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18 April 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin

The Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice IRSJ) has initiated a Social Justice Week at the University of the Free State (UFS), which started on Friday 12 April  until Wednesday 17 April 2019. 

Ten key events took place during the week. It ranged from dialogues, workshops, talk shows, debates, and interactive displays and events on issues of multilingualism and diversity, social innovation, engaged scholarship, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, gender sensitisation, sexual consent, sexual preparedness, universal access, disability, anti-discrimination, and security.

There was also a round-table discussion on 17 April 2019 with various UFS stakeholders on off-campus student security as well as an inter-institutional discussion on the same topic. The UFS Debating Society will take on the topic of the UFS Language Policy, while Olga Barends from the Free State Centre for Human Rights will host a dialogue on sexual consent.

The IRSJ has also designed and implemented SOJO-VATION: Social Innovation/ Social Change, which strives to create a foundational platform where ideas of social justice, innovation, and engaged scholarship at the UFS and in society can be hosted. SOJO-VATION partners with the Office for Student Leadership, Development, and Community Engagement.

The collaborating partners for the Social Justice Week includes various UFS stakeholders such as the Sasol library, the Gender and Sexual Equity Office, UFS Protection Services, the Free State Centre for Human Rights, the Student Representative Council (SRC), the Office for Student Leadership Development, Kovsie Innovation, GALA, the FFree State Centre for Human Rights, SRC Associations, the Office for Student Governance, Kovsie Innovate, Start-Up-Grind, EVC, EBL, Community Engagement, the Institutional Transformation Plan (ITP) Dialogues Office, Residence Dialogues, UFS Debating Society, Debate Afrika!, the Center for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS), and the Gateway Office. 

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Researcher on polymer science on sabbatical in Qatar
2014-09-09

 

Prof Riaan Luyt
Photo: Supplied

Prof Riaan Luyt from the University of the Free State’s Qwaqwa Campus has started a 12-month sabbatical in Qatar. This follows an invitation by the Qatar University in Doha to work as a research professor at the university's Centre of Advanced Materials.

In the 21 years that he has spent on the Qwaqwa Campus, Prof Luyt has published more than 165 research papers in international scientific journals and has had over 1 850 citations by other international scientists. He also reviews scientific research on polymer science in more than 10 journals.

“There were no science laboratories when I first came here and I made it my mission to establish them as soon as possible as I was passionate about research then, as I am now,” said Prof Luyt.

He has supervised twenty five master’s and eight doctoral students and is currently supervising five master’s and six doctoral students. Prof Luyt also serves on the International Advisory Board of eXPRESS Polymer Letters – one of the leading polymer science journals.

In 2012, he was listed as the second-best researcher at the UFS and is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences. He has mentored many students who are now leaders in the industry. One of his current doctoral students came to the university as a student in the University Preparatory Programme (UPP), who had not passed matric well enough to be admitted. Yet, Prof Luyt mentored her to where she is today –  currently finalising her PhD in Polymer Science.

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