Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
30 October 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Sonia Small
Springboks
Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, paid a special visit to the Springboks in 2018 before they faced England in Bloemfontein. From the left are Jacques Nienaber (Springbok assistant coach), Oupa Mohoje (Springbok), Prof Petersen, Rassie Erasmus (Springbok head coach), and Swys de Bruin (Springbok consultant coach at the time). De Bruin, Erasmus, Nienaber, and Mohoje are all Kovsie alumni.

Like the rest of the country, we are behind our Springboks all the way. This is what Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), told alumnus Rassie Erasmus in a letter this week.

Prof Petersen wrote the letter to Erasmus, the head coach of the Springboks, to wish him everything of the best in the team’s preparation and for the game on Saturday (2 November 2019) at which they face England in the Rugby World Cup final in Japan.

"On behalf of the staff and students of the University of the Free State, I would like to wish you and the Springbok team all the best with your preparations this week and for the final. I know that Saturday’s match will be played with vigour and determination,” Prof Petersen wrote.

Prof Petersen said the UFS community was extremely proud of the Springboks’ achievements during the 2019 Rugby World Cup – especially with Erasmus at the helm of the team. The Boks defeated Japan in the quarter-final and Wales in the semi-final to reach their first final since 2007.

“As a former Shimla player and Kovsie Alumnus of the Year 1998, we are truly proud of what you have achieved during your career in South African rugby, and especially during the World Cup tournament. We are also proud of our other alumni – Jacques Nienaber as defence coach, and referee Jaco Peyper.”

Peyper refereed one of the quarter-finals and will be an assistant referee in the bronze medal play-off between New Zealand and Wales on 1 November 2019.

Under Erasmus the Springboks won the Rugby Championship this year, the first time since 2010. Erasmus and Nienaber have a long relationship. They met in the army in 1991. Later Nienaber served as physiotherapist with the Shimlas and Erasmus captained the team. They worked together at the Cheetahs, Cats, Stormers, Munster and now the Springboks.

News Archive

2015 Erasmus Mundus Grantees announced
2015-07-07


Front row, from the left: Frans Kruger, Lecturer: School of Education Studies; Trudie Strauss, Lecturer, Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science
Back row, from the left: Johnathan Adams, Teaching Assistant: Centre for Teaching and Learning; Moliehi Rosemary Mpeli, Lecturer: School of Nursing; Ncedo Xhala, Research Assistant: Quantity Surveying and Construction Management.
Photo: Mamosa Makaya

The grantees of the 2015 Erasmus Mundus programme have been announced, and will soon head off to various institutions at European universities to embark on academic and professional exchange programmes. The cohort is made up of some of the best, most talented staff of the university, who are currently studying towards master’s and PhD programmes in fields such as Mathematics and Actuarial Sciences, Quantity Surveying, Bioethics, and Education.

The Erasmus Mundus programme is an international partnership that enhances academic cooperation between institutions of higher education in South Africa and the European Union, and has within it the EUROSA, EU Saturn and INSPIRE programmes. It aims to promote inter-cultural understanding, and the development of both European and Third-Country universities.  The UFS has participated in the programme since 2010. In 2014, 13 staff members were granted PhD and master’s study programmes for a period of up to 22 months in various fields such as Communication Science, Urban and Regional Planning and Law, at among others, the Universities of Ghent, Antwerp Tilburg and Uppsala.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept