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17 September 2021 | Story Nitha Ramnath

Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Free State, South Africa, invites us to rethink our relationship with the world in a series of ‘Courageous Conversations’ on the theme of ‘The Global Citizen’. Prof Petersen argues that COVID-19 has been a powerful ‘disruptor’ – it was a stark reminder of the need to rethink our identity, of where we belong, our ‘normative’ view of citizenship – if we want to secure long-term survival of our civilisation and the environments that support it.

Global Citizen and the role of Digital Futures – Monday, 27 September - 13:30 SAST / 12:30 BST 

How we turn information into intelligence is the subject of SACC’s next ‘Courageous Conversation’ with University of the Free State Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, in his series debating ‘The Global Citizen’.  “I believe the world needs multi-disciplinary solutions to its global problems.  For this reason, I established the Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures at the University of the Free State as part of my vision to infuse the natural and social sciences and the humanities with everything that digital brings to a multi-disciplinary approach in order to solve real-world problems through the power of big-data analysis,” says Prof Petersen.

Prof Philippe Burger, the UFS Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Poverty, Inequality, and Economic Development, together with Prof Katinka de Wet and Herkulaas Combrink, the interim co-directors of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures, will join Prof Petersen to discuss the value that such an approach can bring to finding solutions to real-world problems. They will also share information on some of the exciting projects of international relevance that they are working on. Agriculture and food security, medicine, and attitudes to issues such as, for example, vaccination, education, governance, and ethics are key foci of the centre.

Join us to find out how big-data analysis and a multi-disciplinary approach can transform understanding and deliver solutions to some of the challenges we face as citizens of the world.  

To RSVP click here 


The Global Citizen Courageous Conversations series

In partnership with the South African Chamber of Commerce based in the United Kingdom, the Global Citizen Courageous Conversations series that was launched on 26 May 2021, brings together powerful voices from public life, intellectuals, public interest and business leaders, academics, naturalists, religious leaders, astrophysicists, economists, ecologists, and others.

If you missed our previous Global Citizen Courageous Conversations, you can watch the replay on YouTube, or visit the South African Chamber of Commerce website for the recordings. 


News Archive

Students recruited for studies in science, engineering and technology
2008-08-06

 

Representatives of the South African Medical Research Council (MRC) visited the University of the Free State (UFS) recently to recruit students who want to study in the fields of science, engineering and technology. To assist with the recruitment, the winners of awards made by the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) earlier this year, made presentations to create an interest amongst students. The UFS had four finalists of which two were the winners in their respective categories. Here are, from the left: Dr Martin Ntwaeaborwa, senior lecturer at the Department of Physics and finalist in the category for black researchers, Prof. Kenneth Swart, FARMOVS-PAREXEL, Prof. Maryke Labuschagne, head of Plant Breeding at the UFS's Department of Plant Sciences and female recipient of the award for the development of research capacity over the past five to ten years, and Prof. Jan van der Westhuizen, Department of Chemistry at the UFS; front: Ms Kedibone Aphane, MRC. Prof. Swart and Prof. Van der Westhuizen were the leaders of the team who received the award for the development of innovation by a corporate organisation or institution.
Photo: Lacea Loader
 

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