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
14 September 2018
Honouring great African leadership
Celebrating the legacy and leadership of the founder of the Basotho nation. From left are: Prof Itumeleng Mosala, Prof Puleng LenkaBula and Prof Francis Petersen, who attended the Moshoeshoe 1 memorial lecture delivered by Prof Mosala.
Prof Itumeleng Mosala, author, academic, public intellectual, researcher and business consultant, delivered the fourth King Moshoeshoe memorial lecture at the University of the Free State (UFS), Bloemfontein Campus. The lecture attracted audiences from as far as Lesotho including representatives of the Bakoena royal house. Ralechate Mokose, the High Commissioner of Lesotho also graced the lecture with his presence.

The King Moshoeshoe 1 memorial lectures are organised by the Department of Community Engagement and form part of the initiative to demonstrate the university’s commitment to transformation.

An example for global leadership

“I believe that throughout his reign, King Moshoeshoe demonstrated the power of ethical leadership. Not only as a model for African leadership but surely providing an example for leadership globally,” said Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, in his welcoming message. He added that it was an integral part of the university’s mission to produce and disseminate knowledge on African affairs as well as to preserve the heritage and history of the country and the continent.

Leadership in times of battle

The keynote address by Prof Mosala was inspired by an article titled; 8 Facts about King Moshoeshoe I: The Razor of Southern Africa by Bill Humphrey. In his lecture, Prof Mosala focused on King Moshoeshoe’s leadership skills and resilience in battles. “King Moshoeshoe never lost a major battle. He was able to withstand insults and assaults but where there was no major battle, he would decide to retreat,” Prof Mosala said.
 
Drawing from King Moshoeshoe’s leadership, he said it was important for leaders to have the wisdom to allow insignificant battles to pass and focus the energy on winning major battles. Prof Mosala emphasised that King Moshoeshoe defended the land and built the Basotho nation. Leaders today need to learn such leadership qualities from this great Basotho king.

Prof Puleng LenkaBula, Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Student Affairs and Community Engagement said in her closing remarks that the youth needed to draw from King Moshoeshoe’s ethical leadership, generous hospitality and understanding of coexistence.

Read full speech here

News Archive

Another award proves quality of Architecture
2012-04-13

Jurie Swart with Mrs Martie Bitzer, Head of the Department of Architecture.
Photo: Supplied
13 April 2012

 

The Department of Architecture can be proud of its students. Recently, Jurie Swart was honoured as regional winner of the Corobrik Architectural Student of the Year Award. He was also placed second nationally.

Jurie is an architect at the The Roodt Partnership in Bloemfontein.
 
Corobrik says in a media release: “Tomorrow’s architects set new standards at 25th Corobrik Architectural Student of the Year Awards. Achieving sustainable built environments with low impacts on the natural environment is becoming a universal goal. Energy usage in buildings is under the spotlight. Water-wise projects are most likely to get the go ahead. That is why an in-depth understanding of the environmental constraints and impacts of technologies on architectural solutions is becoming so important for students of architecture. It is the resolution of environmental issues that can be expected to drive architectural expression that will shape tomorrow’s buildings and the creation, extension and redevelopment of our towns and cities.”

Jurie Swart’s project, Borderline – mediated landscape, a Water Research Centre for the University of the Free State (Qwaqwa Campus), explores whether nature and architecture can amalgamate to become a hybrid solution in a vast landscape which has lost its reference to place and time.

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