE in Africa cooperates with a similar foundation in Europe, functioning as the IIDE Europe. This institute was founded in 2003 and its head office is situated in the Netherlands. The UFS is a funder of the IIDE in Africa together with the Paul Foundation and private sponsors from the Netherlands.

“We have already started with various projects which are in various stages of implementation,” said Rev Jaftha. Some of these projects include, among others, the broadening of the master’s degree in Christian Studies of Science and Society (MACSSS) which is currently housed at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam to tertiary institutions in South Africa such as the UFS, the University of Stellenbosch and the Potchefstroom Campus of the Northwest University.

“Another project is an investigation into the possibility of initiating a broad development initiative in the poverty stricken Qwaqwa area. This initiative will attempt to concentrate on issues like the training and empowerment of prospective entrepreneurs in the region, the identification of prospective entrepreneurs for the rendering of development support and the monitoring of the impact of information and communication technology on local communities during the implementation of sustainable development initiatives,” said Rev Jaftha.

“The establishment of the Africa office of the IIDE on the UFS Main Campus is an indication of one of the aims of the UFS to play a role in South Africa and Africa. It also signifies our aim to contribute meaningfully to research and development and to establish links between the academe and practice,” said Rev Jaftha.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
26 May 2006

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