Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
11 July 2018 Photo Johan Roux
GLS explores global view on gender and intersectionality
Students share their views on hard- hitting global issues
Race, gender, and inequality, a sharp focus in modern society, was discussed at the first session of day two of the Global Leadership Summit (GLS), on 10 July 2018. A panel discussion was led by Prof Ahmed Bawa, CEO of Universities South Africa and Prof Danie Brand, Director: Free State Centre for Human Rights at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Identity and gender issues important to youth
During the panel discussion, Dr Yvonne L Terrell-Powell from Edmond Community College, Seattle, in the US, spoke on the expectations put on first-generation students as they enter the higher education space. “In the United States when I was a student, in predominantly black universities, the expectation was to be involved in civic and political engagements, and not to only study.” Intersectionality was discussed and how identity is used as a criterion for exclusion, marginalisation and the perpetuation of all forms of “isms” and disregard of minority groups such as LGBTIQ+ communities. Other panellists included Pura Mgolombane, Dean of Student Affairs at UFS, Dr Vivienne Felix, Director: Experiential Learning, New York University, Margo Van Muylder, a student from the University of Antwerp, and Dr Segun Obadire, Director of International Relations at University of Venda.

Delegates were entertained by an Arts and Social Justice Theatre Production Psalm 69 and a play named Cosmology and Culture; Patriarchy. A dialogue on the play ensued between the audience and members of the cast who discussed abuse of women and the disabled, and the role of men, with experiences shared from a global perspective.

Reconciliation and transformation give hope
The second session commenced with a panel discussion on reconciliation and transformation titled “Stepping up and committing to change: A vision for the youth in terms of socio-economic reconciliation and transformation”. The session was moderated by Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, alongside Dr Glen Taylor Senior Director: Research Development at UFS, with panellists from various sectors such as business, student leaders, human rights organisations and the Bloemfontein Business Chamber.
 
Ndaba Ntsele, Executive Chairman of Pamodzi Group and former UFS Council member and panellist spoke of the ability to overcome challenges that can hold one back. “You need to decolonise and detribalise yourself, see yourself first as a human being, never fear or feel that your background can hold you back.” Dr Glen Taylor, Senior Director: Directorate Research Development, spoke of the impact of research that is being produced at UFS. “Instead of the number of articles published, we need to ask what the impact is of our research in society.”

The summit is a joint programme between the UFS International Office, Student Affairs and the Institute of Reconciliation and Social Justice. It will continue with more panel discussions, robust engagements and more activities until 14 July. The programme includes an excursion to Kimberley and the Galeshewe township in Northern Cape. Delegates will have the opportunity to attend the annual Vrystaat Kunstefees/Free State Arts Festival which will be held on the Bloemfontein Campus from 10-14 July, as well as other African theatre productions.

News Archive

UFS hones focus to nurture world-class research - Business Day
2006-02-10

 

Sue Blaine
THE University of the Free State plans to concentrate academic study in five areas to strengthen its status as a research institution, the university said yesterday.

The Bloemfontein-based university will focus on areas it classes as development (economics, health, literacy and other human activities) and social transformation — an analysis of how South African society is changing from a philosophical and political viewpoint.

The other three research areas are new technologies, water resources and security, and food production and security.

“It makes sense to concentrate the university’s human resources, infrastructure, financial resources and intellectual expertise,” said university rector and vice-chancellor Prof Frederick Fourie.

The move introduces a style of research that matches international trends.

Universities in Canada, Britain and Australia are setting up their research departments in this way.

In SA, the universities of Stellenbosch, the Witwatersrand, Cape Town and KwaZulu-Natal have embarked on similar strategies.

Fourie gave the example of his alma mater, the US’s Harvard University, whose Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centre is an example of “clustering” on a larger scale.

The centre is a collaboration with Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California, Santa Barbara, the Museum of Science, Boston, and universities in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Japan.

Fourie said the modern research world was so diverse and complex that no university could cover all bases so it was better to establish areas of expertise that made it different from its peer institutions.

Having scientists and researchers work in teams meant certain issues could be researched and developed in a multidisciplinary manner. “I think it’s the only way in which any university can excel. This will help SA become world class in selected areas,” Fourie said.

It is in chemistry that the cluster model has already had its most visible results, with a slice of the university’s on-campus pharmacological testing company Farmovs, established in the 1980s, sold to the US’s Parexel International.

The company is one of the largest biopharmaceutical outsourcing organisations in the world, providing knowledge-based contract research, medical marketing and consulting services to the global pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, according to Biospace, an internet-based company providing resources and information to the life science industry.

President Thabo Mbeki, in his state of the nation address last Friday, committed government to allocating more resources to research, development and innovation, and increasing the pool of young researchers in SA.

He said government would “continue to engage the leadership of our tertiary institutions focused on working with them to meet the nation’s expectations with regard to teaching and research”.

The university used to be home to several A-rated scientists, who are considered by a peer review, conducted by the National Research Foundation, to be world leaders in their fields, but had lost them to other institutions. Fourie hopes to lure them back, and with them postgraduate students and funding for their work.

“At universities where you get a star researcher they tend to attract people and funding; if they leave they take that with them,” he said.

Fourie said R50m would be spent on the project, with some already spent last year and the last disbursements to be made next year.

There is R10m in seed money to gather experts and improve equipment and infrastructure, and R17m has been invested in chemistry equipment and staff.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept