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17 August 2020 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Pierce van Heerden
Burneline Kaars says the annual Women’s Breakfast event will honour all the remarkable women who are working from home while managing added family responsibilities.

Women of the UFS, and now also elsewhere in South Africa, can look forward to yet another Women’s Breakfast event to commemorate National Women’s Day. The event will be coordinated by the Division of Organisational Development and Employee Wellness. 

Burneline Kaars, Head of the division, says this year’s event will look a bit different from past events, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual event will be interactive and engaging, with a balance of serious topics and light-hearted humour. 

The theme of the event is ‘From surviving to thriving’. Kaars says they will be honouring all the remarkable women for their ability to thrive despite ongoing difficulties. 

And with guest speaker duo, Shaleen Surtie-Richards and Hannes van Wyk – who will charm and dazzle attendees – this is definitely an event not to be missed.

“We will also relate experiences of strength and resilience that every woman can draw upon, as well as provide additional entertainment with musical productions performed by local Bloemfontein artists,” adds Kaars.

Not only UFS women, but women across South Africa are invited to join the Division of Organisational Development and Employee Wellness for this year’s UFS Women’s Breakfast on:

Date: 20 August 2020
Time: 09:00-11:00

The event is free of charge, but the audience will have the opportunity to pledge any amount towards the fight against gender-based violence.

Any interested parties can register via this link. The Organisational Development and Employee Wellness team is looking forward to seeing you online


Inspiration integral part of Kaars’ life …

Kaars, who is married with two children, says her family are her biggest fans. “They are my strength in pursuing my goals and dreams and they inspire me to be bold.” Meditation, ambition, and music also serves as inspiration for Kaars, a dynamic woman who leads the Division of Organisational Development and Employee Wellness with a smile in her eyes. “My quiet time in the early mornings brings me to a place of being totally present and of dependence. It is during this time that I can just slow down and get new perspective on things.”

Kaars adds that ambition also keeps her going, even during bad days. For her, it means being eager to accomplish something, striving to reach her goals, and being determined to achieve what she set out to do and to do it enthusiastically.

But she believes the perspectives of others such as her family, close friends, and team members are important. “Their different perspectives, amount of energy, and their support of my ideas inspire me immensely,” she says.

On a creative level, Kaars says: “Music speaks to me in unique ways, and the ability to express yourself is very inspiring. The creativity it takes to make music amazes me in a wonderful way. I’ve been listening and enjoying music for as long as I can remember.”

 

News Archive

UFS academic joins an elite league of achievers
2010-04-14

Prof. Dingie van Rensburg, Director of the Centre for Health Systems Research  Development at the University of the Free State
Prof. Dingie van Rensburg
Prof. Dingie van Rensburg, Director of the Centre for Health Systems Research & Development at the University of the Free State (UFS), has joined an elite list of a only few distinguished individuals who have been awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Antwerp (UA) in Belgium.

He is only the third South African to be honoured in this way by the UA, following in the footsteps of Constitutional Court Judge Albie Sachs (2000) and former State President, Nelson Mandela (2004).

He is the first social scientist from South Africa to receive this honorary doctorate from the UA – the highest academic distinction of that university. The university has previously only awarded three honorary doctorates to social scientists: Prof. Raymond Boudon, sociologist at the University of Paris-Sorbonne (1995); Prof. Robert Putman, political scientist at Harvard University (2000); and Prof. John Nash (of A Beautiful Mind fame), mathematician and economist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Princeton.

The award ceremony will take place on 29 April 2010 in Antwerp.

Prof. Van Rensburg has authored, co-authored and was editor of many books/volumes, chapters in books, monographs, research reports and articles in scientific journals. He has also presented and co-presented at numerous national and international conferences; and supervised a significant number of master’s, doctoral and post-doctoral students.

In his 17 years as director of the Centre he has initiated, managed and led approximately 50 research and development projects, several of them large and long-term projects, and many of an inter-institutional and multidisciplinary nature.

In 2002 he became an NRF-rated researcher and in 2007 his rating as an established researcher was renewed. In the past two decades he received several research grants simultaneously from both the National Research Foundation and the Medical Research Foundation of South Africa, mostly for projects on Tuberculosis, HIV/Aids and antiretroviral treatment.

Prof Van Rensburg holds membership of both the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns and the Academy for Science of South Africa; he also served for varying periods on the Councils of both these academies. He was also a member of various health bodies of the Free State Province and the National Science and Technology Forum.

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za  
14 April 2010
 

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