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24 April 2025 | Story Martinette Brits | Photo Barend Nagel
Mainstream Final Project
Five postgraduate students from Ethiopia and Togo with Prof Corli Witthuhn, coordinator of the MAINSTREAM project, during their academic exchange visit to the University of the Free State. From the left: Prudence Bilabina, Ame Houngo, Prof Corli Witthuhn, Gemedo Shengu, Fanny Sibabi, and Debela Bedada.

The University of the Free State (UFS) has welcomed a cohort of international students as part of the Mobility 4 Agricultural International Networks Supporting Thematic Resilience and Enhancing Adaptation and Mitigation (MAINSTREAM) project, a significant European Union-funded initiative aimed at boosting agricultural education and research across the African continent.

A group of postgraduate students from Togo and Ethiopia have recently joined the University of the Free State as part of the MAINSTREAM project. “Two doctoral students from Togo – Ame Houngo and Fanny Sibabi – are based in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development and will be supervised by Dr Alba du Toit and Prof Maryke Labuschagne,” says Prof Corli Witthuhn from the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development at the UFS, who serves as the coordinator of the MAINSTREAM project. Master’s student Prudence Bilabina, also from Togo, is hosted by the Department of Agricultural Economics under the supervision of Prof Henry Jordaan.

From Ethiopia, doctoral student Debela Bedada and master’s student Gemedo Shengu are both pursuing their research in the Department of Agricultural Economics, supervised by Prof Nicky Matthews and Dr Janus Henning respectively.

A Ugandan student will soon join them on 22 April for a three-month traineeship. “He is an undergraduate Agriculture student who will register for a service-learning module at the UFS and spend the three months working on a farm,” explains Prof Witthuhn. The student hails from the Mountains of the Moon University in Uganda.

By June 2025, the university anticipates the arrival of four more students from Uganda – three at master’s level and one traineeship participant – bringing the total number of MAINSTREAM students hosted by UFS this year to ten.

 

Building a climate-resilient future through agricultural education

The MAINSTREAM project aims to foster education and skills improvement in agricultural knowledge systems, with a strong focus on climate change resilience. According to Prof Witthuhn, the project “strives to influence the common agenda for addressing education and skills improvement … targeting transformations with the tertiary agricultural education community, policy, and industry actors”.

An important aspect of the initiative is its emphasis on inclusion, particularly regarding African women who remain underrepresented in higher education agricultural programmes. “Mobility schemes will also be used to break cross-African gendered perceptions of agriculture … and to further provide for a gender-sensitive learning environment and institutional culture,” Prof Witthuhn notes.

The UFS’ participation forms part of a larger network of partner institutions across Africa and Europe, including Arsi University (Ethiopia), the University of Kara (Togo), the Mountains of the Moon University (Uganda), Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST, Kenya), the University of Sine Saloum El Hadji Ibrahima Niasse (USSEIN, Senegal), and the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Science (Germany).

 

Strengthening research, networks, and collaboration at the UFS

This four-year project, running from 2024 to 2027, will host two cohorts of students. “We are a partner in the project that will run over four years … one of the UFS master’s students, Rinus Behrens from the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, is currently spending four months at JOOUST in Kenya as part of the programme,” adds Prof Witthuhn.

The presence of these students at the UFS marks a pivotal moment for both the institution and its international counterparts. “For the institution, it creates the opportunity for new networks, new research opportunities, internationalisation of our research endeavour, and increased research outputs,” she says.

During their stay, master’s and doctoral students will engage in academic research aligned with their fields of study, while traineeship students will gain hands-on agricultural experience on farms in the Bloemfontein area.

Bedada says the programme is already making a meaningful impact on his academic journey. “I am analysing the impact of agricultural mechanisation on food security and production. It is a big opportunity, because it gives me a chance to expand my knowledge and skills, and to develop my research work to international level.”

Similarly, Houngo says the experience so far has been enriching. “I have already learned a lot, and I hope to replicate the experience in my hometown,” he shares.

Behind the scenes, UFS staff and departments are instrumental in ensuring the programme’s success. “They provide host departments, academic leadership, and supervision to the six students,” says Prof Witthuhn, emphasising the collaborative effort required to support this international initiative.

News Archive

Ground-breaking project scores Renewable Energy Award
2017-10-29

Description: ' 000 University Estates award Tags: University Estates award 

Marcel Theron, Former President: HEFMA; Nico van Rensburg, Senior Director:
University Estates (UFS); and Maureen Khati, Project Manager: Facilities
Planning (UFS) attending the HEFMA awards ceremony in Pretoria.
Photo: Supplied

University Estates at the University of the Free State (UFS) were recently awarded for their amazing initiative to install and operate photovoltaic (PV) and greywater systems on all three of its campuses. They were awarded by the Higher Education Facilities Management Association of Southern Africa (HEFMA), an association of facilities managers operating in the higher-education sector in the Southern African region. All universities and universities of technology in the country form part of this association, which promotes excellence in the planning, construction, maintenance, operations, and administration of educational facilities.

Nico van Rensburg, Senior Director of University Estates, says, “I want to thank HEFMA for this amazing award which motivates for much more and also opens up the doors for so many more opportunities.”

Solar and greywater systems installed at various buildings

In December 2016, 26 solar-driven LED street-light poles and a greywater system were installed at the Legae Residence on the South Campus. Greywater is made up of bath, shower, and bathroom sink water. The water is reused for toilet flushing, as well as for irrigation purposes.

On the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses, the computer laboratories as well as the Thakaneng Bridge Student Centre and the expected Afromontane Research Centre have freestanding solar solutions mounted on their roofs. These systems are designed to operate independently of the power grid (Eskom) during sunlight hours when the PV solar panels are heated by the sun.

Teamwork equals ground-breaking results

“This was truly a team effort with a variety of role players who contributed,” says Van Rensburg. He believes that higher education can do more to make use of other environmentally sustainable initiatives, and to go beyond just erecting and renovating buildings.

The UFS executive management is also extremely proud of the team that were involved in the project. Prof Nicky Morgan, former Vice-Rector: Operations, says, “It’s been extraordinary what we could achieve at all three campuses with such a small team.” Nadeem Gafieldien, Director: Property Services at Stellenbosch University, showered the UFS with praise. “This is truly ground-breaking for Higher Education (HE) and you are truly leaders in these renewable energy projects in the HE sector.” He says we need to demonstrate to other institutions in the HE sector that this is the future and that it makes the institutions both environmentally and financially sustainable.

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