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30 March 2022 | Story Bulelwa Moikwatlhai | Photo Supplied
International office
An international celebration. The Office for International Affairs hosted more than a hundred local and international students at the 2022 ‘Welcome to Mzansi’ event, integrating international students to life at the UFS.

On 18 March 2022, the Internationalisation at Home (I@H) portfolio in the Office for International Affairs at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted its annual first-year international student welcome function themed ‘Welcome to Mzansi’ at the RAG farm. The function hosted more than one hundred local and international students who are part of the I@H integration initiative – the Umoja Buddy Programme. UFS students from the Arts and Culture division in Student Affairs set the tone for the evening with a drama presentation articulating a student’s first day in the UFS community, in Bloemfontein, and its surroundings. The drama showcased the diverse student community represented at the UFS.

A welcome video from the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Francis Petersen, was shared with the students, highlighting how the past two years of the pandemic have equipped the students with key skills that they will use in the future. “I believe that the lessons you have learned will help you in the future, I know you will make an impact in your field. As a residential university, we welcome our students and staff back on campus in 2022 to learn, work, and socialise in a way that minimises risk but still provides our students with an on-campus student life.”

Prof Mudzi, the Director of the Postgraduate School, advocated the importance of furthering one’s studies. He stated, “You need to start working hard from day one of university education; the marks you get during your undergraduate years have a huge bearing on your future and your ability to progress to postgraduate studies, as it is highly dependent on the average mark you get at undergraduate level.” In his concluding remarks, Prof Mudzi advised the students to, “learn something new, engage with new people and cultures, enjoy South Africa, while succeeding in your studies at the UFS and working hard”.

Dr Hagenmeier, Director of the Office for International Affairs, delivered the keynote welcome address for the international students, with a brief introduction to the OIA staff. This, as outlined in his address, served the purpose of ensuring that students are familiar with the channels of communication, representatives, and office-bearers in specific portfolios under the OIA, as well as the functions of the OIA.

The evening ended off with musical performances by UFS students, while the attendees dined and networked over a hot plate of food. In the same spirit, the dance floor was opened. This was a very important part of integration, uniting the students regardless of their nationality, race, gender, etc. The students did not think twice about taking to the dance floor – seeing everyone dance made students who did not participate afraid that they were missing out.   


News Archive

#Women'sMonth: Long hours in wind and cold weather help to reconstruct Marion Island’s glacial history
2017-08-10

 Description: Liezel Rudolph  Tags: Liezel Rudolph, Process Geomorphology, Marion Island, periglacial geomorphology, Department of Geography  

Liezel Rudolph, lecturer for second-year students in Process
Geomorphology at the University of the Free State (UFS).
Photo: RA Dwight

Liezel Rudolph, a lecturer for second-year students in Process Geomorphology, aims to reconstruct the glacial history of Marion Island through cosmogenic nuclide dating techniques. She is interested in periglacial geomorphology, a study of how the earth’s surface could be formed by ice actions (freezing and thawing of ice).

Liezel is a lecturer in the Department of Geography at the university and is researching landscape development specifically in cold environments such as Antarctica, the Sub-Antarctic islands, and high mountain areas. “My involvement with periglacial geomorphology is largely due to academic giants who have carved a pathway for South Africans,” says Liezel.

Liezel visited Marion Island for the first time during her honours year in 2011, when she investigated the impact of seals on soil conditions and vegetation. Three years later, she visited Antarctica to study rock glaciers.

The challenge of the job
A workday in Antarctica is challenging. “Our time in the field is very limited, so you have to work every possible hour when the weather is not life-threatening: from collecting soil samples, to measuring soil temperature and downloading data, we measure polygons and test the hardness of rocks. The only way to get the amount of work done, is to work long hours in wind and rain with a positive and competent team! We take turns with chores: the person carrying the notebook is usually the coldest, while the rest of us are stretching acrobatically over rocks to get every nook and cranny measured and documented.”

A typical workday
Liezel describes a typical workday: “Your day starts with a stiff breakfast (bacon and eggs and a bowl of oats) and great coffee! After that comes the twenty-minute dressing session: first a tight-fitting under-layer, a middle layer – sweater and T-shirt, and then the outer windbreaker (or a quilt jacket on an extra cold day). Then you start applying sunscreen to every bit of open face area. Beanie on, sunglasses, two pairs of socks, two pairs of gloves. The few kilograms of equipment, one vacuum flask containing an energy drink, one vacuum flask containing drinking water (it would freeze in a regular bottle), and a chocolate bar and piece of biltong for lunch. After this, we drive (on snowmobiles) or fly (in helicopter) to our study area for about eight hours of digging, measuring, downloading, testing and chopping. Back at the base and after a long and tiresome undressing session, we move to the lab with all our data to make sure that it is downloaded safely and captured onto a database. Afterwards, depending on the day of the week, we enjoy a good meal. If you are lucky, such a typical day will coincide with your shower day. We can only shower every second day due to the energy-intensive water production (we have to melt snow) and the sewage system (all the water has to be purified before it could be returned to the environment). Then you grab your eye shield (since the sun is not sinking during summer) and take a nap before the sun continues to shine into the next day.”

Theoretical knowledge broadened 
“Going into the field (whether island or mountains) provides me with an opportunity to test geomorphic theories. Without experience in the field, my knowledge will only be limited to book knowledge. With practical experience, I hope to broaden my knowledge so that I could train my students from experience rather than from a textbook,” says Liezel.

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