Ms Huibré Lombard, Prof. Driekie Hay and Prof. Louis Venter in front of the newly opened UDRAW facility in the UFS Sasol Library. Photo: Christiaan van der Merwe

The Library and Information Services Division at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently opened two brand-new facilities in the UFS Sasol Library, which includes a new research unit for postgraduate students as well as a new UDRAW Unit (Unit for the Development of Rhetorical and Academic Writing).

The opening of both units is the culmination of planning that originally started with Ms Huibré Lombard, Acting Director of the division Library and Information Services at the UFS, and Prof. Louis Venter, Head of UDRAW, back in 2005. The facilities were officially opened by the Vice-Rector: Teaching and Learning, Prof. Driekie Hay.

The research centre caters for postgraduate students, specifically for those studying towards a Masters or Doctoral degree at the UFS. The centre will help students by supplying advanced research information and specialised staff to cater for their needs. It will also serve as a quiet environment where students can come and work. The UDRAW facility will help shape the writing of postgraduate students as well as supervisors and also provide classes and consultations to further develop the research language of the students. An added benefit for students is that both services are provided free of charge to registered senior postgraduate students at our university.