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German Section hosts second SAGV conference in SA

25 April 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin

As much as it was a conference on Germanistik (German Studies) it also highlighted the international footprint of the University of the Free State (UFS) and the important role of international and national academic collaborations.

The German Section in the Department Afrikaans and Dutch; German and French at the UFS hosted the second conference of the Association of German Studies in Southern Africa (SAGV) and German Studies in Sub-Saharan Africa (GAS) from 15-18 April 2019 on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.

“We are very proud to be hosting the conference. It is an international conference with delegates from overseas who are all working in German Studies or to use the German term Germanistik,” said Dr Cilliers van den Berg, Head of the German Section at the UFS.

Waiting room in Germanistik explored

Warteräume (waiting rooms) was the theme of the four-day conference with various research papers on the role and/or value of these waiting rooms within Germanistik. “It is the transitional areas, within Germanistik, on every conceivable level,” said Van den Berg. The conference was sponsored by the embassies of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as the German Academic Exchange Service and the Goethe Institute of Johannesburg.

“When I look at the theme of the conference it is extremely exciting because it reminds me of Homi Bhabha’s Third Spaces, liminal spaces and the in-betweeners,” said Prof Heidi Hudson, Dean of the Faculty of The Humanities.

UFS and internationalisation

“One of the concepts we actively embrace is that of internationalisation. Globally and nationally, internationalisation has become accepted as one of the critical processes advancing the core business of universities,” said Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

The delegates who attended the conference were from countries which included, among others, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Italy, Kenya, Germany and Namibia as well as delegates from the universities of Stellenbosch, Pretoria, Rhodes and North-West.

“You represent a multifaceted culture that has enriched our global academic and cultural landscape over many years: great minds like Goethe, Kafka, Beethoven, Mozart, Freud, and Einstein,” said Prof Petersen.

News Archive

Getting out of the dark

2015-06-10

ESKOM is making daily announcements on the status of the power grid.

Anton Calitz, Electrical Engineer at University Estates, is in continuous contact with Eskom and Centlec in an effort to stay abreast of load shedding.

According to Anton, Eskom has recently - the week of 20 April - been focusing on the evening peak, and has announced STAGE 1 load shedding from 17:00-22:00; thus, the Bloemfontein Campus should be able to continue business as usual during the day, except for Thursdays from 18:00 and, possibly, Fridays from 17:00.

Where can I get more information about load shedding stages?

Apart from Eskom’s webpage, staff can also visit GRID WATCH. Click on "Search", then under "Schedules". Look for "Mangaung Local Municipality", and select "GROUP 4". Save this location. “This can even be loaded onto your mobile device.”

“The time slots can be seen for a couple of days in advance, to allow us to plan around the possibility of load shedding in our daily lives,” said Anton.

Please note: ESKOM can change the STAGE level at any time. Therefore, keep an eye on GRID WATCH and News24.

View the typical seven-day planner for the Bloemfontein Campus (Group 4), which indicates the STAGE 2 and 3 possibilities. Take note that, on some days, the STAGE 2 and 3 time slots are the same.

More load shedding tips: Your IT needs

The UFS Data Centre (Computer Room) is fully serviced by a generator facility, and can function without external power supply for a few days.

The generator servicing the UFS data centre does NOT provide power to the outlying facilities. This implies that all digital equipment at gates, booms, and access points will be shut down until the power is restored to these facilities. “We are now, in collaboration with Nico Janse van Rensburg, in a process to install UPS facilities at these points, which will ensure two to three hours of power supply at these points, even during load shedding,” said Dr Vic Coetzee, Senior Director: ICT Services.

No Wi-Fi will be available, as it is dependent on the power supply to the buildings where it is installed.

All servers are contained in the data centre, and will be kept running by our generators.

How to manage load shedding and your IT needs:

1. Get into the habit of saving your work regularly on computer so that you don’t lose your work/files during load shedding.
2. Back up important data. Keep to a schedule of regular back-up. Make sure your computer back-ups are safe and recoverable.
3. Keep all electronic devices charged and ready to run on battery power. Keep your cellphone charged: some old-style Telkom landlines will still operate during power outages, but others won't.
4. Remember, when power supply is restored, it sometimes happens that a power surge is sent through the network, which will damage your computer. Fortunately, laptop computers will not suffer this fate as their power is provided through an external power pack. Often, this power pack will be damaged, but not the laptop itself.
5. It makes good sense to reboot your computer daily, not only in terms of power shedding, but also in terms of updating the drivers, software, etc.
6. Switch off all computers and other electrical equipment at the wall plug overnight and on weekends.
7. Should your IT equipment not switch on after a power outage, log a call with the ICT Services. You can also call them at x2000.

More information, guidelines and contact numbers

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