Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
03 March 2020

The Office for International Affairs (OIA) at the University of the Free State (UFS) implemented the second iteration of its Umoja Buddy Programme (UBP) in 2020. The UBP is a flagship internationalisation-at-home programme aimed at the smooth academic, social, and cultural integration of first-entering international students at the UFS by pairing them with senior UFS students. It offers local students an international experience on the home campus and develops their international and intercultural competence through direct interaction with international students. The UBP contributes to the achievement of the UFS vision, whereby every student will in future have an international experience during their studies at the UFS.


Internationalisation at home

On 13 February 2020, a welcome function themed Echoes of Sophiatown set the tone for this year’s edition. Chevon Slambee, Chief Officer in the OIA and UFS master’s student, welcomed the students and explained the theme of the day. She said that, “as students, we have a responsibility to be active citizens and contribute to change and social transformation”. Programme coordinator Bulelwa Moikwatlhai introduced the function and framework of the programme and highlighted the importance of internationalisation at home. Also in attendance was the Dean of Students, Pura Mgolombane, who encouraged students in his address to honour their heritage, “so that together, we can be able to appreciate one another”. He emphasised the importance of social justice for academic success. The SRC member for the International Student Council, Simba Matheba, expressed his support for the UBP. The UFS Arts, Culture, and Dialogue office provided entertainment at the event.

Umoja Buddy

International and local students mingling at the 2020 Umoja Buddy Programme Welcome Function.

News Archive

Leadership for Change Programme
2011-09-16

 

Photo: Anja Aucamp

Our university said an official farewell to the first-year’s group who is part of the F1-Leadership for Change Programme on Friday, 16 September 2011.

This function was held at the Centenary Hall on our Main Campus and served as a formal farewell of and a final contact session for the group.

These first-year students from the UFS will be leaving for the USA and Europe from 22 September 2011. This follows the resounding success of the UFS Student Leadership Development Programme in 2010, when students visited various universities in the USA. The UFS will again send a group of students to the USA and also extend this programme by sending students to various universities in Europe and Asia.

The bigger group, about 90 selected students, will firstly be heading to the USA and Europe in September of this year. A second group of more or less 60 students will be going to Europe and Asia in January 2012.

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