{"id":33905,"date":"2026-03-31T09:17:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/?p=33905"},"modified":"2026-03-31T11:09:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T11:09:46","slug":"vut-library-empowers-researchers-through-imbizo-e-resources-webinar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/vut-library-empowers-researchers-through-imbizo-e-resources-webinar\/","title":{"rendered":"VUT Library empowers researchers through Imbizo E-Resources Webinar"},"content":{"rendered":"

“VUT Library hosted an Imbizo E-Resources Webinar, empowering researchers and students with digital tools, open access publishing insights, and enhanced access to academic resources.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

30 March 2026 | Story by: Staff Reporter| Picture: Supplied<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 minutes read time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"VUT<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Vaal University of Technology (VUT) Library continues to advance its support for academic excellence through digital innovation, recently hosting the Imbizo E-Resources Webinar on 25 March 2026. The virtual session brought together academics, researchers, and students for an engaging and insightful dialogue on strengthening research capacity and enhancing publishing support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facilitated by four VUT Library specialists, the webinar provided a comprehensive overview of the University\u2019s electronic resources. Participants were guided on how to effectively utilise these databases to improve the quality of their research and access credible, peer reviewed academic content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key highlight of the session was the discussion on transformative agreements with publishers, which are increasingly shaping the global academic publishing landscape. Ms Sibongile Mtsweni, Information Librarian for Research Support, explained that these agreements enable researchers to publish more affordably while significantly increasing the visibility and impact of their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOpen access publishing enhances the reach and influence of research, while allowing the broader academic community to access and build upon knowledge without barriers,\u201d said Ms Mtsweni. She further noted that transformative agreements are particularly valuable for VUT researchers, as they reduce financial constraints associated with publishing and promote wider dissemination of scholarly outputs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The webinar also emphasised the importance of open access publishing as a driver of knowledge democratisation and innovation across disciplines. The VUT Library reaffirmed its commitment to supporting researchers throughout the publishing lifecycle, from sourcing relevant literature to navigating publication processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Andrew Memela, Information Librarian for Research and Data Management, noted that the Imbizo forms part of the Library\u2019s annual programme to keep the University community informed about available e-resources, including updates on newly acquired and discontinued collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An important feature of the webinar was a practical demonstration of Primo VE, the Library\u2019s newly implemented discovery system. The platform streamlines the research process by enabling users to search and access a wide range of academic resources through a single, user friendly interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms Mpilwenhle Hlongwa, Information Librarian for Human Sciences, highlighted how the integration of Primo VE with OpenAthens has significantly improved remote access. \u201cPreviously, researchers experienced challenges accessing resources off campus. The new system now allows seamless single sign on, making it easier for both students and staff to access academic materials anytime and anywhere,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Imbizo E-Resources Webinar served as a valuable platform for knowledge sharing and engagement. It equipped the VUT community with practical tools and critical insights to navigate the evolving research landscape while maximising the use of the Library\u2019s digital resources and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through initiatives such as these, the VUT Library continues to play a central role in advancing research, innovation, and academic success within the University and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“VUT Library hosted an Imbizo E-Resources Webinar, empowering researchers and students with digital tools, open access publishing insights, and enhanced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":33926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news-vaal-university-of-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33905"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33953,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33905\/revisions\/33953"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}