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UFS lecturer, Dr Regret Sunge, achieves prestigious NRF Y2-Rating

07 May 2025 | Story Precious Shamase | Photo Supplied

The University of the Free State (UFS) is proud to announce that Dr Regret Sunge, Lecturer in the Department of Economics and Finance within the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, has been awarded a prestigious Y2 rating by the National Research Foundation (NRF). This significant achievement highlights Dr Sunge's exceptional potential as a rising leader in the field of economics and finance.

The NRF Y2-rating is bestowed upon young researchers, typically under the age of 40 and within five years of obtaining their PhD, who have demonstrated considerable potential to establish themselves as leaders in their area of expertise. Dr Sunge's inclusion among the 3,8% of newly rated researchers in South Africa highlights the quality and impact of his work.

Dr Sunge expressed his excitement, stating, "I am thrilled to have received the NRF Y2-rating for the period 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2030. Receiving such recognition through this meticulous process in the field of Economics and Finance – which has a share of only 4,9% of total rated researchers – is even more amazing." He further emphasised the rigorous nature of the NRF rating process, and the insightful feedback received.

Factors contributing to this recognition

Dr Sunge attributes his success to a combination of personal dedication, collaborative efforts, and institutional support. His PhD thesis provided a strong foundation, with three of the five reviewed papers originating from this work. Subsequent research collaborations with international peers fostered during his PhD journey further enriched his research by integrating the critical fields of agricultural production and environmental sustainability. The growing number of citations his work has received speaks to its increasing relevance and impact.

The academic also acknowledged the significant influence of key individuals on his research journey, including his PhD supervisor, Prof Nicholas Ngepah, Dr Delphin Kamanda Espoir – a research partner, and his postdoctoral host, Dr Calvin Mudzingiri.

Beyond academic research, Dr Sunge's engagement in research consultation with regional and international organisations has played a vital role. In 2022, he formed a team within the United Nations Young Economists Network (UN-YEN) to study Africa's macroeconomic growth. Additionally, he contributed as a research assistant to the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the African Union Commission (AUC) for their annual Africa Development Dynamics (AfDD) publication.

Dr Sunge also highlighted the crucial institutional support he received from the University of the Free State, specifically the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) on the Qwaqwa Campus, where he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the time of application.

Impact of the NRF rating on research standing

The Y2 rating is already proving to be a catalyst for Dr Sunge's research endeavours. "It’s a motivator, I am more confident, and it has greatly enhanced my CV," he noted. He anticipates that this recognition will unlock opportunities for further collaborations and access to competitive research grants and funding programmes, both nationally and internationally.

Furthermore, Dr Sunge's achievement while based on the Qwaqwa Campus enhances the University of the Free State's reputation for supporting young researchers and fostering excellence across all its campuses. His rating serves as a significant source of inspiration for his colleagues on the Qwaqwa Campus, particularly within EMS, where NRF-rated researchers are still few. Dr Sunge hopes that his success will encourage colleagues in the faculty to pursue similar achievements through commitment, dedication, and collaboration.

Research focus and its importance

Dr Sunge's research primarily focuses on the intersection of agricultural production and environmental sustainability. His work addresses the critical challenge of ensuring food security amid the growing impact of climate change in a sustainable manner. Recognising the dual challenge of increasing agricultural output to combat food insecurity while mitigating climate change, his research aims to inform environmentally sustainable agrifood systems in South Africa and beyond.

Specifically, his research holds local relevance for Phuthaditjhaba, where livestock agriculture is a significant part of the local economy, with the potential to contribute to more sustainable livelihoods. Utilising a range of econometric methodologies, his research approach is adaptable to various fields of study, facilitating collaboration with researchers from diverse backgrounds.

Acknowledging the dynamic nature of research in economics, particularly in econometrics and data analysis, Dr Sunge emphasises the importance of continuous learning through conferences and workshops. He aims to further develop his econometric and critical thinking skills, as well as sharpen his writing abilities, to elevate his research to new heights.

Future research trajectory

Looking ahead, Dr Sunge envisions a research trajectory that combines academic rigour with impactful societal engagement. This involves identifying research problems, providing in-depth academic analysis, and developing solutions that directly benefit communities. His future includes initiating research-based interventions and conducting impact assessments. Achieving this vision necessitates securing research grants, supervising postgraduate students, and actively engaging in community initiatives.

Over the next five years, Dr Sunge aims to transition from a Y2 to a C-rated researcher, a goal that requires careful planning to balance his research and teaching responsibilities. While committed to advancing his research, Dr Sunge remains passionate about teaching and ensuring that his research activities enhance, rather than detract from, his classroom engagement.

