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A team of UFH researchers presented their paper at the 17th International Conference on Remote, Engineering and Virtual (REV) Instrumentation in the US. The conference was held at the University of Georgie in Athens from 26 to 28 February.

Led by Mr Phumezo Kwinana, Director of the Forté School of Science and Technology (FOSST) Discovery Centre, the team comprised of Mr Phumzile Nomnga, Computer Science Lecturer and Mr Mncedi Rani a Technology Curator at FOSST. The team also included Professor Mantile Lekala from UNISA who is a specialist in Virtual Laboratories in Nuclear Physics.

Titled: “Real laboratories available online: Establishment of ReVEL as a conceptual framework for implementing remote experimentation in South African Higher Education Institutions and rural-based schools – A case study at the University of Fort Hare”. The paper explores the use and benefits of online laboratories, following the launch of the country’s first Remote and Virtual Education Laboratory (ReVEL) at UFH Alice Campus in October 2019.

The ReVEL technology which was facilitated by Mr Kwinana, offers several benefits. Using coding and robotics, it enables students to interact with peers from over 20 universities around the world on experimentations to address local and national imperatives in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). It advances teaching and learning to address some technological inadequacies in our communities. It also gives UFH researchers access to various online research equipment worldwide. Users are able to access the facility whenever and wherever, via the internet The lab was jointly sponsored by the Armaments Corporation of South Africa (Armscor), Albert Wessels Trust and TOYOTA. Specialists from Labsland deployed the technology