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14 March 2024 | Story Kagiso Ngake | Photo SUPPLIED
Prof Petersen and Dr Thelma John David
Prof Petersen and Dr Thelma John David, the Consul General of India in Durban.

The University of the Free State (UFS) proudly welcomed Dr Thelma John David, the Consul General of India, to Durban, South Africa, on 27 February 2024. The UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Francis Petersen extended a warm reception to the distinguished guest.

Accompanied by Prem Sagar Kesarapu, Head of Chancery at the Consulate General, Dr David engaged in fruitful discussions with key figures at the UFS, including Prof Lynette Jacobs, Acting Director of the Office for International Affairs (OIA); Kagiso Ngake, responsible for the Partnerships portfolio in the OIA; Prof Hussein Solomon, Senior Professor in the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies, known for spearheading collaborative efforts across India; and Dr Jared McDonald, Chief of Staff in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

The meeting centred on exploring opportunities for academic exchange programmes, research partnerships, and cultural exchanges. Concrete plans were devised to enhance and fortify collaboration between the UFS, the Consulate General in Durban, and higher education institutions in India.

Expressing gratitude for the visit, Prof Petersen underscored its significance in strengthening bonds between the UFS and India. He emphasised the pivotal role of international collaborations in academia to foster diversity and global understanding.

Dr David echoed Prof Petersen's sentiments, emphasising the role of education and collaboration in building bridges between nations. She commended the UFS for its commitment to excellence in higher education and expressed enthusiasm to explore future partnerships.

UFS Fosters strong collaborative ties with Indian institutions across diverse fields

The UFS takes pride in its extensive collaboration network with various Indian universities and research institutions, spanning diverse academic disciplines. This dynamic partnership promotes knowledge exchange, research advancements, and academic growth in physics, chemistry, health sciences, and social sciences.

Notable collaborations include ongoing projects led by the UFS Veterinary Biotechnology Group with Saife VetMed (India) on potential commercial products. Another project involves collaboration with Ventri Biologicals, India’s largest poultry vaccine manufacturer, focusing on developing effective vaccines against infectious coryza.

Additionally, the Department of Pharmacology, under the expertise of Prof Motlalepula Matsabisa in Indigenous Knowledge Systems, collaborates with the SRM Institute of Science and Technology in India on traditional medicines.

For more information on current and potential collaboration with universities and research institutes in India, please contact Kagiso Ngake at ngakekm@ufs.ac.za.

News Archive

German Ambassador speaks on universities as agents for transformation
2016-05-25

Description: German Ambassador speaks on universities Tags: German Ambassador speaks on universities

Eva Ziegert, JC van der Merwe, Lindokuhle Ntuli, Anita Ohl-Meyer, Ambassador Walter Lindner, Tali Nates, and Prof Leon Wessels at the dialogue session hosted by the IRSJ
Photo: Johan Roux

“Change is facilitated through education, not by means of radicalism, violence, or revolution.” Speaking at the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) on Thursday 12 May 2016, the German Ambassador, Walter Lindner, urged students to engage in profitable dialogue instead, keeping their values and ideals in mind while changing the system from the inside.

The Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ) hosted a full day of dialogues and discussions, the highlight of which was a critical dialogue with Ambassador Lindner, entitled “Universities as agents of transformation in society—Germany’s experience with the student protests of the 1968 movement and the difficulties it has reconciling with its past.” This was followed by a student colloquium, hosted by the Student Representative Council, which concluded with the second in the Africa’s Many Liberations seminar series, co-hosted by the IRSJ and the International Studies Group (ISG), with the title of “Fanon and the relevance of personal and collective decolonisation in today’s South Africa”.

Mr Lindner related his experience of student protests in Germany during the late 1960s, drawing certain parallels with South Africa’s own recent protests. According to Ambassador Lindner, it is “the impatient youth that drives forward change”, but cautioned against radicalism as a long-term solution.

Pointing out the various challenges facing humankind today, such as the lack of natural resources, unbridled climate change, and population growth, Mr Lindner stated that politicians (and the youth of today) would do well to focus on these greater issues, rather than focusing on the more mundane issues with which they are faced on a day-to-day basis.

The subsequent dialogue session was facilitated by Tali Nates, Director of the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre. A diverse array of questions and comments, both radical and more conservative, was directed at the ambassador, which he handled with unflappable aplomb.

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