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08 December 2020 | Story Dikgapane Makhetha | Photo Supplied
UFS partners
At the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between the UFS and local community radio stations were, from the left (front row): Lebogang Matolong, Station Manager of Motheo FM, and Prof Puleng LenkaBula, Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Student Affairs, and Community Engagement. At the back (standing), are from the left: Mohau Rampeta, Programme Manager of Motheo FM, and Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, Director: Community Engagement.
In response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Directorate: Community Engagement (CE) has initiated an innovative platform on which students can continue to engage with university community partners, and at the same time be assessed for their service-learning and community engagement projects. 

The E-Engagement approach also meets the University of the Free State’s (UFS) strategic mandate to be a caring, responsive, and engaged university. Coordinated by the UFS CE office, academic staff and students are scheduled to engage with the community partners through radio broadcasts and virtual mode platforms. Informative content that has been researched, prepared, and presented by students in a pre-recorded format, will address significant issues brought about by the surge of COVID-19, creating a breeding ground for some of the societal ills, such as gender-based violence (GBV).

In order to establish sustainable relationships with community radio stations, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with two local community radio stations was signed on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus on 10 October 2020. Prof Puleng LenkaBula, the Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Student Affairs, and Community Engagement, and Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, CE Director, participated in the commitment to formalise the relationship between the UFS and the two radio stations, Mosupatsela FM and Motheo FM.

Master’s students from the Department of Psychology have produced and pre-recorded podcasts on community psychology. Their topics covered grief and self-compassion. The Department of Nutrition and Dietetics presented topics on a healthy lifestyle and diet. Fourth-year students from the School of Nursing have engaged new mothers concerning post-natal care. The School of Clinical Medicine has addressed the warning signs of burnout and preventative measures.

Bishop Ramahlele emphasised the importance of sustained relationship, which is expected to create further opportunities for interaction through partnerships in skills training (ICT) and the sharing of resources, including consultations through conference platforms. Prof LenkaBula highlighted the significance of the MOA by applauding the initiative, which has unlimited potential to ensure national development through student engagement, since universities create development sites that can be transferred further into the community. 

News Archive

Open Day 2011 attracts thousands of prospective Kovsies
2011-05-04

 

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, enjoying the Open Day with two of our students
Photo: Gerhard Louw

Low academic standards may be an accepted norm in society, but will by no means be tolerated at our university. This was the core message of the speech made by Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, to learners, parents and teachers at our university’s annual Open Day, which took place on Monday, 2 May 2011.

Approximately 6 000 people gathered on our Main Campus in Bloemfontein, where they were introduced to senior staff members and deans and allowed to visit each of our seven faculties. Exhibitions from residences and student organisations also competed for the attention of prospective students.

Prof. Jansen assured attendees in the Callie Human Centre that they can look forward to quality education and an academic climate which aims at producing only the best academics and citizens for South Africa. He explained the steps that are being taken to improve the quality of education at the UFS, such as raised entrance criteria and compulsory class attendance in some of our modules.

He said the raised standards have already proven to increase pass rates, as well as attract high-quality students, as we managed to attract 146 students with six or more A-symbols in Grade 12 this year. This is also evidence in the university managing to deliver two Rhodes scholars, Sannah Mokone and Dirk Bester, in one year.

He also assured parents of their children’s safety, reminding them that not only is Bloemfontein one of the safest cities in South Africa, but students at the UFS are also taught to respect each other. “Students are treated as humans and everyone is treated the same. We are all Kovsies here.”

A record number of 1 000 applications for admission to the UFS in 2012 were received and bursaries to the value of R150 000 were given to prospective students during the day.
 


Media Release
4 May 2011
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

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