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
19 July 2021 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo Supplied
Dr Molapo Qhobela, newly appointed Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Strategic Partnerships and Societal Impact.
The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) approved the appointment of Dr Molapo Qhobela as Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Strategic Partnerships and Societal Impact for a five-year term. Dr Qhobela will assume duty on 1 August 2021.

Extensive experience in the higher education sector

Dr Qhobela holds a PhD in Plant Pathology from the Kansas State University in the United States of America. His career started at Rhodes University in 1991, where he was a lecturer in microbiology and pharmacy, after which he joined the University of Cape Town before joining the public service sector. His leadership and strategic direction have been sought by several large and complex organisations in the course of his career. From 1998 to 2007, he was Chief Director: Higher Education Policy and Development Support in the Department of Education, from 2007 to 2009 he was Deputy Director General: Higher Education in the same department, and from 2010 to 2011 he was Deputy Director General: Human Capital and Knowledge Systems in the Department of Science and Technology. Dr Qhobela was appointed Vice-Principal: Institutional Development at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 2011 and held the position until 2015. He was the Chief Executive Officer of the National Research Foundation (NRF) from 2016 to 2020. 

Strong governance credentials and a wealth of expertise

Dr Qhobela has strong governance credentials, having served and led governing boards, among others as the former chairperson of the boards of the Agricultural Research Council, the Global Research Council, and the Committee of Heads of Organisations of Research and Technology (COHORT). He is currently the chairperson of the Tertiary Education and Research Network of South Africa (TENET).

“Dr Qhobela brings a wealth of expertise, extensive networks, and partnerships – locally and internationally – to the UFS. His vast experience in previous roles places him in good standing to elevate institutional change, strategic partnerships, and societal impact at the university. His knowledge and understanding of the South African, African, and global higher education and research systems are extensive. I am confident that he will lead and manage the portfolio with clarity, dexterity, diplomacy, and integrity, and look forward to working with him to build and extend this important focus of the UFS,” says Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor. 

“I have devoted the majority of my professional career to the development of the country’s university and science system, during which time I have also worked with the previous and current leadership of the UFS. I can thus relate to the values and vision of the university as an engaged university that contributes to development and social justice through the production of globally competitive graduates and knowledge, and look forward to joining the institution,” says Dr Qhobela.  

News Archive

Five mega projects to help reposition the UFS
2008-02-01

The University of the Free State (UFS) today announced that it will focus on five mega-projects to help reposition the UFS in the next five years as one of South Africa’s leading universities that is successfully managing excellence and diversity.

Speaking at the official opening of the university today, the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Frederick Fourie, identified the five mega projects as:

  • The successful implementation of strategic academic clusters to focus the teaching and research expertise of the UFS.
  • The development and implementation of new models of teaching and learning.
  • Finding new sources of income (including third-stream income) to minimise dependence on government subsidies and tuition fees.
  • Creating a new institutional culture for the university by finalising the Institutional Charter.
  • The ongoing transformation of the UFS in all its dimensions.

According to Prof. Fourie, the strategic clusters – initiated in 2006 – are a very important initiative which is aimed at making the UFS a world leader in six broad areas. The focus of the six clusters has now been determined. These clusters are not just research based, but will include postgraduate programmes and filter down to undergraduate learning programmes and curricula.

He also indicated that other research at the UFS will continue to be supported and funded as before.

The second project, to establish a new teaching and learning model, is meant to address current success rates which indicate the need for this issue to receive a high priority.

New income streams to enable higher levels of financial sustainability is the third project, especially in view of dwindling government subsidies and limits on student numbers. This is necessary to fund sustained higher levels of investment in the quality of academic activities and in the necessary capacity and facilities.

Prof. Fourie said the fourth project regarding institutional culture is an ongoing effort to create a sense of belonging for all staff and students at the UFS through the adoption of an Institutional Charter for the university.

“What the draft Charter does – in addition to describing overarching values espoused by the institution and its people – is to describe the outlines and constitutive principles of the ‘post-redress’ UFS,” said Prof. Fourie.

The Charter – initially launched in 2007 – is and remains a critical element of guiding transformation effectively and speedily towards a widely-accepted goal. It is a critical element of the “social sustainability and robustness” of a new UFS, especially in tumultuous political times.

The fifth project is the Transformation Plan, launched in 2007. “We simply must pursue this plan diligently, given our commitment to comprehensive and deep transformation, and to best practice transformation. All universities will have to face up to the challenge of transformation and the UFS can break new ground, as it did in the past by managing transformation innovatively and creating a campus where all can find their rightful place,” said Prof. Fourie.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
1 February 2008
 

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