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31 August 2018 Photo Godfrey Ndoda
UFS Mobile Clinic - an exemplary framework of innovation
Free State Department of Health and the UFS Faculty of Health Sciencesentered into a partnership set to improve primary health care in the Free State society.

The Coordinator of Community Engagement and Rural Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr René Botha, described the unveiling and handing-over ceremony of the University of the Free State (UFS) Faculty of Health Sciences’ Mobile Clinic as “an auspicious and phenomenal occasion in the history of the faculty, and the institution as a whole”.

This mobile healthcare service will align itself with the current mobile service offered by the Free State Department of Health (FSDH) and will include an optometry service. This is the first service of its kind and aims to expose students and the broader community to mobile primary healthcare on rural platforms.

This collaboration between the Faculty of Health Sciences and the FSDH is believed to change and improve lives.   

“The purpose of the clinic is to enrich current primary healthcare measures that were implemented through valuable collaborations. This will result in the betterment of community members who have limited access to healthcare resources,” explained Dr Botha.

UFS medical students have been working on a continuous healthcare programme that started in 2016. The programme operates in areas in the southern Free State, where students engage with the community, schools, clinics, and are making home visits to residents in the area. The main purpose of the programme is to find solutions to key healthcare problems in the region. 

The MEC of Health, Montseng Tsiu, addressed the audience and explained, “implementing primary healthcare holistically through the mobile clinic, will benefit residents in rural areas who have a lack of facilities”. 

According to Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, the mobile clinic is an example of the innovation framework that cultivates the university’s mandate. The mandate stipulates the creation and maintenance of equitable partnerships with the province, the FSDH, the Department of Education, and many other crucial stakeholders that will ensure the imparting of knowledge, excellence, and quality in contributing to society.

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Postgraduate studies can open doors to a successful career – Top 50 Economics students advised
2016-10-18

Description: Top 50 Economics students  Tags: Top 50 Economics students

Economics 4: Students Veda Hendrikse and Merrylyn Shumba, Chris Scheepers (Sanlam), Dr Johan Coetzee and Johannes de Klerk (Sanlam).
Photo: Leatitia Pienaar

The Department of Economics in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences held a reception for its top 50 students on 10 October 2016 on the Bloemfontein Campus.

Speaking at the event, Mr Rocco Carr, business development manager at Glacier Investments by Sanlam, encouraged students to enrol for postgraduate studies in Economics and Financial Economics. He said the South African economy was not stable at the moment due to various factors such as politics. However, it was interwoven with the global economy and circumstances might change to make the country prosperous again in the future. ”The interest rates, the upcoming presidential election in the US, the economic changes in China, Brexit, and the economic changes in the European Union are some of the factors that are at play in the South African economy,” he said.

He further encouraged students to be prepared for the workplace by developing their work ethic and learning to take responsibility as this would help them grow a successful career despite economic volatility.

Dr Johan Coetzee, acting head of the Department of Economics, said the three honours programmes – Economics, Financial Economics and Investment Management, and Applied Econometrics – were internationally accredited and could open many doors to students. “Training is not only about what you can do, also how you think and how you manage people. Managing people has become more important than ever before,” Coetzee said.

The department hosts its top 50 students each year to expose them to courses they can take at postgraduate level and the career opportunities that lie ahead.


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