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21 May 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Charl Devenish
Bloem Campus Open Day 2019
2020 Prospective Students get a taste of varsity life at UFS Bloemfontein Campus Open Day.

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Matric learners from all over South Africa, together with their parents, teachers, and some Grade 11 learners, attended the University of the Free State (UFS) Bloemfontein Campus 2019 Open Day on 11 May, to investigate whether the UFS can meet their expectations and spark a dream concerning their careers.

A glimpse of what prospective first-years can expect in 2020

The UFS has seven faculties: Economic and Management Sciences, Education, Health Sciences, the Humanities, Law, Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Theology and Religion, and an additional Open and Distance Learning on its South Campus, and the Business School. On Open Day, learners had the opportunity to attend faculty exhibitions offering course information, teaching aids, models, and much more, demonstrating the high calibre of teaching and learning facilities at the UFS, as well as innovation and technology-based education. Learners were also exposed to interaction with academics and the deans of the faculties, motivational talks by senior students in the respective faculties, as well as members from the Student Representative Council (SRC), Kovsie FM, Student Wellness, the UFS Student Library, and Student Recruitment Services.

Why study at the UFS?

According to an honours lecturer in the UFS Department of Architecture (Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences), the UFS, just like any other South African university, would be an obvious choice of study for students interested in architecture, because it is accredited by the South African Council for the Architectural Profession, as well as internationally. However, what sets the UFS apart, is the fact that lecturers have close working relationships with their students in the department, allowing them to track and understand their students’ work, academic progress, and skills development. The Department of Architecture, just like other departments in the seven faculties of study offered at the UFS, pride themselves on selecting top-tier learners to pursue their studies and moulding them into competitive professionals who will thrive in the working world. 

The UFS prides itself on being a research-led, student-centred, and regionally engaged university that aims to produce globally competitive graduates through a renewed and transformed curriculum.
 
Seventeen-year-old Zwelethu Ndabezitha from Phoenix in KwaZulu-Natal, who wants to become a quantity surveyor, said: “I want to apply everything I’ve learned into rebuilding and transforming my home town”. Learners such as Zwelethu stand a chance to realise their dreams and develop by means of dynamic scientific education, as well as independent and critical thought-enhancing education provided by the UFS.

For more information about pursuing studies at the UFS, visit the UFS prospective students’ website where learners can also apply online.

 

News Archive

New digital planetarium first of its kind for Sub-Saharan Africa
2013-10-10

Mr Andrew Johnson, Sky-Skan engineer, explains how the dataprojector of the new digital planetarium functions.
10 October 2013

The University of the Free State (UFS) is the first in the world to boast a modern digital planetarium which was erected within an existing observatory.

It is also the first planetarium of its kind for Sub-Saharan Africa.

“What makes the project unique is the fact that we convert the existing observatory structure into a modern digital planetarium. It hasn’t been done anywhere else,” says Andrew Johnson, engineer at Sky-Skan, the company supplying the equipment and also installing it.

Andrew has worked on similar projects, with his company installing digital planetariums around the world.

What makes the planetarium so special is the fact that it offers visitors an inclusive experience.

“Previously visitors could only watch projected stars and constellations, but with the digital planetarium they can now experience a journey through space which feels very close to reality.”

Andrew points out that, apart from stargazing and travelling through space, the digital planetarium allows the audience to visit planets, explore the secrets of the oceans or even organs in the human body.

The planetarium will also be used for concerts, state-of-the-art presentations, theatre productions, as well as meetings, conferences and exhibitions.

The auditorium can seat approximately 90 adults or 120 children.

The digital dome that was recently fitted into the existing observatory structure, is a 12-metre seamless aluminium screen complemented by a powerful surround-sound system and multiple data projectors from Sky-Skan. This results in an immersive experience of the digital universe, as well as the recreation of the macro and micro cosmos an a variety of other environments.

The planetarium will be officially opened on Friday 1 November 2013 by Derek Hanekom, Minister of Science and Technology. Prof Matie Hoffman from the Department of Physics at the UFS is delighted at this visit from Minister Hanekom.

“This recognition and national interest demonstrates the importance and contribution of the first digital planetarium in Sub-Saharan Africa to science and astronomy.  It is also evidence that a facility like this is important for the training of the next generation of scientists.”

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