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Prof Francis Petersen addresses the National Press Club

29 May 2019 | Story Elize Davids

Prof Petersen at National Press Club — Prof Petersen with members of the Press Club’s National Executive. From the left are: Reynold Thakuli, SANPARKS; Willem van de Putte, Saturday Star; Ntando Makhubu, Pretoria News (Chairperson) Jos Charle, Pretoria News and Lisa Dewberry, Freelance Communications Specialist.

The South African National Press Club recently hosted the University of the Free State’s Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, at a gathering of national media representatives and communication specialists in Pretoria. Following a recent, widely publicised opinion article about the importance of the youth vote, Prof Petersen reflected on the period following the national elections of 8 May 2019, sharing his insights from a higher-education perspective.

“The role of the modern university has shifted”, said Prof Petersen, as he outlined five things the UFS was actively pursuing through its Strategic Plan and Integrated Transformation Plan.

New Knowledge

The UFS will develop a new knowledge (research) industry. For South Africa to yield economic growth, it must support the growth of small and medium enterprise. The institution has an active role to play in yielding this new knowledge as reflected in its recent launch of the Agribusiness Transformation Programme with Standard Bank; Applying our knowledge in the Natural and Agricultural Sciences and Business; we will equip and empower 25 black commercial farmers in addressing food insecurity. The annual Thought-Leadership Series during the Vrystaat Arts Festival in July 2019 will also address economic growth, entrepreneurship, and employment.

Practical Application

“Once we have trained people for the economy and have delivered research, we must ensure that our knowledge is appropriately disseminated technical academic papers need to be converted to something useful, appropriate, and practically applicable”, he said.

Public Discourse

Creating a platform to address controversial issues in our society is what defines the UFS as a thought leader. As demonstrated by the recent Gangster State Book Discussion by author Pieter-Louis Myburgh hosted by the Business School, the institution continues to demonstrate its’ commitment to intellectually engage society through public discourse.

Projects

The institution actively pursues interesting projects that will shift the thinking of general society, government and industry. “These address our response to transformation, informs strategic planning, and shapes our values as we create a new university citizenship – a transformed society of inclusivity and belonging,” he said.

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UFS Faculty of Law and Department of Health join hands to combat modern day slavery

2012-10-03

At this event, were from the left: Dr Adri Krieger and Dr Mariaan Kotze. Both are from the Department of Health: Directorate Forensic Services. Far right is Dr Beatri Kruger from the Unit for Children's Rights and the Department of Criminal and Medical Law at the UFS.
4 October 2012

Research and court cases confirm that the trade in people is a reality in South Africa. According to Dr Beatri Kruger from the Unit for Children's Rights and the Department of Criminal and Medical Law at the University of the Free State (UFS), complex challenges are faced in combating human trafficking. One of these challenges is a lack of knowledge of this crime and the difficulty in identifying trafficked victims.

To address the lack of knowledge, a number of discussions took place between Dr Kruger and delegates from the Department of Health.

A project has been initiated to address this problem in the public health sector. A need to raise awareness and provide training to medical practitioners to better understand human trafficking was identified. The most important aim of this initiative is to empower medical staff, to identify trafficked victims that visit hospitals and clinics countrywide and to also treat them appropriately in light of the severe trauma they have often been exposed to. The initiative will also empower medical practitioners to refer patients to other service providers such as social workers and psychologists.

The talks with medical practitioners from the Department of Health have led to training and awareness raising that will be provided at some of the local hospitals before the end of the year. Further training seminars are planned for medical practitioners, which will include a presentation by Dr Kruger on legal issues that are relevant for staff in the public health sector. The multidisciplinary cooperation that was established between representatives from the UFS Faculty of Law and the Department of Health has contributed substantially to a more effective response to human trafficking in South Africa.

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