Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
17 July 2020 | Story Nitha Ramnath | Photo iStock
The UFS initiated a new community engagement programme to help communities take charge of their lives.
The University of the Free State (UFS) is launching a new community engagement programme to help communities take charge of their lives during and after the national lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The E-Community Engagement Programme will run for the duration of the lockdown to ensure that the UFS continues to serve all people. This programme is one of more than 120 community development programmes and projects that the UFS is involved with this year.

Rev Billyboy Ramahlele, Director: Community Engagement, says this strategy is the result of the Institutional Transformation Plan, which seeks to deepen the university’s commitment towards the betterment of our communities by creating sustainable partnerships for development. “This programme is dedicated to assisting communities to take charge of their lives during and after this pandemic and will focus on sustainable livelihoods and family support”, he says.

With these community development programmes and projects, about 3 000 UFS students spend at least 127 000 hours per year engaging in 73 service-learning modules. This excludes the clinical work done by our medical and education students in the community through community-based education and inter-professional learning. The university’s 22 student volunteer associations play an important role in community development projects. Our academics and researchers contribute their intellectual resources through their involvement, teaching, and research in different aspects of community life.

The E-Community Engagement Programme refers to an alternative online/virtual community engagement platform aimed at facilitating continuously negotiated collaborations and partnerships between the UFS and the interest groups that it interacts with, aimed at building and exchanging the knowledge, skills, expertise, and resources required to develop and sustain society. Such alternative engagement stems from adapting physical face-to-face (f2f) community engagement to an e-environment. As a result of the uncertain state of restricted f2f engagement during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus of participation, dialogue, engaged learning, and teaching by university staff and students is on citizens actively participating in the development of their own lives and that of their surrounding communities.

Details of the E-Community Engagement Programme will soon be published on the UFS website, and will be presented on radio and online in partnership with Motheo FM, Mosupatsela FM, Kovsie FM, Mangaung Municipality, Towers of Hope, Princess Gabo Foundation, Rock Foundation, Bloemshelter, and all our faculties.


News Archive

Shimlas honoured to meet Prof Petersen
2017-04-12

Description: ' A Shimlas and Prof Francis Tags: Shimlas, Prof Francis Petersen
Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, with
Shimla captain, Stephan Janse van Rensburg, in front of
the Main Building.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

“I studied at Maties and worked for quite a long time at the University of Cape Town so I am also an Ikey, but now I am a Kovsie. So I am obviously supporting and fully behind the Kovsie team.”

This was what the new University of the Free State Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Prof Francis Petersen, said to the Shimla rugby team at a breakfast on 7 April 2017. The Varsity Cup team was invited to the Main Building by Prof Petersen to congratulate them on a great season. The Rector also thanked the team’s management. “All of them wanted to see you and we have waited quite a few months for you. And thank you for the invite. It means a lot us,” said Jaco Swanepoel, Shimla assistant coach.

Shimlas went in as underdogs

“I was completely stunned by the way you played on Monday night,” Prof Petersen said. 

A young Shimlas team went into the tournament as underdogs, but managed to reach the Varsity Cup semifinal against Tuks on 3 April 2017 in Pretoria. The Shimlas staged a great comeback and pushed the home team until the end. They only lost 21-28 against a strong University of Pretoria team.

The Rector also reiterated the importance of sport within the university. “Sport is a unifier and we should use it more to unite.”

Great privilege to meet the new Rector

“It is a massive privilege for our team to be invited by Prof Petersen for a nice breakfast. To know that we have his support, as well as that of the entire university, means a lot to us,” said Stephan Janse van Rensburg, Shimla captain. 

The Shimlas wanted to make UFS proud by making a difference and it showed during the semi-final. “We played under extreme pressure and went into the semi-finals as complete underdogs. We played for every Kovsie but unfortunately it didn’t go our way,” Stephan said.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept