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UFS community engagement contributes to nation building

17 March 2021 | Story Karen Venter

UFS CE infographic 3 copy — As illustrated in the infographic, the input from engaged activities delivered by the UFS resulted in 285 engaged-activity outputs, of which the majority constituted engaged citizenship, followed by engaged research, and then engaged learning and teaching.

At the University of the Free State (UFS), engaged scholarship activities are guided by the vision of being a research-led, student-centred, and regionally relevant university, focused on development and social justice.

For enactment of this vision, the UFS invests physical resources and funding, as well as staff and student hours to contribute to nation building.

Demonstrating the heart of strategic partnerships

Engaged scholarship demonstrates the heart of strategic partnerships, where agreements are grounded in shared goals, designed and agreed upon in unity for socio-economic renewal to improve people’s living conditions, contributing to societal well-being. It links the best of the research and teaching skills of staff and students to specific needs of the community, including civil society, the private sector, government, non-governmental organisations, and enterprises.

Democratic knowledge co-creation emerges from engaged learning and teaching, engaged research, and engaged citizenship through interaction between the institution, its staff and students, and the community.

The curriculum, engaged research efforts, engaged learning and teaching, and graduate attributes are all enriched through collaborative and reciprocal learning activities. As illustrated in the infographic, the input from engaged activities delivered by the UFS resulted in 285 engaged-activity outputs, of which the majority constituted engaged citizenship, followed by engaged research, and then engaged learning and teaching.

Deep understanding of socio-economic and environmental challenges

Our students participate in community-engaged service-learning, leading to knowledge acquisition and a deep understanding of socio-economic and environmental challenges in mutual solidarity with the community. Service-learning also gives rise to the acceptance and understanding of diverse cultures and races and advances the ability to interact meaningfully with diverse people from different backgrounds.

Community-engaged learning increases awareness of own biases and stereotypes along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. By transcending their own comfort zones, combined with collaborative learning with diverse groups, students can gain greater appreciation of the strengths and capacities of diverse groups in the community.

The UFS invests physical resources and funding, as well as staff and student hours to contribute to nation building. – Karen Venter

Engaged scholarship also embraces the inculcation of citizenship and the social responsibility of the UFS to society by giving effect to one of the key ‘public good’ dimensions of the UFS.

News Archive

Getting out of the dark

2015-04-28

Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Since 2008, the University of the Free State has been busy with the planning and implementation of projects to reduce the impact of load shedding. To date, the cost of these projects has run to R6 million. They have been done primarily to ensure that the academic programme does not suffer damage as a result of the increasing interruptions in the power supply that are continuing this year.

The university’s greatest concern has been the provision of emergency power to the lecture halls and laboratories.

Thus far, 35 generators are servicing 55 buildings on the three campuses of the UFS. This includes 26 generators on the Bloemfontein Campus, eight on the Qwaqwa Campus in the Eastern Free State, and one generator on the South Campus in Bloemfontein. The generators are already in service, and are maintained in working order.

Since 2010, the university has also ensured that all newly-built academic buildings are equipped with emergency power supplies.

On the South Campus in Bloemfontein, the new lecture-hall building and the computer laboratory are equipped with emergency power, while the installation of emergency generators in other buildings is under way. The majority of the buildings on the Qwaqwa Campus in the Eastern Free State are equipped with emergency power supplies.

In the meantime, the UFS management has approved a further R11 million for the installation of additional generators on the three campuses. A further R1.5 million has also been approved for the purchase of two mobile generators.

To extend the work already done, the main task will be the installation of more generators on the Bloemfontein Campus to ensure that lecture halls with emergency power will be available for the centrally-arranged timetables, and to ensure that more of the critical laboratories will be provided with emergency power.

There are still some important buildings and halls on the Bloemfontein Campus that must be supplied with emergency power. However, it is a costly process and must be brought into operation gradually. The further implementation of emergency power depends on the delivery of equipment. The university is also investigating alternative solutions for power provisioning, including solar power.

Generators with spare capacity are optimally deployed to satisfy the lower needs of the campus, including the Odeion, the ANNEX at Microbiology, the Stabilis ANNEX, the Agriculture Building, the UV-Sasol library, and the Francois Retief Building.

In addition, the UFS is busy on all campuses, coupling area lighting, including

street lights and pedestrian walkways, to existing generators. Procedures for the operation of mechanical equipment, such as entrance gates, lifts, and so on, are currently being dealt with on all campuses. Continuous power sources for certain ICT equipment will be installed on all campuses to protect it against power surges.

Staff and students can also equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to manage load shedding in their specific areas of work and study. It is always helpful to know who to contact. The following list with guidelines and contact numbers has been compiled to assist you:

1. In an emergency, call Protection Services. This line will continue to operate, regardless of whether the power is on or off.
2. Avoid using lifts just before planned load shedding. Some lifts have emergency power packs which will bring the lift to the nearest floor and open the doors. If you still get stuck in a lift during a power outage, use your cellphone to call Protection Services. While you're waiting, stay calm and be patient.
3. If the access control systems in your building stop working after load shedding, contact Protection Services.
4. The students and staff members who are most at risk during load shedding are those in wheelchairs or with other mobility limitations. As far as possible, plan ahead to avoid being stuck on a floor or in a room that is difficult to access when load shedding is imminent. Please contact Protection Services if you need assistance.
5. During a fire, alarms WILL go off. Alarms are not power driven, but battery driven. For assistance, contact Protection Services.
6. The main UFS Switchboard (Bloemfontein Campus +27(0)51 401 9111 and Qwaqwa Campus +27(0)58 718 5000) will continue to operate during load shedding.

Contact details of Protection Services:

Bloemfontein Campus: +27(0)51 401 2634/2911
Qwaqwa Campus: +27(0)58 508 5460/5175
South Campus: +27(0)51 5051217

Communication and Brand Management will make information available on the UFS web, Facebook page, Twitter, Blackboard and the intranet. Get the load shedding schedule from Eskom’s webpage (http://loadshedding.eskom.co.za/). The Bloemfontein Campus falls in group 4 and the South Campus falls in group 2 in Centlec’s load shedding schedule.

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