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02 September 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Charl Devenish
Faculty of Health Sciences donation of PPEs
A group of medical students pose with their new masks, a donation by an alumnus of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) welcomed the generous donation of 1 000 surgical masks by one of its alumni to aid medical students in this faculty with their clinical training. 

The Professional Provident Society (PPS), a financial services company focused solely on providing intelligent financial solutions for graduate professionals, also donated personal protective equipment (PPE) to the Faculty of Health Sciences.
The first donation was made by Dr Riaan Flooks, a Specialist Physician at Mediclinic Bloemfontein. Dr Flooks received the masks from a friend and decided to donate some of the masks to the UFS. 

Thankful for donations 

Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences, says they are thankful for the donations. 
“All donations help, big or small, and it will help our students to do their tasks and to help where necessary,” Prof Van Zyl said about the second donation by PPS. 
Prof Nathaniel Mofolo, Head: School of Clinical Medicine, expressed his gratitude to Dr Flooks and called him a patron of the university and the faculty.
“On behalf of the School of Clinical Medicine, I hereby wish to express our heartfelt gratitude for your generous contribution and support. This comes at the most needed time and will go a long way in assisting us,” said Prof Mofolo.  
Dr Lynette van der Merwe, undergraduate medical programme director in the School of Clinical Medicine at the University of the Free State (UFS), added that the donation of essential PPE to students for use during training in the clinical areas was much appreciated.  
“The support for the academic programme in a practical, tangible way is highly valuable, as it will assist in protecting students while they are in clinical training.”

Doing their bit

According to PPS, one of the positives of the COVID-19 pandemic is the contributions of so many to deal with the crisis – from individuals to big corporates – who want little or nothing in return.  
“We all need to do our bit, and the PPS board has recently decided to contribute R25 million to fight the pandemic in South Africa. In deciding where this would make the biggest impact, our unique positioning among professionals and our relationship with professional associations were considered.”  
“We are also very conscious that health professionals, in particular, are the front-line soldiers in this war, and need to be protected.  It was therefore decided that a major portion of the money will be used to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) for the safety of medical professionals in both the public and private sectors,” according to PPS.

News Archive

Third NRF A-rated researcher for UFS
2017-02-03

Description: Prof Jansen, NRF A-rated researcher  Tags: Prof Jansen, NRF A-rated researcher

Prof Jonathan Jansen, senior researcher at the UFS
Faculty of Education, recently joined two other
UFS researchers as NRF A-rated researchers.
They from the left are: Profs Melanie Walker, Maxim Finkelstein
and Jansen.
Photo: Charl Devenish

The University of the Free State received its third A-rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF) when Prof Jonathan Jansen was awarded an A2-rating.

Prof Jansen is a Senior Research Professor in Education secondary research field and field of specialisation: Development education and Curriculum theory at the UFS Faculty of Education and Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies at Stanford University in the US.

Prof Jansen’s rating follows P-rating
Prof Jansen’s rating also adds to the recent P-rating awarded to Dr Daniel Spence, a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the International Studies Group. In receiving the rating, the UFS became the only university in South Africa with a P-rated researcher in History.

P-ratings are given to young researchers, usually under the age of 35, who have the potential to become leaders in their field. Researchers in this group are recognised by all, or the overwhelming majority of, reviewers, as having demonstrated the potential to become future international leaders. 

“Obtaining another A-rating is indicative of the university’s drive to enhance its research profile – nationally as well as internationally. I am thankful to our scholars for their commitment to the rating process and look forward to receive the results of this year’s ratings,” said Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research at the UFS.   

Total number of researchers increased
The UFS has also upped the ante with regards to its total number of NRF-rated researchers during the latest rating and evaluation with an increase from 127 in 2015 to 149 rated researchers in 2016.

In 2015, Prof Maxim Finkelstein from the Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science, and Prof Melanie Walker, Senior Research Professor and Director of the Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development, were given A-ratings.

Prof Finkelstein’s rating then made him the only A-rated researcher in ‘Probability and Statistics’ regarding Mathematical Sciences in the country. Prof Walker was evaluated and graded in the division for Research, Innovation Support and Advancement.

According to the NRF, A-rated researchers are “unequivocally recognised by their peers as leading international scholars in their field for the high quality and impact of their recent research outputs”.

 

The rating of individuals is based primarily on the quality and impact of their research over the past eight years.

 

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