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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

UFS the only university in South Africa with a P-rated history researcher

2016-12-13

Dr Daniel Spence has been earmarked by the NRF
to become a future international leader in his field
of expertise.
Photo: Supplied

The University of the Free State (UFS) is the only university in South Africa with a P-rated History researcher. Dr Daniel Spence, a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the International Studies Group (IGS), and a member of the Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Scholar’s Programme at the UFS, was last week awarded a National Research Foundation P-rating by the National Research Foundation (NRF). Dr Spence is the first South African historian to achieve this honour.

Leader of the pack
P-ratings are given to young researchers, usually under the age of 35, who have the potential to become leaders in their field. Researchers in this group are recognised by all, or the overwhelming majority of, reviewers as having demonstrated the potential to become future international leaders.

The rating is awarded on the basis of exceptional research performance and output from their doctoral and early postdoctoral research careers.

Other researchers from the UFS who obtained P-ratings in the past, are Prof Lodewyk Kock (1986), Prof Zakkie Pretorius (1989), and Prof Robert Schall (1991).

Extraordinary achievement lauded
“It is an extraordinary achievement. There are fewer P-ratings, than there are A-ratings,” said Prof Neil Roos, associate professor at the ISG. Prof Roos said the P-rating was seldom awarded to researchers within the field of Humanities.

As a member of the ISG, Dr Spence’s research has flourished under the guidance of Prof Ian Phimister. Much of the success of this group is due to the way it operates as an incubator for high-level research, with scholars collaborating with each other.

In addition to Dr Spence’s magnificent P-rating, the ISG currently has three C1-rated researchers (established researchers with a sustained recent record of productivity in their field) and two Y1-rated researchers (researchers 40 years old or younger, who are recognised by all reviewers as having the potential to establish themselves as future leaders in their fields).

“From the time Dr Spence wrote his doctoral thesis on the colonial history of the Royal Navy, he has expanded his field of expertise so that he can address imperial and global histories of race,” said Prof Roos.

Demonstrated research excellence
Dr Spence secured a postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the UFS to develop an African case study to augment his Asian and Caribbean research thesis into a monograph. In March 2013, Dr Spence won a three-year NRF Postdoctoral Innovation Scholarship, and learned Kiswahili ahead of archival research in Kenya and Tanzania from April to May of that year. He has conducted archival and oral research in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, Kenya, Zanzibar, the Cayman Islands, Trinidad, and the UK.

Internationally renowned
Dr Spence is the author of two monographies, the Colonial Naval culture and British imperialism, 1922-67 and A History of the Royal Navy: Empire and Imperialism. He has been invited to present papers and chair panels at over 20 international conferences, workshops and seminars.

The NRF rating system is a benchmarking system through which individuals who exemplify the highest standards of research, as well as those demonstrating strong potential as researchers, are identified by an extensive network of South African and international peer reviewers.

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