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01 October 2019 | Story Ngang Carol | Photo Stephen Collett
International conference delegates
International delegates attending the International Conference on the Right to Development hosted on the Bloemfontein Campus.
The International Conference on the Right to Development was held in Bloemfontein for the first time from 25 to 27 September 2019, hosted by the Free State Centre for Human Rights at the University of the Free State. This is the third in the international conference series launched in 2017 with the aim of advancing the right to development both in Africa and internationally. This year’s conference follows the previous two that were held at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, in September 2017 and August 2018.  

Based on the theme, ‘The right to development and natural resource ownership’, the 3rd International Conference on the Right to Development offered the forum and opportunity to participants from a diversity of backgrounds and disciplines to interact and share knowledge on their research outputs, which extensively explored questions on how natural resource ownership could contribute to the realisation of the right to development. The keynote address was delivered by Prof John C Mubangizi, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State. 

The three-day conference registered a total of 35 participants and 27 presentations out of the 33 that were scheduled. Participants came from different countries, including South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and the United Kingdom. Some of those who were unable to attend had the opportunity to present their papers through Skype. The presentations stimulated exciting and robust debates. 

The International Conference Series on the Right to Development is jointly organised and co-sponsored by the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria; the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute, University of South Africa; and the Free State Centre for Human Rights, University of the Free Sate. In its three years of existence, it has progressively established a steady track record of publications, including journal articles in special editions of selected journals and collections of chapters in edited volumes. 

The next (fourth) conference is intended to be much bigger and is scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2021. 

News Archive

Prof Finkelstein current and only A-rated researcher in Probability and Statistics in SA
2014-10-28



Prof Maxim Finkelstein
Photo: Johan Roux
Prof Maxim Finkelstein from the Department of Mathematical Statistics at the University of the Free State (UFS) received an A-rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF). This makes him the only A-rated researcher in ‘Probability and Statistics’ regarding Mathematical Sciences in the country.

According to the NRF-rating process, a person with an A-rating is a world leader in his field. 

Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, said: "I am absolutely delighted for Professor Finkelstein and for the fact that this is one of the clearest signs that the UFS has significantly increased its standards of research across the institution as a whole."

Prof Finkelstein says this rating means a great deal to him, since it is a reflection of his dedication and perseverance.

“Of course, the rating is not a goal in itself,” Prof Finkelstein says. “The goal is the high quality research and the rating is just an objective indication of this. Along with the satisfaction, this rating brings the responsibility for maintaining this high status in the future.”

Prof Finkelstein conducts his general research in the field of ‘Probability and Statistics’, but his specific area of focus is ‘Stochastic Modelling’. Prof Finkelstein solely lectures postgraduate students and also mentors a few master’s and PhD students. This affords him the time to mainly concentrate on his research.

“Finally, I wish to emphasise the fact that high-quality research became the prime goal at the UFS,” says Prof Finkelstein. He underscores the efforts of the Vice-Chancellor and the Vice-Rector: Research in creating excellent possibilities for researchers. This has already resulted in remarkable improvements in the UFS’s research outputs – and consequently an increase in the number of rated researchers at the university.

A total of 119 UFS researchers currently have evaluation and rating status from the NRF, says Nico Benson, Deputy Director: Research Development. Currently (October 2014) 29 researchers are still waiting for response from the NRF regarding applications submitted. A total of 16 ratings are already known. On the Qwaqwa Campus of the UFS, five researchers are rated.

Prof Finkelstein's A-rating will become effective from 1 January 2015. Ratings are valid for a period of six years and researchers are invited to apply for re-evaluation in the fifth year.


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