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30 May 2025
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Story Prof Mikateko Mathebula
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Photo Supplied
Pictured (from left to right): Prof Faith Mkwananzi, Dr Kapambwe Mwelwa, Prof Lochner Marais, Prof Chikumbutso Manthalu, and Prof Mikateko Mathebula.
Through collaborative agreements with the University of Malawi and the University of Zambia, the University of the Free State (UFS) has established the Research Alliance for Higher Education in Africa (RAHEdA), a dynamic initiative aimed at enhancing research capacity and partnerships within Sub-Saharan Africa.
The collaborative agreements align with the UFS’s Vision 130 strategy in relation to internationalisation, emphasising the important role that intra-African mobility visits play in establishing relationships with universities on the continent. It also fosters knowledge exchange and engagement and allows for careful planning and strategy meetings.
“During these discussions, an ambitious but feasible roadmap was laid out for the next three to five years,” Prof Mkwananzi said. “These activities include online workshops for staff and postgraduate students at all partner institutions, and a new webinar series that focuses on profiling, advancing, and celebrating thought leaders, higher education scholars, and scholarship in Africa.”
The inaugural webinar was held on 21 May 2025. Speaker Prof Siseko Kumalo, Associate Professor at the University of Johannesburg’s Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies, spoke on ‘Orality as the Bulwark of the Humanities?’, set the bar high for the webinar series through his compelling and original response to this timely question, as scholars around the world contemplate appropriate responses to the rise and influence of artificial intelligence in higher education teaching, learning, and assessment.
Funding to support RAHEdA has been generously provided by Prof Melanie Walker, Distinguished Professor and SARChI Chair in Higher Education and Human Development.
• For information on how to get involved and for updates on RAHEdA, please contact Prof Mikateko Mathebula at MathebulaM@ufs.ac.za
Running not just for fun
2014-08-11
Running is not always just for fun – or even exercise. Running can also help to raise awareness for family, safety and social responsibility.
As part of the 2014 Intravarsity programme, the Student Representative Council (SRC) of the Bloemfontein Campus organised a Women’s Day Fun Run for staff, students and members of the public. Proceeds of the 4 km race were donated to Families South Africa (FAMSA). This organisation highlights a safe and healthy functional family life as a national priority.
Although the event was marked with laughter and giddiness, it also focused attention on the university’s drive to make our campus a safe space – especially for our women. Those participants who best portrayed a message of anti-violence received branded t-shirts and beanies. Of these winners were a group of young ladies who used cosmetics to make themselves look assaulted. They each received the uniquely-branded merchandise displaying, ‘I’m a super safe super hero’.
The Women’s Day Fun Run reminded women to be aware of their surroundings and invest in their personal well-being. It also served to remind men to be respectful, watchful and actively involved in protecting the women and families in their lives.