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27 September 2021 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied
Dr Jacques Maritz, a lecturer at the UFS Department of Engineering Sciences (EnSci), recently hosted and chaired a mini-symposium on the role of UFS Grid Related Research.

During 2020 the University of the Free State (UFS) Qwaqwa campus experienced a loss of electricity supply for 10% of the year which led to emergency generation costs reaching R1.2-million. 

This is one of the problems Dr Jacques Maritz, a lecturer at the UFS Department of Engineering Sciences (EnSci), and the UFS Grid Related Research group are looking to address with their research on green and sustainable digital transformation efforts of local campus power grids.

Dr Maritz recently hosted and chaired a mini-symposium on the role of UFS Grid Related Research during which research strategies, visions and missions were shared by different research groups. These groups included the UFS Grid Related Research Group (presented by Dr Maritz), the UFS Initiative for Digital Futures (presented by Mr Herkulaas Combrink and Prof Katinka de Wet, both interim directors) and the Block Chain Research Group (presented by Mr Riaan Bezuidenhout, a PhD student at the Department of Computer Science and Informatics).  

Dr More Manda, on behalf of merSETA strategy and research, presented its strategic priorities for the next couple of years, which included the observation to drive the development of Digital and Green Skills. Mr Nicolaas Esterhuysen, from UFS Department of University Estates, also presented a live demonstration of the current state of the UFS smart grid. Industry partners presented a synopsis of their efforts and products pertaining to the evolution of digital and green campus grids. 

The symposium highlighted the existing synergies and visions

The symposium boasted an international keynote by Dr Veselin Skendzic (locally supported by Mr Deon Joubert, SEL), a principal research engineer with Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories  Inc (SEL), on the detection of power grid faults using the phenomena of travelling waves.

“The symposium highlighted the existing synergies and visions shared between UFS research groups, our industry partners and funders. An innovative model of industry engagement via shared case studies and technical papers, with emphasis on local campus grids, was explored and discussed. 

“The UFS Initiative for Digital Futures placed emphasis on the value-add of multidisciplinary research teams when attempting to solve the most critical social problems, especially in the South African digital paradigm. One of the notable successes of this symposium was that it provided a platform for several research groups within the paradigms of science, engineering and social sciences to synchronise with industry and showcase their expertise towards the effort of creating green and sustainable campus grids,” says Dr Martiz.
Mr Nicolaas Esterhuysen, from UFS Department of University Estates, also presented a live demonstration
of the current state of the UFS smart grid. (Photo:Supplied)

According to him, the critical discussions observed during the symposium aim towards future efforts that include working more closely with industry partners and leveraging internal collaborations in order to advance the digitalisation, optimisation, reliability and research-readiness associated with campus grids. The latter is also part of the mandate of the UFS Grid Related Research Group to build local research instruments that will serve a wider community of scientist and engineers. 

Additional benefit

An additional benefit of a fully digitally twinned campus grid is the value-add of the corresponding data lake, an entity that will serve the establishment of new frontiers in digital R&D exchanges, governed by the appropriate digital ethics, says Dr Maritz.

He continues: “The UFS is in a unique position to compete in the Digital Futures paradigm, with emphasis on its ability to generate innovative digital backbones to serve multidisciplinary research interactions between internal research groups and industry, with unique contributions generated in the field of digital training. The UFS Grid Related Research Group has also been receiving valuable support, training, and guidance from the Emerging Scholars Accelerator Programme (ESAP), led by Dr Henriëtte Van Den Berg, including mentorship by Prof Pieter Meintjes, senior professor at the Department of Physics, UFS. 

“This symposium was part of the engagement efforts by the UFS Grid Related Research Group as the main driver of the merSETA funded UFS project for Digital and Data Engineering, which is closely affiliated with the initiative for Digital Futures.”

News Archive

Council votes on appointment of senior staff
2004-11-18

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) today voted on the filling of three senior vacancies, including one post at Dean level and two at the level of Vice-Dean.

The Council voted as follows:

Dr Natie Luyt will be offered the post of Dean: Student Affairs Prof Engela Pretorius will be offered the post of Vice-Dean: Faculty of Humanities Dr Choice Makhetha will be offered the post of Vice-Dean: Student Affairs

“There are special challenges for the UFS in the short and medium term regarding transformation of our residences, and a certain combination of management qualities and skills is desirable. As a result of the diversity of the UFS’s student community it is therefore important to us to follow a team approach to deal with the challenges. With the combination of Drs Luyt and Makhetha, I believe we will be able to manage student affairs effectively and skillfully,” says Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

“It is wonderful that we are able to celebrate the outcome of this process that has brought forward such excellent candidates who reflect our country’s diversity. It shows that we can achieve the goals of quality and diversity at the same time,” says Prof Fourie.

Prof Pretorius obtained all her qualifications (BA, BA (Hons) (cum laude), MA (cum laude) and D Phil) from the UFS, except for the Certificate in Gender Policy Management (cum laude) which she obtained in 2000 from WITS. She joined the Department of Sociology at UFS in 1980 and has headed the Department since 2001. She acted as Vice-Dean: Faculty of Humanities since July 2004. She has some thirty publications to her credit, published both nationally and internationally and has delivered 20 national and international papers. She is a member of the South African Sociological Association and is a member of the Council of the association and of the Editorial Board of Society in Transition, the society’s journal. She is also a member of the South African Academy for Science and Art and the Federation of African Women Educationalists in South Africa (FAWESA). Project involvement includes the Australian Women’s Executive Development Programme and the project Executive Development of Senior Women in South African Higher Education Institutions. She is also an NRF panelist.

Dr Luyt obtained his qualifications (BA, BA (Hons) (cum laude), MA (cum laude) and D Phil) at the UFS and started his career at the same institution in 1980 as lecturer in Political Science. He was promoted to senior lecturer in 1983 and appointed as Director: Student Affairs in 1997. He has been acting as Dean: Student Affairs since 2003. Dr Luyt completed several work-related training courses, among others a course in ethnic and multiculturality at the Swiss Institute for Federalism and a course in conflict management at the South Tyrolean Economic and Social Institute.

Dr Makheta also obtained all her qualifications (BA, BA (Hons), MA in Political Science and Ph D in Political Science) at the UFS and started working as a student assistant in Political Science at the same institution in 1999. She was promoted to junior assistant in 2000, coordinator and facilitator of Political Science in 2001, assistant/acting Director: Student Affairs in 2001 and acting Director: Student Affairs in 2003. Dr Makhetha is currently a Senior Political Analyst at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The UFS Council also approved the promotion of nine professors to the rank of senior professor. They are Proff Louise Cilliers (Department English and Classical Languages), Dap Louw (Department of Psychology), Philip Nel (Department Afro-Asiatic Studies, Sign Language and Language Practice), Dirk van den Berg (Department of History of Art and Visual Culture Studies) Dingie van Rensburg (Director: Centre for Health Systems Research and Develoment), Andries Raath (Department of Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law), James du Preez (Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology), Johan Grobbelaar (Department of Plant Sciences) and Louis Scott (Department of Plant Sciences).

This is the first group ever of senior professors at the UFS. The post level was created to provide better career and earnings opportunities for high quality academics and to increase the attractiveness of an academic career to young people.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
 

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