Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
28 May 2018

The National Research Foundation (NRF) ratings are considered the benchmark for research excellence. This year the University of the Free State (UFS) has 17 newly NRF-rated researchers. This brings the total number of NRF-rated researchers at UFS to 160.
 
NRF ratings are allocated based on a researcher’s recent research outputs and impact as perceived by national and international peer reviewers. The rating system encourages researchers to publish high-quality research papers in journals of high impact and to publish books through reputed academic publishers. The NRF rating system is a valuable tool for benchmarking the quality of our researchers against the best in the world.

Research at the heart of the UFS
Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, has indicated that the UFS provides significant support to researchers to apply for new NRF ratings or to re-apply for rating. These initiatives include the mock NRF rating panels managed by the Prestige Scholars Programme (PSP), evaluation of individual research outputs and recommendations on timely applying for rating, and improvements on rating applications by a panel consisting of internal and external members. These initiatives are bearing fruit by increasing the number of rated researchers who will transform the research profile and increase the diversity of UFS researchers.
Cultivating the best researchers.

According to Eleanor van der Westhuizen, from Research Development: “The rating of individuals is based primarily on the quality and impact of their research outputs over the past eight years, taking into consideration the evaluation made by local and international peers. It identifies researchers who count among the leaders in their fields of expertise and gives recognition to those who have a sustained production of high-quality research outputs. Several South African universities use the outcomes of the NRF evaluation and rating process to position themselves as research-intensive institutions, while others such as the UFS provide incentives for their staff members to acquire and maintain a rating.”

Cream of the crop
The UFS has also upped the ante with regard to its total number of NRF-rated researchers during the latest rating and evaluation, with an increase from 149 to 160 rated researchers in 2018.
 
Prof Heidi Hudson, Dean of Humanities, received an NRF B-rating, which brings the total of B-rated researchers to six. Other B-rated researchers incude Prof Johann Meyer (Mathematics), Prof Fanie Snyman and Prof Francois Tolmie (Theology), Prof Felicity Burt (Medical Microbiology) and Prof Andre Roodt (Chemistry). A total number of 10 new C-ratings and six new Y-ratings were achieved during the 2018 evaluation process.

“NRF-rating is indicative of the university’s drive to enhance its research profile nationally and internationally. Congratulations to all the scientists and scholars who received a rating in 2017. I am thankful to our academics for their commitment to the rating process,” said Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research at the UFS.

News Archive

2014 Winter Graduation
2014-06-27

 
It is time for the 2014 Winter Graduation on our Bloemfontein Campus. From 2 – 4 July 2014 Masters and Doctoral degrees will be bestowed on graduates from across all seven faculties as well as the School of Open Learning. These include the conferral of Medicine degrees on the South African Cuban trainees.

Wednesday 2 July 2014 at 14:30: School of Open Learning
The School of Open Learning will confer a total of 609 degrees this year – almost double compared to the 320 of last year.

Thursday 3 July 2014 at 09:30: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Prof Magdalena Blum will receive an Honorary Doctorat, DPhil honoris causa, at this event. Prof Blum is an Extension Systems Officer in Rome. She works for a specialised agency of the United Nations called the Food and Agriculture Organization. This organisation’s mandate is:
• to improve nutrition,
• increase agricultural productivity,
• raise the standard of living in rural populations and
• contribute to global economic growth.

Her position serves to modernise and strengthen rural advisory services, their systems and networks worldwide. She has filled this position for almost nine years.

Prof Blum is driven by a passion for development, humanitarian work and female upliftment, but most of all, to enable people to help themselves.

Blum’s life has taken her from a small German village to Africa, Asia and Europe – and she has made an impact wherever she went.

Thursday 3 July 2014 at 14:30: Faculties of Economic and Management Sciences, Humanities, Education, Health Sciences, Law and Theology
At this ceremony, Faculty of the Humanities will award an Honorary Doctorate, DPhil honoris causa, on Prof Laura Mulvey. She is a feminist film theorist and worked at the British Film Institute for many years. She is currently a professor at Film and Media Studies at Birkbeck, University of London.

Prof Mulvey was prominent as an avant-garde filmmaker in the 1970s and ‘80s. In collaboration with her husband, Peter Wollen, she co-wrote and co-directed:
• Penthesilea: Queen of the Amazons (1974),
• Riddles of the Sphinx (1977, perhaps their most influential film),
• AMY! (1980),
• Crystal Gazing (1982),
• Frida Kahlo and Tina Modotti (1982), and
• The Bad Sister.

In 1991, she returned to filmmaking with Disgraced Monuments, which she co-directed with Mark Lewis.

Friday 4 July 2014 at 10:30: Special Graduation Ceremony
Conferral of Medicine Degrees on the South African Cuban trainees at the UFS

Live streaming will be available on: http://www.ufs.ac.za/ufslivestreaming/

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