Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
11 November 2020 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa

 

Join the University of the Free State (UFS) Division of Student Affairs for the annual Student Affairs Week, where the division will showcase the programmes and services on offer! 

This includes your awareness and perceived relevance of various Student Affairs divisions as well as your participation in the programmes offered by the department.
 
For more information on Student Affairs’ services, you can visit Blackboard and click on the Student Affairs link for either the UFS Bloemfontein, Qwaqwa, or South Campuses. You will then have the option to follow the prompts that will take you on a tour of the Student Affairs division for the respective campuses.

Student Affairs would also like your input on preferred communication platforms, co-curricular programmes, and safety and security on campus. 

The division would furthermore appreciate your valued feedback through comments and recommendations on how to make your student life and experience better. 

Let your voice be heard – complete the 2020 Student Affairs Week Survey:


Accessible online from 12 to 13 November 2020.  

 

News Archive

UFS takes the lead in solar heating in the Free State
2010-06-03

In the “engine room” of the solar heating system of the Vergeet-my-nie Residence with the big hot water tanks in the background. From the left are Mr Anton Calitz, Electrical Engineer of the UFS, and Mr Nico Janse van Renburg, Manager: Physical Planning at the UFS.
Photo: Leatitia Pienaar


The University of the Free State (UFS) took a further step in reducing its carbon footprint and its dependency on coal fired electricity with the installation of a solar heating system at one of its residences. The contractor handed the system over to the UFS on Wednesday, 2 June 2010.

The system installed at the Vergeet-my-nie Residence is the first commercial solar water heating project in both Bloemfontein and at the UFS. It is estimated that it will provide in 70% of the residence’s energy needs and save approximately R101 000 per annum in electricity cost. The project was completed at a cost of R2,4 million.

More residences at the UFS will be refurbished with solar systems as the existing heating systems in the rest of the twenty residences are due for replacement.

The energy crisis of 2008, and the challenges and necessity to reduce the use of electricity, sparked the initiative around the installation of solar heating systems at the UFS. The UFS is the second largest energy user in Bloemfontein.

Mr Nico Janse van Rensburg, Manager: Physical Planning at the UFS, says the management of the UFS saw an opportunity in the crisis and pro-actively embarked to become a market leader. Solar heating would not only alleviate the electricity problem of South Africa, but will impact the ever increasing electricity bill of the UFS.

“Protecting the environment and being on the cutting edge of technology are core issues to the UFS,” says Janse van Rensburg. “We are an educational institution and take pride in practicing what we preach.”

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (acting)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za  
3 June 2010
 

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