Latest News Archive

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

Dr Molapo Qhobela to speak at International Summit on SDGs

10 September 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Sonia Small (Kaleidoscope Studios)

Dr Molapo copy — Dr Molapo Qhobela, the newly appointed Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Strategic Partnerships and Societal Impact, will be speaking at the International Summit on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa 2021.

Dr Molapo Qhobela, the newly appointed Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Strategic Partnerships and Societal Impact at the University of the Free State (UFS), will be speaking at the three-day International Summit on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa 2021. The summit will take place as follows:

Date: 13-15 September 2021

Platform: A virtual gathering (register for the upcoming virtual summit)

Together with a wide array of thought leaders, including specialists, senior researchers, CEOs/directors, and the top structures of international organisations, he will address and engage with an audience of academics, practitioners, government authorities, representatives from civil society, and donors and sponsors from across the globe on the topic Partnerships for impact in Africa (session on 15 September from 12:30 to 14:00).

According to the host of the event, the University of Cape Town, the key aim of the International Summit on the SDGs in Africa is to mobilise collaborative efforts that will accelerate African-led activities in support of achieving the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a shared blueprint for working towards global peace and prosperity by 2030. The summit is also designed to identify concrete opportunities for research collaboration that will accelerate the achievement of the SDGs and Agenda 2063.

The talks, panel discussions, workshops, and breakout sessions will revolve around clear steps for implementation.

For more information, visit: http://www.sdgsafricasummit.uct.ac.za/

• Background of Dr Molapo Qhobela

Dr Qhobela’s leadership and strategic direction have been sought by several large and complex organisations during his career. He is the immediate former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Research Foundation, and also the former Chair of the Global Research Council as well as the Agricultural Research Council. He is currently the Chairperson of the Tertiary Education and Research Network of South Africa. Dr Qhobela holds a PhD in Plant Pathology from the Kansas State University in the United States of America.

News Archive

Doctors make history with unique heart operation

2012-04-04

Cardiologists at the university delivered the first Melody pulmonary valve in Africa.
Photo: Evert Kleynhans
30 March 2012

Academics of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State made history in Africa once again this week with the implant of a special pulmonary heart valve.

“Today we are extremely proud Free State citizens,” Prof. Stephen Brown and Dr. Danie Buys from the UFS Department of Paediatrics and Child Health said after they placed the Medtronic Melody pulmonary valve in two young patients at the Universitas hospital in Bloemfontein.

This is the first time in Africa that the Melody valve is placed.

To date there are currently only 3 000 of these valves place in the world.

“It feels incredible to be part of a team of experts from the faculty.”

The Medtronic Melody valve is delivered percutaneously through a catheter from the groin. This operation is for children and young adults who are born with a malformation of their pulmonary valve.

These children often require open-heart surgery at a very young age and later require additional open-heart surgeries to restore blood flow between the heart and the lungs.

Prof. Brown said that of all congenital diseases, heart disease is most common. A lot of children born with heart disease are diagnosed very late and many die without ever receiving specialised care.

In 2011, Prof. Brown and two other cardiologists from the UFS, Prof. Hennie Theron en Dr JP Theron also reached a medical milestone when they were the first cardiologists in South Africa to do a second generation Medtronic CoreValve implant on an elderly patient.

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