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12 May 2021 | Story Ilze Bakkes
The COVID-19 outbreak in South Africa and the subsequent national lockdown severely impacted the usual physical open day mass-marketing tactic. At the same time, it provided an opportunity for the Department of Student Recruitment Services (SRS) to be super creative and agile in promoting the UFS offerings to the target audiences. 

Once a year, the UFS invites prospective learners and parents to visit our campuses for a taste of campus life. But for many interested students, especially those living remotely or abroad, a site visit is not always practical. Furthermore, the 2021 open days on the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses were again cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 Virtual Open Day proved that breaking from the traditional recruitment tactics and moving into the virtual domain was not only bold and innovative, but also offered more engagement and communication opportunities with prospective students. Building on the insights and success of COVID-19 response engagements, the Department of Student Recruitment Services has once again developed an immersive virtual experience for prospective students. 

Ilze Bakkes, Chief Officer: Integrated Marketing and Innovation from the Department of Student Recruitment Services, says: “We listened to the needs and wants of our prospective students and staff. Therefore, the 2021 Virtual Expo will have undergraduate, postgraduate, and international student recruitment foci, offering more and relevant information in a visual, multi-layered, and digital way.” Information is presented through videos, photos, downloadable PDF brochures, and links to marketing material and the online application platform. 

A challenge during the physical open day is the lack of time to engage with faculties or that not all the information could be obtained. The Virtual Expo is live now click here and can be visited until 30 September 2021, when applications to study undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in 2022 close. The Virtual Expo offers a professional, easy-to-navigate and hassle-free digital experience of the academic, social, and cultural life at the UFS on all three campuses – in the convenience of the visitor’s own space and time. Subtexts for videos enable differently abled visitors to enjoy the content, and data-sensitive visitors can download the PDF versions of videos. 

Applications to study in 2022 are already open. To apply, click here (link to online application). For important closing dates, download the UFS Undergraduate Prospectus

For information on the Virtual Expo, contact Ilze Bakkes at +27 51 401 9028 or bakkese@ufs.ac.za.

News Archive

Renowned forensic scientist speaks at the UFS
2014-04-02


Forensic science is about the truth. At the presentation delivered by Dr David Klatzow, were, from the left: Tinus Viljoen, lecturer in Forensic Genetics, Dr Klatzow and Laura Heathfield, also a lecturer in Forensic Genetics.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs 

It is necessary for more research to be done in the field of forensic science in South Africa. This is according to Dr David Klatzow, well-known forensic scientist, during a lecture delivered at the University of the Free State (UFS) last week.

The university is offering, for the first time this year, a BSc degree in Forensic Science in the Department of Genetics. This three-year degree is, among others, directed at people working for the South African Police Service on crime scenes and on criminal cases in forensic laboratories. Students can also study up to PhD level, specialising in various forensic fields.

There is no accredited forensic laboratory in South Africa. “It is time to look differently at forensic science, and to deliver research papers on the subject. In light of the manner in which science is applied, we have to look differently at everything,” Dr Klatzow said.

Dr Klatzow praised the university for its chemistry-based course. “Chemistry is a strong basis for forensic science,” he said.

A paradigm shift in terms of forensic science is needed. Micro scratches on bullets, fingerprints, DNA, bite marks – all of these are forensic evidence that in the past led to people being wrongfully hanged. This evidence is not necessarily the alpha and omega of forensic science today. DNA, which seems to be the golden rule, can produce problems in itself. Because a person leaves DNA in his fingerprint, it is possible that DNA is transferred from one crime scene to another by forensic experts dusting for fingerprints. According to Dr Klatzow, this is only one of the problems that could be experienced with DNA evidence.

“No single set of forensic evidence is 100% effective or without problems. Rather approach the crime scene through a combination of evidence, by collecting fingerprints, DNA, etc. It is also very important to look at the context in which the events happened.

“A person sees what he expects to see. This causes huge problems in terms of forensic science. For example, if a criminal fits the profile of the perpetrator, it doesn’t follow that this specific criminal is the culprit. It isn’t what we don’t know that gives us trouble, it’s what we know that isn’t so,” Dr Klatzow said.

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