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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

Research grant holder first to be graded at UFS in NRF’s Thuthuka Programme
2007-11-17

 

In the picture, from the left are: Ms Gudrun Schirge (National Research Foundation), Mr Nico Benson (Directorate Research Development at the UFS), Prof Heidi Hudson (Department of Political Science at the UFS) and Dr Annelize Venter (Co-ordinator of the Thuthuka Programme at the UFS)
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe

 

Research grant holder first to be graded at UFS in NRF’s Thuthuka Programme

Prof. Heidi Hudson, Departmental Chairperson at the University of the Free State's (UFS) Department of Political Science, recently received a C1 grading from the National Research Foundation (NRF).

With this grading she became the first researcher and grant holder in the Thuthuka Programme for young researchers at the UFS to be graded by the NRF.

“The Thuthuka Programme is a capacity building initiative from the NRF which prepares young researchers for grading and provides them with a good grounding for research,” said Dr Annelize Venter, researcher at the UFS Research Development Directorate and co-ordinator of the Thuthuka Programme.

According to Dr Venter, the UFS currently has 44 researchers who receive funding from the Thuthuka Programme for their postgraduate studies. The results of possible entrants to the programme in 2008 are awaited.

”The UFS also received ten researchers additional to the current 69 who have a valid evaluation status. The results of an additional 11 applications are also awaited. Some of these are first applications,” said Dr Venter.

Over and above the grant holders in the Thuthuka Programme, any researcher can apply to be evaluated by the NRF’s Evaluation Centre. The evaluation status of a researcher serves as the norm determinator and the quality of research at a university is measured according to this.

Ms Gudrun Schirge from the NRF presented a workshop today at the UFS to researchers who wanted to apply for grading and evaluation.
Researchers who wished to apply for the re-evaluation of their current evaluation status also attended the workshop.

Ms Schirge was one of the founders of the evaluation system and has been a manager at the Evaluation Centre for the past 20 years. She will be retiring this year and will be involved with the centre on a part-time basis.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
16 November 2007
 

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