Building and sustaining relations between NRF and UFH through delegation visit

NRF delegation visit in May to UFH has proved to be fruitful through the engagements which birthed new ideas and continued to strengthen and sustain the relationship that already exists. The delegation visit is part of roadshows that the organisation pay to all universities. Dr Molapo Qhobela, Chief Executive Officer of the National Research Foundation, said that Fort Hare is one of their valuable partners that they work with. The purpose is for NRF to continuously and consistently reflect on the working relationship that currently exists.

“Through this visit we are setting priorities for each other and ensure that we commit to doing things that we know will make this university a better one. This is part of many visits that we conduct at the institution in pursuit of making sure that we support them in the best way possible” said Qhobela. NRF believes that every single university in South Africa is important and critical for the health of its agenda, that NRF cannot produce new knowledge without our universities. NRF therefore works with every university in cooperation with all other research councils like Human Science Research Council where the University of Fort Hare recently signed an MoU. Furthermore, NRF works with the National Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, CSIR, Department of Higher Education and Training.  Qhobela said that all these structures and organisations  come together  to ensure that the work of NRF is of high quality, and further advances excellence, but also impacts on the environment and the people which  NRF serves.

Through these visits the NRF acknowledges that there is still more that needs to be done, this was prevalent in the question and answer session where queries were posed on the NRF and the misconceptions were addressed and corrected.

The NRF is also looking into how individuals and institutions are going to raise money and invest more in the academic projects. “We want to deliver better students, we want our academic stuff to be better qualified so we are hoping that the institution is able to raise funds by asking the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Ford Foundation to invest in this university in order for our students and our academic to be able to do what they are good at and we are here to add our weight behind that agenda” said Qhobela.

Qhobela hopes that the dialogue continues and any information that anyone might like to be redirected at them please do so.