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29 March 2022 | Story Teli Mothabeng | Photo Supplied
Philmon Bitso, Student Recruitment Officer, with the top-10 cohort of the class of 2021 Free State Star of Stars.

The Department of Student Recruitment Services at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted its annual Free State Star of Stars competition at the Amanzi Private Game Reserve during the first week of March.  The event saw some of the brightest young minds in the Free State inducted as UFS first-year students into this year’s top-10 cohort for the competition. This marks the first Star of Stars event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 


This new cohort consists of a dynamic group of academically gifted students from Quintile 1-3 schools in the Free State who are currently enrolled for different UFS academic programmes, ranging from Medicine, Law, Education, and various Bachelor of Science courses. Many of these students had to overcome insurmountable challenges to perform as well as they did in their Grade 12 academic year and to become part of the top-10 cohort for the class of 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Student Recruitment Services was forced to take a different approach to celebrate these deserving students; consequently, a weekend-long induction camp was the substitute for the annual gala dinner. 

Apply for the 2022 Free State Star of Stars competition

The UFS realised the need to establish a platform that recognises and celebrates the diverse and, in most instances, difficult circumstances that disadvantaged schools (Quintile 1-3) are facing. Consequently, the Star of Stars competition was developed and established in 2016. This competition provides disadvantaged Grade 12 learners from all districts in the Free State an opportunity to showcase their excellence, while motivating them to aspire to achieve more.

Star of Stars Flyer 2022  aplicayion for the 2022 Free State Star of Stars competition open on 1 April 2022.

News Archive

New modern dissection hall ensures optimal learning experience for medical students
2015-12-14

New Dissection Hall in the Francois Retief Building on the Bloemfontein Campus.
Photo: Stephen Collett

The School of Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the university opened its doors on 6 June 1969. Three years later, a dissection hall for anatomy training was added to the school. This year, because of the prospective growth in the number of medical students as well as in changing methods of teaching and training, a new modern Dissection Hall has been completed on the Bloemfontein Campus. This ensures that students receive an optimal learning experience during dissection tuition.

The Dissection Hall was built as a double-storey wing to the existing Francois Retief Building. Covering 733m², the new facility is on the first floor - the same level as the existing hall - to allow easy access between the two facilities. The ground floor, totalling 465m², houses various offices for 16 people.

The new hall has special lighting and modern equipment for the training of second-year medical students in dissection. The hall also has high-quality sound and computer equipment. A unique camera system allows students to follow dissection demonstrations on 10 screens in the hall. Dissection demonstrations are recorded, enabling lecturers to compile new visual aid material for teaching and learning.

The dissection programme for medical students is of critical importance, not only for acquiring anatomical knowledge, but also for developing critical skills in medical students.

The new hall is also used for clinical workshops and postgraduate teaching seminars, as well as workshops in orthopaedics (shoulder, hip, and knee), otorhinolaryngology, cardiothoracic surgery (valve and endoscopy), and anaesthesiology, among others.

Both present and future generations of medical students will benefit from this new world-class facility.

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