Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

UFS Virtual Graduation: Honouring the class of 2020

18 February 2021 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa

The University of the Free State (UFS) invites you to the 2021 Virtual Graduation, where students who completed their qualifications in June/July of 2020 will receive their qualifications during the ceremonies taking place from 22 to 24 February 2021.

Bachelor degrees (435), higher certificates (86), advanced certificates (230), postgraduate certificates (4), national professional diplomas (203), advanced diplomas (13), postgraduate diplomas (158), bachelors honours degrees (22), master’s (201), and doctoral qualifications (70) will be awarded to students across the UFS Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses.

Graduates in the faculties of Economic and Management Sciences, Education, Health Sciences, the Humanities, Law, Natural and Agricultural Sciences, and Theology and Religion will be honoured during the upcoming ceremonies for their academic excellence.

Graduation is the highlight on the university calendar, and even though this prestigious occasion will not be taking place traditionally, the UFS would still like to acknowledge and commemorate our graduates’ prestigious accomplishments.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense disruption in many aspects of our lives. Higher education institutions throughout the world were not exempt from the effects of the deadly virus. This has subsequently impacted the presentation of graduation ceremonies throughout the sector.

The UFS looks forward to virtually celebrating the milestones of all graduates at the virtual graduation ceremonies, and thus implores all graduates to join us in doing so.

See information further below for details on how to join in on the celebrations.

The university hopes to celebrate many more graduations in future, but for now, the health and safety of our community is our primary concern.

#UFSGraduation2021 | #UFSVirtualGraduation

News Archive

Lottery grant will boost public art at UFS

2009-05-25

Public art at the UFS will get a major boost with money made available by the National Lottery Board. Here are Dr Ivan van Rooyen, Director: UFS Marketing, Ms Nontombi Ntakakaze (Artists in School Project) and Mr Ben Botma (Head of Department: Fine Arts) at one of the existing works of art by Edoardo Villa on the Bloemfontein Campus.
Photo: Leatitia Pienaar.

Emerging and established artists will showcase their work in a comprehensive public sculpture project on the campuses of the University of the Free State (UFS). The aim is to create a greater understanding of cultural differences and promote the UFS vision of a truly multilingual, non-sexist, non-racial campus, says Dr Ivan van Rooyen, Director: UFS Marketing.

The National Lottery Board has approved a grant of R4,125 million in total for three major projects, one of which is the public sculpture project. The others are a Khoe-San Early Learning Centre pilot project in Heidedal, and a boost for the Artists in Schools project, which is already underway.

Dr Van Rooyen says one way of promoting the UFS vision is to create an alternative environment and provide visible, tangible symbols of change and transformation. This will enrich the educational and cultural experience of students and visitors to the campus by stimulating intercultural dialogue and providing a setting for historical dialogue between past and future.

The dream of the UFS is to inspire a sense of ownership of the campus of an open university, worthy of a democratic South Africa. “Therefore, a large-scale project of national significance has been conceptualised, where the development of infrastructure will involve the creation and acquisition of major South African art works for the long-term benefit of all South Africans,” Dr Van Rooyen says.

The public sculpture project will be implemented over the next few years. Artists will be commissioned as funds become available. The UFS will also consult extensively with local and national art museums with experience in the public art field. A wide spectrum of artists, especially artists from the black community, will be used.

Dr Van Rooyen says that many black artists have not had an opportunity to exhibit public sculptures because of prohibitive costs and the project will empower them to develop their skills. The project makes provision for both established and emerging artists to showcase their work.

The aim of the Khoe-San Early Learning Centre pilot project is to compile a curriculum that is sensitive to multiculturalism and multilingualism. The centre will be the first in the country and will respond to the need to promote and revitalise Khoe-San languages. Using arts and crafts and storytelling, as well as literacy, numeracy and life skills, children will learn to adapt to their environment and contribute to our diverse society. This centre will be a collaborative venture between the Heidedal community and the UFS.

Finally, the Artists in Schools project, which has been running successfully since 2004, will also receive a boost from the Lottery funding. Through a series of workshops that the Department of Fine Arts presents at schools, participants develop functional art products with a distinctive Free State character. These products are marketed and sold to benefit the artists, designers and craftspeople.

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt.stg@ufs.ac.za
25 May 2009

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

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