At the foot of the majestic Drakensberg Mountains, tucked away at Phuthaditjhaba in the beautiful Eastern Free State, lies the Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State. The campus has a fascinating history – fraught with hardship and struggle, but also characterised by beauty and progress. Since its incorporation in 2003, this former branch of the University of the North has been playing an important role in bringing higher education to this underprivileged rural community. 

In line with the common vision of the university to develop niche areas for all its campuses, the Qwaqwa Campus specifically addresses socio-economic development, informed by a rural context. Stimulating growth, job creation, and entrepreneurship in the region, is the main focus in the creation of demand-driven academic, skills-, and community-development programmes offered on the campus. These programmes are underpinned by a strong research agenda that focuses on identifying the best possible strategies for creating jobs in impoverished rural areas and understanding how best to stimulate economic growth in these contexts. 

The campus offers programmes in the faculties of the Humanities, Education, Economic and Management Sciences, as well as Natural and Agricultural Sciences, with postgraduate teaching in various centres of excellence. The approximately 3 800 students on campus ensure a lively atmosphere, with 230 dedicated staff members from diverse backgrounds who guide, support, and drive the Qwaqwa Campus to excellence. The Qwaqwa Campus plays an important role in providing higher education, research, and community engagement to this important region. 

Interesting facts about the surrounding areas
The following can be found in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park:
    • The site where the oldest fossilised dinosaur eggs in the world were discovered. The park and its
    immediate surroundings are now recognised as one of the top-three dinosaur nesting grounds on the
    planet and a world-class interpretive centre for the study of dinosaurs is forthcoming.
    • Remains and evidence of glacier movements from a few million years back in the park.
    • The caves where women and children hid during the Anglo-Boer War and managed to survive formany months until the end of the war.