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14 August 2018
WomenofKovsies Dr Lize Joubert on flowers and their favourite insects
Pollination is important to maintain diversity in our natural ecosystem and maintain ecosystem health

“Pollination is important to maintain diversity in our natural ecosystem and maintain ecosystem health.” So says Dr Lize Joubert, lecturer in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State. “Research helps to understand the interaction between insects and flowers and their many implications on real-world problems.”

Plant systematics and pollination biology, Dr Joubert’s research field, looks at how plants diversify, adapt to environmental changes and how their flowers evolve to keep attracting insects to pollinate them for reproduction. 

Dependency on pollination

Crop production is, in many cases, dependent on pollination. About 75% of the world’s crops are to some extent dependant on pollination. “Pollination is really important for us as human beings, but it is also important to maintain diversity in our natural ecosystem and maintain ecosystem health.”

Dr Joubert obtained her PhD in plant systematics in 2013 and was subsequently awarded the EM van Zinderen-Bakker Prize for an outstanding PhD dissertation in Botany.

She is also the curator of the Geo Potts Herbarium in Bloemfontein, the internationally accredited herbarium housing over 30 000 plant specimens, mainly representing the flora of central South Africa and several special collections from Marion Island, the Okavango Delta, and KwaZulu-Natal. 

Learning from the experts

As a young researcher Dr Joubert became part of the Prestige Scholars Programme (PSP) at the UFS which led her to Cambridge University where she became part of a research group for nearly two years under an expert in her field, Prof Beverley Glover. The PSP at UFS identifies and promotes promising young academics at the university to become full professors with excellent research accomplishments. 

Dr Joubert views the PSP Programme to a large extent as her academic home. She is proud to be part of the programme that has brought her closer to other experts in her field and resulted in collaborations in which she is involved in cutting-edge research. 

News Archive

International universities, funding agencies and foreign missions exhibit at Study Abroad Fair
2013-04-18

18 April 2013

Representatives from more than ten international partner universities will take part in a Study Abroad Fair to be hosted on our Bloemfontein Campus on Tuesday 23 April 2013. They will be joined by representatives of international funding agencies and foreign missions who will give information on funding opportunities to study abroad.  The fair is hosted by the Office for International Affairs.

Ms Sulet du Plessis, senior officer in the Office for International Affairs, says the primary objective of the fair is to create a platform where the university community can highlight international academic mobility opportunities. It also gives opportunity to establish networks with international partners and highlight available funding opportunities.

Below is a list of exhibitors that will take part in the Study Abroad Fair.

The fair will be opened by Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector and Dr Choice Makhetha, Vice-Rector: External Relations.

Venue: Centenary Complex
Time 09:00 - 15:00

List of Exhibitors

1. Funding Agencies

Embassy of USA
Embassy of France
Embassy of The Republic of Azerbaijan
European Union
Embassy of Canada
National Research Foundation (NRF)
Embassy of Switzerland
Embassy of Indonesia
Czech Republic Embassy
Research Africa
British Council

2. Partner Universities Abroad

Mahasarakham University (Thailand)
Appalachian State University (USA)
University of Brussels
Radboud University Nijmegen
The Hague University of Applied Sciences
University of Bremen
VU University Amsterdam
University of Groningen
University of Antwerp
University of Leuven
Jönköping University

3. UFS Representation

Postgraduate School (UFS)
Office for International Affairs (UFS)
Faculty of Education (UFS)
Department of Plant Sciences (UFS)
Department of Social Work (UFS)
 

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