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12 March 2024 Photo Supplied
ARU2024 Conference
SAMC2025 (scheduled 17 to 20 March 2025 at Champagne Sports Resort) will build on the highly successful First Southern African Mountain Conference (SAMC2022) held in March 2022.

On 5 March 2024, the first announcement went out for the Second Southern African Mountain Conference (SAMC2025). SAMC2025 will take place next year from 17 to 20 March at Champagne Sports Resort. The theme for the upcoming conference is: Southern African Mountains – Overcoming Boundaries and Barriers. 

This event will once again bring together academics, researchers, early career professionals, practitioners, policy makers, postgraduate students, and government officials to engage and exchange experiences, research findings, problem solving, and to foster partnerships regarding the transboundary and transdisciplinary sustainability of Southern African mountains. 

The SAMC series is conceptualised by the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) at the University of the Free State (UFS), the African Mountain Research Foundation (AMRF), and Global Mountain Safeguard Research (GLOMOS) – a joint initiative between EURAC Research and the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security) and implemented by the Peaks Foundation.

Prof Ralph Clark, Director of the ARU, says “SAM2022 was a wonderful event that greatly encouraged regional collegiality around Southern African mountains. We hope that SAMC2025 will be even more impactful in growing our regional community of practice for a stronger transboundary agenda, and for attaining real solutions to the problems facing mountain ecosystems and mountain peoples.”

With Southern African mountains comprising those situated south of the Congo Rainforest and Lake Rukwa – including the mountainous islands of the western Indian Ocean – SAMC2025 is encouraging participation from Angola, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion, South Africa, southern Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 

According to the organisers, the SAMC series is purposefully multi- and trans-disciplinary, with a strong impetus to link science, policy, and practitioner realms, and thus all approaches are encouraged. A first of its kind in the region will be a Royal Mountain Indaba, bringing together customary law, mountains, and the Sustainable Development Goals, given that vast tracks of mountain-scape in Southern Africa are directly under traditional governance.  

SAMC2025 will build on the highly successful first Southern African Mountain Conference (SAMC2022) held in March 2022. This, the first of its kind in Southern Africa, attracted 259 participants from 21 countries, with 168 papers delivered and four sponsored special sessions. SAMC2025 will include plenary sessions, parallel oral paper presentation sessions, poster sessions, panel discussions, and sessions for special interest groups – with separate review tracks for abstract submissions from the science, policy, and practitioner sectors that accommodate those sectors to their best advantage. 

The following useful resources are available and can be downloaded:

1. Invitation SAMC2025.

2. Announcements and Call for Abstracts – document includes access to

  • call for abstracts with link to online submission system;
  • call for proposals for workshops and/or panel discussions; 
  • publication of selected conference papers; 
  • registration information; 
  • student and early career academics summit; 
  • important dates; 
  • venue details; 
  • information for international travellers; and 
  • information for directing enquiries. 

3. Guidelines for the submission of abstracts – document includes access to

  • presentation categories and types;
  • review of abstracts;
  • style guide for abstracts submitted for oral or poster presentations;
  • conditions; and
  • other considerations with regard to formatting, style, and technical details.
  • review of proposals;
  • style guide for proposals for workshops and/or panel discussions; and
  • conditions. 

News Archive

Lithium-ion batteries research set to improve ordinary lives
2016-02-11

Description: Dr Lehlohonolo Koao  Tags: Dr Lehlohonolo Koao

Dr Koao is making a much-needed contribution in improving lives of ordinary people through his research on lithium-ion batteries.

The future of relevant and top-notch scientific research at the Qwaqwa Campus is in good hands. Dr Lehlohonolo Koao is one of the five members of the Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Scholars Programme (PSP) on the Qwaqwa Campus.

The need to improve the efficiency of heating mechanisms in his immediate community in Qwaqwa, and the support he receives from the PSP, have become catalysts for his current research project on lithium-ion batteries. According to Dr Koao, the study will focus on producing batteries that last longer, store more energy, are cheaper to manufacture, and are environmentally friendly when being disposed of. These are key factors in solar energy.

‘’The majority of households in my neighbourhood have benefited from the government’s project of providing households with solar panels to help with lighting, cooking, and heating without worrying about the ever-increasing electricity costs,’’ said Dr Koao.

‘’Since my arrival in the area, I have realized that the heat absorption rate of the batteries used by solar panels is not enough. As a result, these batteries also lack enough power to sustain the supply throughout the day, especially on a cloudy day,’’ he said.

His research project focuses on improving the efficiency of lithium-ion batteries that are now commonly used in portable electronics, such as cell phones and laptops. This kind of battery is rapidly replacing the usual lead-acid batteries. Dr Koao’s determination to contribute towards a safer and more efficient heating absorption system has made him move away completely from his PhD study on lighting material.

‘’My previous study was on reducing the power usage on domestic and industrial lights as they use more electricity. This study, on the other hand, will enhance power retention in the batteries for improved daily life since cell phones, solar panels, and laptops, to mention only a few, are now a way of life,’’ he added.

Dr Koao is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics, where he specializes in solid state materials.

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