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04 February 2020 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Charl Devenish
Kovsie Eco vehicle parade
A highlight for first-year and senior students is the ACT eco-vehicle building and parade through the streets of Bloemfontein.
Sunny skies, cheerful faces, and an overall great atmosphere surfed the University of the Free State (UFS) Bloemfontein Campus on Saturday, 1 February 2020 for the final series of events in the Kovsie ACT 2020 line-up.

The eco-vehicle parade kick-started the activities for the day and saw various student teams displaying their personalised pit-stop ‘sculptures’ along the streets of Bloemfontein.  UFS residence teams Sonverlief (Houses Sonnedou, Veritas, Madelief); Soetmarmentum (Houses Soetdoring, Marjolein, Armentum); and Beykasium (Houses Beyers Naudé, Akasia, Imperium) came in first, second, and third respectively, obtaining the highest scores out of nine teams for their pit-stop sculpture constructions. 
 
Following the parade, there were a number of fun but competitive eco-vehicle races between the teams. This included the Drag Race, Obstacle Course Race, Formula E Race, Endurance Race, and the Slalom Course Race that took place on the Mokete Square. 

In the evening, students were serenaded by artists such as Early B and Spoegwolf. They danced to performances from the latest Amapiano music sensation, Kabza de Small, and legendary deep-house music duo, Black Motion, at the Rag Farm. 

Assistant Director of UFS Student Life and Director of the Kovsie ACT office, Karen Scheepers, earlier urged students to get more involved in student-life programmes such as Kovsie ACT, in order to equip themselves with a variety of skills and a fulfilling university experience.

A number of senior and first-year students who were part of the action on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus this past Saturday, can attest to Scheepers’ advice.
“I’ve been looking forward to starting university for the longest time, and I am glad that I ended up at the UFS. I don’t feel alone, I feel like I can actually do this,” said first-year Psychology student, Thulisa Shezi.

“University isn’t as bad as everyone thinks it is, it’s just a matter of staying motivated, doing your work, and surrounding yourself with the right people in the process.” – Fourth-year Business Management student, Earl van der Westhuisen.

News Archive

During 2011: Infrastructure at the UFS
2011-12-01

Video clips:

Health Sciences Building
Clinical Skills Centre
Economic Sciences and Lecture Hall Building
Teacher Education Building
Biotechnology Building


A publication in which the infrastructure developments at the UFS are portrayed, was published this year. This publication celebrates the enormous development projects undertaken.
 
Description: 2011 Infrastructure_part 1 Tags: 2011 Infrastructure_part 1  Description: 2011 Infrastructure_part 2 Tags: 2011 Infrastructure_part 2  Description: 2011 Infrastructure_part 3 Tags: 2011 Infrastructure_part 3 
Constructive change (part 1) Constructive change (part 2) Constructive change (part 3)

Much has been done this past year to improve the infrastructure of our Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses with several buildings being built, some renovated and improvements made. Attention was specifically given to the growing need for lecture hall facilities and office space.

Some of the developments on our Bloemfontein Campus include: a brand-new entrance in Nelson Mandela Drive; a Memorial for Women and a Botanical Garden; a building for teacher education opposite the UFS Sasol Library; a building for our Faculty of Health Sciences opposite the Francois Retief Building; a Clinical Skills Centre for Allied Health Professions (the first in the country); and a building for our Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences between the Flippie Groenewoud Building and Wynand Mouton Theatre.

On our Qwaqwa Campus a building for teacher education is being constructed and some of the laboratories were refurbished and upgraded. More student accommodation is also well underway. A village development of four housing units that will accommodate 1000 students will be constructed on our Bloemfontein Campus.
Renovations and extensions were also made to some of the existing buildings such as the Architecture Building, the Biotechnology Building, the Department of Chemistry, the Stef Coetzee Building, the foyer of the Odeion, the Wynand Mouton Theatre and the Callie Human Centre. A staff restaurant has also been established on the Bloemfontein Campus and the building of ‘Little Professors’, a nursery school, is well underway.
“A building not only signals value to the outside; it also builds value on the inside. That is why it is important to notice how space has been organised and allocated to enhance the building of a community and to give academics, students and communities a sense of belonging to the university,” says Prof. Jonathan Jansen, our Vice-Chancellor and Rector.

The funding for most of the projects was made possible with an infrastructural grant from the Department of Education and Training.
 

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