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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

Architecture gets unconditional validation
2012-10-15

 Three programmes of the Department of Architecture at the university received an extended unconditional validation from the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP) and the Commonwealth Association of Architecture (CAA).

The programmes are evaluated every four years and the previous evaluation in 2008 was also unconditional. The programmes that were validated are BAS, BAS (Hons.) and M.Arch. (Prof).

Mr Jonathan Manning, chairperson of the board of eight people that visited the department, says the department’s standards have improved more since the previous visit. He expressed his apprectiation for the departement’s unique specialist approach to alternative building methods, tours, winter schools, the annual Sophia Gray lecture, the good team of lecturers and the impressive Architecture building.

Two members of the board who visited the department are from the CAA.

Mrs Martie Bitzer, Departmental Chairperson, says the validation proves that the programmes are not only recognised nationally but also internationally. “It confirms that the students are at the right place at the right time in terms of the vision of the UFS, namely to be an internationally recognised university.”

The validation of the CAA means that the qualifications are recognised in all the Commonwealth countries.

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