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28 March 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah
Teboho Mofokeng
Postgraduate Student Council and SRC member, Teboho Mofokeng, says one degree is not enough.
Postgraduate studies play a crucial and critical role in the missions of our universities. They also contribute to the key and central mandate of the university – knowledge production, the dissemination, and application thereof.

The Campus Principal, Dr Martin Mandew, expressed this view during a welcoming function for postgraduate students on the Qwaqwa Campus. “Our Postgraduate School is the gateway that enables entry into higher degrees and qualifications. It is an extremely valuable resource and support reference point which is at the disposal of the students,” he said.

Postgraduate research and national development

Dr Mandew added that postgraduate research plays a very important role in national development, as it develops systematic investigation skills among young graduates for the purpose of making a contribution to what he termed ‘the national system of innovation’. “It also ensures that the country is competitive and enables the generation of knowledge that is responsive to societal needs, among others,” he said.

“Doing postgraduate studies is not easy,” he added. “Challenges that postgraduate students have to contend with, include funding and financial problems; lack of equipment; inadequate library facilities; access to research materials, and many more,” Dr Mandew said.

Support broadens knowledge and skills

In detailing the services offered by the Postgraduate School, the Director, Prof Witness Mudzi, assured students that they would experience an enabling environment to excel in the pursuit of their academic quests. “We will provide additional support to that provided by facilities and departments in the form of workshops, courses, and other presentations, which will equip the students with the requisite skills for successful completion of their postgraduate education.”

“The workshops and courses we offer are aimed at broadening your knowledge of research processes and methods. This would then positively influence throughput, publications, and the quality of research produced,” Prof Mudzi said to a packed venue.

Speaking on behalf of the SRC and the Postgraduate Student Council, Chairperson Teboho Mofokeng said that the event was held at a time when final-year students were asking themselves if it was worth continuing with postgraduate studies. “Do not take the decision to continue with your postgraduate studies lightly,” he said. “We work in a knowledge economy where specialised skills have significant commercial value. This means that in today’s competitive job market, it is often not enough to have only one degree,” said Mofokeng, a beneficiary of the school’s Mentorship Programme and master’s student specialising in Parasitology.

News Archive

UFS keeps the power on
2015-06-24

 

At a recent Emergency Power Indaba held on the Bloemfontein Campus, support structures at the university met to discuss the Business Continuity Intervention Plan to manage load shedding on the three campuses of the UFS.

Currently, 35 generators serving 55 of the buildings have already been installed as a back-up power supply on the three campuses of the university. According to Anton Calitz, Electrical Engineer at the UFS, the running cost to produce a kWh of electricity with a diesel generator amounts to approximately three times the cost at which the UFS buys electricity from Centlec.

Planned additional generators will attract in excess of R4 million in operating costs per year. For 2015, the UFS senior leadership approved R11 million, spread over the three campuses. Remaining requirements will be spread out over the next three years. University Estates is also looking at renewable energy sources.

On the Bloemfontein Campus, 26 generators serving forty-one buildings are in operation. On South Campus, two generators were installed at the new Education Building and at the ICT Server Room. Lecture halls, the Arena, the Administration Building, and the library will be added later in 2015. Eight generators serving 12 buildings are in operation on the Qwaqwa Campus. In 2015, the Humanities Building, Lecture Halls and the heat pump room will also be equipped with generators.

Most buildings will be supplied only with partial emergency power. In rare cases, entire buildings will be supplied because the cost of connecting is lower than re-wiring for partial demand. According to Nico Janse van Rensburg, Senior Director at University Estates, emergency power will be limited to lighting and power points only. No allowances will be made for air-conditioning.

“Most area lighting will also be connected to emergency power,” he said.

Where spare capacity is available on existing emergency power generators, requests received for additional connections will be added, where possible, within the guidelines. The following spaces will receive preference:
- Lecture halls with the lights, data projectors, and computers running
- Laboratories for practical academic work and sensitive research projects
- Academic research equipment that is sensitive to interruptions
- Buildings hosting regular events

According to Janse van Rensburg, all further needs will be investigated. Staff can forward all emergency power supply needs to Anton Calitz at calitzja@ufs.ac.za

Staff and students can also manage load shedding in the following ways:

1. Carry a small torch with you at all times, in case you are on a stairwell or other dark area when the lights go out. You can also use the flashlight app on your phone. Download it before any load shedding occurs. This can come in handy if the lights go out suddenly, and you cannot find a flashlight. Load-shedding after dark imposes even more pressure on our Campus Security staff. We can assist them with our vigilance and preparedness by carrying portable lights with us at all times and by assisting colleagues.
2. Candles pose a serious safety risk. Rather use battery- or solar-powered lights during load shedding.
3. Ensure that your vehicle always has fuel in the tank, because petrol stations cannot pump fuel during power outages.
4. Ensure that you have enough cash, because ATMs cannot operate without electricity.
5. The UFS Sasol Library has study venues available which students can use during load shedding.
6. When arranging events which are highly dependent on power supply, especially at night, organisers should consult the load-shedding schedule before determining dates and preferably also make back-up arrangements. If generators are a necessity, the financial impact should be taken into consideration.

The senior leadership also approved a list of buildings to be equipped with emergency power supplies.

More about load shedding at the UFS:
Getting out of the dark
More information, guidelines and contact information

 

 

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