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01 March 2022 | Story Jóhann Thormählen
Alumni reflection

Alumni from the University of the Free State (UFS) are making their mark locally and internationally.

The UFS is committed to keeping its alumni informed, engaged, and connected with each other and their alma mater.

In 2021, the university hosted international and local events, webinars, reunions, and celebrated many achievements as part of these endeavours.

International connections

COVID-19 made us rethink our identity and citizenship. Expert voices from around the world were invited by Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, to reconsider these views in a webinar series.

In partnership with the South African Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom (UK), the ‘Courageous Conversations’ was launched on the theme of ‘The Global Citizen’.

A UK Alumni Connect evening was hosted in London, where Lord Peter Hain was the guest of honour. The UFS met old and new friends and alumni, promoting UFS and South African interests abroad.

Alumni achievements

Seven former Kovsies represented South Africa at the Olympic Games. They were Wayde van Niekerk (400 m), Gerda Steyn (marathon), Nicole Erasmus (women’s hockey), Chris Dry (sevens rugby), Neil Powell (rugby sevens coach), Kate Murray (triathlon coach), and Carla Oberholzer (cycling – women’s road race).

And Louzanne Coetzee became a Paralympic star when she won silver (1 500 m; T11) and bronze (marathon; T12) medals. The Residence Head of Akasia also returned home with a world marathon record in her class and an African record.

The voices of UFS alumni inspired in a unique podcast series. In Voices from the Free State, François van Schalkwyk and Keenan Carelse, both alumni, connected with former Kovsies who reflected on their journeys.

Appointments and celebrations

Prof Petersen plays a major role in strengthening local and international UFS relationships, and his reappointment as Rector and Vice-Chancellor was a big highlight.

“Since his appointment on 1 April 2017 and under his leadership, the UFS has excelled in a number of key areas,” Dr Willem Louw, former Chairperson of the UFS Council, said.

Prof Bonang Mohale was officially inaugurated as the eighth Chancellor of the UFS. Although he took up his term in 2020, the UFS community celebrated his appointment last year.

Dr Russell Ally started his UFS journey as Senior Director: Institutional Advancement.

He joined the UFS after being the executive director of the Development and Alumni Department at the University of Cape Town, and working for the likes of the Ford Foundation and the United Nations.

The second virtual Rector’s Concert was dedicated to first-year students and their accomplishments in trying times.
It featured performances by students, staff, and alumni, including performances by UFS alumna Caroline-Grace, the Odeion String Quartet, OSM Camerata, Dineo Bokala, and many more.

In 2021, the university hosted international and local events, webinars, reunions, and celebrated many achievements as part of connecting with and celebrating alumni.
Reunions

The UFS also reached out locally to alumni in many different ways

An Alumni Connect event in the Eastern Free State was hosted to build relationships between alumni, staff, and UFS stakeholders, while former Akasia residents from 1996 to 2000 had the opportunity to connect and reminisce with their peers during a reunion weekend.

Health Sciences alumni from the class of 1991 celebrated 30 years since graduation during an MBChB reunion. They paid homage to their formative UFS years and connected with fellow classmates and mentors.

The UFS also collaborated on an event organised for couples who are medical specialists. They were celebrated and shown support, as these doctors battled with the COVID-19 pandemic in the healthcare environment. Most of the attendees were UFS alumni.

Graduates of the then University of the North, known as Uniqwa before it merged with the UFS in 2003, had a Uniqwa Chapter Reunion during a special weekend. 

The UFS is looking forward to another prosperous year ahead. Its aim is to connect with alumni, recognise and celebrate their achievements, and grow the UFS alumni community through quality, impact, and care.



News Archive

New publication on groundwater remediation soon to be introduced
2017-05-05

Description: Prof Abdon Atangana groundwater remediation Tags: Prof Abdon Atangana groundwater remediation

A new book from Prof Abdon Atangana from
the UFS Institute for Groundwater Studies
proposes new techniques for groundwater
remediation, including guidelines on how chemical
companies can be positioned in any city to avoid
groundwater pollution.
Photo: Pixabay

A new publication, Fractional Operators with Constant and Variable Order with Application to Geo-Hydrology, will be published later this year, on 1 November 2017. The author, Prof Abdon Atangana, from the Institute of Groundwater Studies at the University of the Free State, said the book proposes new techniques for groundwater remediation, including guidelines on how chemical companies can be positioned in any city to avoid groundwater pollution.

Focus of the book
Prof Atangana said researchers and practitioners interested in groundwater modelling and remediation from applied mathematical and geo-hydrology backgrounds, will benefit from reading this book.

According to Elsevier, the book provides a physical review of fractional operators, fractional variable order operators, and uncertain derivatives to groundwater flow and environmental remediation. It presents a formal set of mathematical equations for the description of groundwater flow and pollution problems using the concept of non-integer order derivative. Both advantages and disadvantages of models with fractional operators are discussed.

“Researchers and practitioners
interested in groundwater modelling
and remediation from applied
mathematician and geo-hydrology
backgrounds, will benefit from
reading this book.”

About the author
Prof Atangana specialises in applied mathematics, groundwater modelling, fractional calculus and their applications, methods for partial differential equations, methods for ordinary differential equations, iterations methods, asymptotic methods, perturbations methods, and numerical method for fractional differential equations, uncertainties analysis. He has participated in 18 international conferences, organised six special sections and symposiums in international conference in Europe, Africa, Asia and USA, and has been invited as plenary speaker in eight international conferences. He also serves as editor on 20 international journal of mathematics and applied mathematics and editor-in-chief of two international journals of applied mathematics.

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