Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

New Era dawns on Qwaqwa Campus

05 September 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah

New Era Editorial Team — New Era editorial team comprising the Editor-in-Chief, Prudence Mkhari, flanked by editors, Mosia Rasekwane (left) and Monti Mosebi (right).

Qwaqwa Campus has a new student newsletter. According to the Editor-in-Chief, Prudence Mkhari, New Era aims to project content that is written from a student’s perspective.

“We want students to easily relate to the content as opposed to being written by a staff member. It focuses on student-life events and the university as a whole. The content ranges from student life to university events and milestones. In essence, it is the voice of the students and the watchdog of the campus,” says Prudence.

She says response to the newspaper has been good, considering that they have had only two issues plus an SRC election special that carried candidates’ manifestos. “We are constantly being asked when the next issue is coming out. A lot of students have even come forth with stories that they would like us to cover in the next issue,” she added.

Some of the comments about the very first edition includes this one by Rosie Senoko, final-year BA student: “Congratulations on your publication. One would swear that you have written many pieces, not aware it was your first! All the best to you and your team.” A BSocSci final-year student, Sibonginkosi Ngcongwane, wrote: “Great job! Well done!”
It has not been an entirely smooth sailing process for the paper. “There is still room for improvement in terms of writing and editing, because almost no-one on the team has writing experience. So, additional training is still required. Meeting deadlines is also another area that needs major improvement,” says Prudence.

The team comprises 14 students who write a variety of pieces, from news to sports and from opinion to lifestyle, while some provide technical support such as editing and photography.

Going forward, the plan is to digitise the newspaper and make it accessible to a broader online market. To advertise, send an email to newera@ufs4life.ac.za

News Archive

UFS receives R13,7 Million for Research into Prehistoric Organisms

2007-03-27

Some of the guests attending the launch of the research contract are: Dr Siyabulela Ntutela (Deputy Director: Biotechnology at the Department of Science and Technology), Dr Godfrey Netswera (Manager of Thuthuka and the Support Programme at the National Research Foundation (NRF)), Dr Esta van Heerden (Platform Manager and lecturer at the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the UFS), Mr Butana Mboniswa (Chief Executive Officer of BioPAD), and Mr Vuyisele Phehani (Portfolio Manager for BioPAD).
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

The University of the Free State (UFS) has been awarded a massive R13,7 million contract to conduct research into prehistoric micro-organisms which live under extreme conditions, for example in mineshafts.

This is one of the biggest research contracts awarded to the UFS in recent years.

The biotechnology research contract was awarded to the UFS by BioPAD, a South African biotechnology company that brokers partnerships between researchers, entrepreneurs, business, government and other stakeholders to promote innovation and create sustainable biotechnology businesses.

The project is endorsed by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation (NRF), which contributes to the bursaries of the 17 postgraduate students on the programme.

The contract involves the establishment of a Platform for Metagenomics - a technique which allows researchers to extract the DNA from microbes in their natural environment and investigate it in a laboratory.

“Through this platform we will be able to understand deepmine microbial populations
and their potential application in the search for life in outer space. It is most likely
that, if life were to be found on other planets in our solar system, it would probably
resemble that which existed millions of years ago on earth. Apart from all this, these
organisms have unique properties one can exploit in biotechnological application for
South Africa and its community,” said Dr Esta van Heerden, platform manager and
lecturer at the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology.
She is assisted by her collegues, Prof. Derek Litthauer and Dr Lizelle Piater.

“The platform aims to tap into the unique genetic material in South African mines
which will lead to the discovery of new genes and their products. These new and unique products will find application in the medical field (anti-cancer, anti-bacterial en anti-viral cures), the industrial sector (nanotechnology, commercial washing agents and the food industry), environmental sector (pollution management, demolition of harmful metals and other toxic waste),” said Dr Van Heerden.

According to Dr Van Heerden, the Metagenomics Platforms stems from the Life in
Extreme Environments (LExEN) programme which was started in 1994 by Princeton
University in the United States of America (USA) in South African mines with grants
from among others the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and
the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the USA. Other international collaborators
on the project include Geosynec Consultants Inc. (USA), Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (USA), the University of Tennessee (USA) and in South Africa the
Universities of the Witwatersrand, North West and Limpopo and companies like BHP
Billiton, MINTEK and mining companies like Harmony, Gold Fields and AngloGold
Ashanti.

The research field laboratory of the Metagenomics Platform, which was situated in
Glen Harvey, was moved to the Main Campus of the UFS in Bloemfontein. “In this
way the university has become the central hub for all research programmes. We are
also the liaison between the LExEN programme and the various mining companies
involved,” said Dr Van Heerden. The new laboratory was introduced during the
launch of the research contract.

“Our decision to commit BioPAD to this project stems from the company’s commitment to advance human capacity development to strengthen South Africa’s research infrastructure. It is also part of our aim to create and protect intellectual property,” said Mr Butana Mboniswa, Chief Executive Officer of BioPAD.

Talking on behalf of the UFS senior management, Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector
of Academic Operations, said that the university shares the excitement to be part of
the exploration of unknown forms of life, the discovery of new genes and
their products and in applying newly gained knowledge to better understand our
universe.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
27 March 2007

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

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