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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
NBC tells Wayde’s story
2015-11-02
 The film crew from NBC Olympics
filming Wayde van Niekerk (centre, in grey clothes)
during a practice session at Pellies Park on the
Bloemfontein Campus of the UFS.
On the left is Ans Botha, Van Niekerk’s coach.
Photo: Charl Devenish |
The Kovsie star Wayde van Niekerk stands an excellent chance of shining at the 2016 Olympics and has a remarkable story behind his success.
This is why NBC Olympics, a division of the American broadcasting network NBC, selected the athlete from the University of the Free State (UFS) to do a special insert for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
A film crew from NBC visited the City of Roses and the Bloemfontein Campus of the UFS on Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 October 2015 to film the insert. The feature will be screened on NBC Olympics’ platforms during and leading up to the Olympics next year.
One of four stars
Van Niekerk was one of four athletes used by the crew to film inserts on. The others were the South African swimmer Chad le Clos, the Kenyan 800 m athlete David Rudisha, and Ethiopian middle- and long-distance athlete Genzebe Dibaba.
The crew interviewed Van Niekerk and his coach Ans Botha, and also paid a visit to Pellies Park during one of his training sessions.
According to Tom Davidson, feature producer at NBC Olympics, the piece about Van Niekerk will be about three minutes long.
“We do a pretty good job of picking good stories, but it is up to the athletes to get there,” Davidson said.
“We think Wayde has a good shot at being in the finals of the 400 m at the Olympics.”
Van Niekerk won a gold medal in a time of 43.48 s at the World Championships in Beijing during August 2015 and set a new South African record for a third time and a new African record for a second time this year in the process.
Beijing success propels Wayde onto NBC radar
“Wayde’s performance in Beijing certainly propelled him onto our radar,” said Davidson.
“He beat former World and Olympic champions like Kirani James and LaShawn Merritt.”
He feels that Van Niekerk is also very young and still at university.
And Botha makes his story even more interesting.
“It is not every day that you see a 74-year old great-grandmother coaching a world champion.”