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UFS presents inaugural Senate Conference on Engaged Scholarship

28 March 2024 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo Stephen Collett

Keynote speakers during the UFS 2024 Senate Conference included, from the left: Prof Kristina Josefsson from University West, Sweden; Prof ‘Funmi Olonisakin from King’s College London, England; Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS and Chairperson of the Senate; and Prof Relebohile Moletsane from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

The University of the Free State (UFS) presented its inaugural Senate Conference on the Bloemfontein Campus from 11 to 12 March 2024.

The conference, themed ‘Making Change through Engaged Scholarship’, initiated an important suite of conversations aligned with the UFS’ aspirations with Vision 130. The programme – which covered a wide range of topics by national and international speakers – included case studies of engaged scholarship from faculties, as well as breakaway sessions during which pertinent questions around engaged scholarship were discussed. A key element of the programme was the screening of a documentary film titled One Day, which accentuated the significance of engaged scholarship.

The organisation of the conference – both conceptually and logistically – was led by Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation at the UFS, supported by an organising committee consisting of various role players across the university.

Importance of engaged scholarship for universities

In his opening remarks, Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS, said that in the higher education sector, universities in South Africa, continentally, and globally are grappling with the key challenges of our time, including social justice, environmental degradation, and economic growth and job creation.

“We encounter these challenges in a global context that is increasingly volatile, and in which universities must constantly innovate and adapt in order to remain vibrant, relevant, and impactful. This is a time for higher education that is demanding, fraught, and disruptive. The challenges are many and complicated,” said Prof Petersen.

“Engaged scholarship is crucial for universities, particularly those in the Global South, as it fosters community collaboration, addresses local challenges, and promotes sustainable development,” he said.

Conference proceedings showcased of UFS’ involvement in engaged scholarship

On day 1, presentations included a discussion on ‘Engaged Scholarship in a Time of Geopolitical Contestation: An African Perspective’ by Prof ‘Funmi Olonisakin from King’s College London, England; and ‘Knowledge Products and Scholarship Engagement: The Way Forward for Universities’ by Prof Eugene Cloete from Stellenbosch University. The programme included a screening of a documentary film about engaged scholarship, titled One Day. Produced by Charlene Stanley from Storytown Productions, the film focused on the collapse of the tailings dam wall at the Jagersfontein Mine in September 2022 and the severe sludge damage to houses, property, and the environment. In particular, the film highlighted how the university’s interventions made a difference to the community. The day was concluded with presentations of engaged scholarship case studies from faculties, as well as group discussions.

Day 2 started off with a presentation by Prof Kristina Josefsson from University West, Sweden, on ‘Work-Integrated Learning and Engaged Scholarship – Meetings of Knowledge to Create Positive Change’, followed by a presentation on ‘Rurality, Community and Engaged Scholarship’ by Prof Relebohile Moletsane from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. As was done the previous day, presentations of engaged scholarship case studies from faculties and group discussions rounded off the day.

Some of the issues that have been identified and need to be taken further in order to embed engaged scholarship within the UFS, include the need to create a common understanding of engaged scholarship through careful interrogation of the terminology; the co-creation of knowledge, inter- and transdisciplinary approaches to solving problems; the impact of engaged scholarship on teaching, learning, and research interventions; and the sustainability of projects when the engaged scholars leave a community, and how to measure success or otherwise.

Programme

Click to view document UFS 2024 Senate Conference Programme

Documentary Film: One Day

Presentations

Click to view document ‘Knowledge Products and Scholarship Engagement: The Way Forward for Universities’ by Prof Eugene Cloete, Stellenbosch University.

Click to view document ‘Work-Integrated Learning and Engaged Scholarship – Meetings of Knowledge to Create Positive Change’ by Prof Kristina Josefsson from University West, Sweden.

Click to view document 'Rurality, Community and Engaged Scholarship’ by Prof Relebohile Moletsane from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

News Archive

Census 2011 overshadowed by vuvuzela announcements

2012-11-20

Mike Schüssler, economist
Photo: Hannes Pieterse
15 November 2012

Complete Lecture (MP3)

Census 2011 contains good statistics but these are overshadowed by vuvuzela announcements and a selective approach, economist Mike Schüssler said at a presentation at the UFS.

“Why highlight one inequality and not another success factor? Is Government that negative about itself?” Mr Schüssler, owner of Economist.co.za, asked.

“Why is all the good news such as home ownership, water, lights, cars, cellphones, etc. put on the back burner? For example, we have more rooms than people in our primary residence. Data shows that a third of Africans have a second home. Why are some statistics that are racially based not made available, e.g. orphans? So are “bad” statistics not always presented?”

He highlighted statistics that did not get the necessary attention in the media. One such statistic is that black South Africans earn 46% of all income compared to 39% of whites. The census also showed that black South Africans fully own nearly ten times the amount of houses that whites do. Another statistic is that black South Africans are the only population group to have a younger median age. “This is against worldwide trends and in all likelihood has to do with AIDS. It is killing black South Africans more than other race groups.”

Mr Schüssler also gave insight into education. He said education does count when earnings are taken into account. “I could easily say that the average degree earns nearly five times more than a matric and the average matric earns twice the pay of a grade 11.”

He also mentioned that people lie in surveys. On the expenditure side he said, “People apparently do not admit that they gamble or drink or smoke when asked. They also do not eat out but when looking at industry and sector sales, this is exposed and the CPI is, for example, reweighted. They forget their food expenditure and brag about their cars. They seemingly spend massively on houses but little on maintenance. They spend more than they earn.”

“On income, the lie is that people forget or do not know the difference between gross and net salaries. People forget garnishee orders, loan repayments and certainly do not have an idea what companies pay on their behalf to pensions and medical aid. People want to keep getting social grants so they are more motivated to forget income. People are scared of taxes too so they lower income when asked. They spend more than they earn in many categories.”

On household assets Mr Schüssler said South Africans are asset rich but income poor. Over 8,3 million black African families stay in brick or concrete houses out of a total of 11,2 million total. About 4,9 million black families own their own home fully while only 502 000 whites do (fully paid off or nearly ten times more black families own their own homes fully). Just over 880 000 black South Africans are paying off their homes while 518 000 white families are.

Other interesting statistics are that 13,2 million people work, 22,5 million have bank accounts, 19,6 million have credit records. Thirty percent of households have cars, 90% of households have cellphones and 80% of households have TVs.

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