Dr Sunge’s achievement of the NRF Y2-rating is a significant milestone, both for his personal career and for the University of the Free State. His dedication, collaborative spirit, and impactful research focus serve as an inspiration to colleagues and aspiring economists alike. As Dr Sunge eloquently stated, "My word to aspiring economists, especially from marginalised circumstances, is that with the right mindset, commitment and dedication, we can be counted."

News Archive

Studies to reveal correlation between terrain, energy use, and giraffe locomotion

2016-11-18

More than half of giraffes in captivity in Europe are afflicted by lameness. This high prevalence represents an important welfare issue, similar to other large zoo animals.

According to Dr Chris Basu, a veterinarian at the Royal Veterinary College in the UK, giraffes in captivity are often afflicted by overgrown hooves, laminitis and joint problems. Diagnosis and treatment is limited by our understanding of anatomy and function, more specifically the locomotion of these animals. Although the giraffe is such a well-known and iconic animal, relatively little has been studied about their locomotor behaviour.

Dr Basu recently visited South Africa to do fieldwork on the locomotion of giraffes as part of his PhD studies under the mentorship of world-renowned Professor of Evolutionary Biomechanics, Prof John Hutchinson. This project is a joint venture between Dr Basu and Dr Francois Deacon, researcher in the Department of Animal, Wildlife, and Grassland Sciences at the UFS. Dr Deacon is a specialist in giraffe habitat-related research.

Together Prof Hutchinson and Drs Deacon and Basu form a research group, working on studies about giraffe locomotion.

Wild giraffe population decrease by 40% in past decade

“Locomotion is one of the most common animal behaviours and comes with a significant daily energetic cost. Studying locomotion of wild animals aids us in making estimates of this energetic cost. Such estimates are useful in understanding how giraffes fit into ecosystems. Future conservation efforts will be influenced by knowledge of the energy demands in giraffes.

“Understanding aspects of giraffe locomotion also helps us to understand the relationships between anatomy, function and evolution. This is relevant to our basic understanding of the natural world, as well as to conservation and veterinary issues,” said Dr Deacon.

Locomotion study brings strategy for specialist foot care

On face value it seems as if foot disease pathologies are more common in zoo giraffes than in wild giraffes. “However, we need a good sample of data from both populations to prove this assumption,” said Dr Basu.

This phenomenon is not well understood at the moment, but it’s thought that diet, substrate (e.g. concrete, straw, sand and grass) and genetics play a part in foot disease in giraffes. “Understanding how the feet are mechanically loaded during common activities (standing, walking, running) gives our research group ideas of where the highest strains occur, and later how these can be reduced through corrective foot trimming,” said Dr Basu.

Through the studies on giraffe locomotion, the research group plans to devise strategies for corrective foot trimming. At the moment, foot trimming is done with the best evidence available, which is extrapolation from closely related animals such as cattle. “But we know that giraffes’ specialist anatomy will likely demand specialist foot care,” Dr Basu said.

Studying giraffes in smaller versus larger spaces

The research group has begun to study the biomechanics of giraffe walking by looking at the kinematics (the movement) and the kinetics (the forces involved in movement) during walking strides. For this he studied adult giraffes at three zoological parks in the UK.

However, due to the close proximity of fencing and buildings, it is not practical to study fast speeds in a zoo setting.

A setting such as the Willem Pretorius Nature Reserve, near Ventersburg in the Free State, Kwaggafontein Nature Reserve, near Colesberg in the Karoo, and the Woodland Hills Wildlife Estate in Bloemfontein are all ideal for studying crucial aspects such as “faster than walking” speeds and gaits to measure key parameters (such as stride length, step frequency and stride duration). These studies are important to understand how giraffe form and function are adapted to their full range of locomotor behaviours. It also helps to comprehend the limits on athletic capacity in giraffes and how these compare to other animals.

Drones open up unique opportunities for studying giraffes

The increasing availability of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)/drones opens up unique opportunities for studying locomotion in animals like giraffes. Cameras mounted onto remotely controlled UAVs are a straightforward way to obtain high-quality video footage of giraffes while they run at different speeds.

“Using two UAVs, we have collected high definition slow motion video footage of galloping giraffes from three locations in the Free State. We have also collected detailed information about the terrain that the giraffes walked and ran across. From this we have created 3D maps of the ground. These maps will be used to examine the preferred terrain types for giraffes, and to see how different terrains affect their locomotion and energy use,” said Dr Deacon.

“The raw data (videos) will be digitised to obtain the stride parameters and limb angles of the animals. Later this will be combined with anatomical data and an estimation of limb forces to estimate the power output of the limbs and how that changes between different terrains,” said Dr Basu.

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