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
18 September 2018 Photo Charl Devenish
Students urged to help combat crime
What to do in case of an attack? The UFS taekwondo team taught students a trick or two.
Speaking at the official opening of Safety Week, newly elected Student Representative Council (SRC) president of the Bloemfontein Campus called for students to come to the party in the fight against crime. “We encourage students to participate because it cannot just be the SRC, university management, and the police. Students need to join the Community Police Forum because these platforms are there for us to engage in. You must not die in silence, if there is a problem, raise it,” said Sonwabile Dwaba.

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Protection Services in collaboration with the university’s BSafe campaign hosted the Safety Week from 3-6 September 2018 on the Bloemfontein and South campuses with the objective of keeping students and staff members informed on the measures in place, addressing pressing safety-related concerns, brainstorm ideas on how to beef up security, and distributing safety souvenirs.

Collaborative efforts encouraged

Brigadier Maehlo Lento, reporting on behalf of the South African Police Service (SAPS) Provincial Commissioner, said: “Robbery incidents have subsided but we still need to make sure that we continue and collaborate with students and all other roleplayers to make sure that we sustain the safety.”

The collective participation sentiment was also reflected by Prof Prakash Naidoo, Vice-Rector: Operations. “We are hoping through our annual Safety Week to reiterate our commitment to the safety of students, as well as bringing all roleplayers together to reflect on areas of cooperation and collaboration in an effort to improve the safety of student.”

Not just physical safety

Issues of mental health were discussed by the Next Chapter student organisation, while Embrace a Sister student organisation spoke about femicide and the safety of women. The scourge of gender-based violence formed the focal point of the Gender and Sexual Equity office’s address. In addition the Student Counselling and Development division offered invaluable advice on where those who exhibit symptoms of depression can seek help.

Other stakeholders who contributed to the success of this year’s Safety Week were the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Department of Police, Roads and Transport, as well as Sector 3 Community Police Forum. 

Photo gallery

News Archive

UFS Faculty of Health Sciences opens student residence in Trompsburg
2017-07-06

Description: Trompsburg read more Tags: Trompsburg read more

Official unveiling of the memorial plaque by
Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences,
and Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor
of the University of the Free State.
Photo: Charl Devenish

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Faculty of Health Sciences has, as part of its commitment to student and community development, established a student residence in the town of Trompsburg in the Kopanong Local Municipality. The faculty officially opened the Rural Community Initiative and student residence in June 2017. The newly developed student residence has 10 apartments which could each accommodate six individuals.  A housemaster resides on the premises and acts as manager of the facility.  All areas of the residence are Wi-Fi covered and it has a 24-hour security service.

Importance of the residence
The goal of the Kopanang le fodise – Unite to heal programme is to develop a community-centred collaborative framework for sustainable, holistic healthcare and social development which is incorporated in the curricula of the faculty. During 2016, a total of 324 fourth-year students have each spent at least a week in primary healthcare facilities on a Community Based Education and Inter-Professional Education platform in Trompsburg and Springfontein in the Kopanong Municipality.

“This programme was commissioned to fulfil a specific goal. We are connecting our students with the community. The support of everyone coming together caused this to move from being just a spark, to a blaze. This is all our project,” said Dr René Botha, coordinator for Community-based Education and Rural Health in the faculty.

Community outreach a priority
“This is an innovative project that has been able to bring health and health-related issues to the community. One of the UFS’ three focus areas is community engagement. This project is primarily focused on serving the community, but also on the academic element, which is student development,” said Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

Prof Petersen commended the project on being the first of its kind in the South African Health Sciences sector. The platform will also be used for research purposes that will enrich the sector. Prof Petersen challenged the Kopanong community to give their input by answering two questions: What is the UFS good at? What is the UFS good for?

Reaching for the stars
“I am a dreamer and I have to reach, and if I reach, I reach for the stars. Today we are very lucky, because we have grabbed that star,” said Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean of the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences.

Prof Van Zyl reminded the audience that they possess the power to change challenges into stars by approaching them with careful thought, planning, and motivation. Prof Van Zyl concluded by stating that the rural community initiative is for the community, and that the faculty is just the facilitators.

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