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06 October 2022 | Story Samkelo Fetile | Photo Rian Horn
Depiction of an Exchange Student
The world awaits. The University of the Free State (UFS) is continually looking for ways to provide opportunities for students who want to study abroad and gain other academic and social living experiences. Ten UFS students are currently on exchange programmes in Spain and Germany getting some international experience.

The University of the Free State (UFS) is continually looking for ways to provide opportunities for students who want to study abroad and gain other academic and social living experiences. Ten UFS students are currently on exchange programmes in Spain and Germany getting some international experience.

The student exchange is part of the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (ICM) Programme, in partnership with Universidad Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid in Spain, Fulda University of Applied Sciences in Germany, and the Alliance 4 Universities consortium hosting students for a semester.

 

Erasmus+ ICM

The Erasmus+ ICM grant agreements are devoted to increasing the quality of higher education and one of the ways is through staff and student mobility, which are financed through grants that facilitate mobility. It permits students to study at institutions in Erasmus+ partner countries. Candidates for study at these institutions must first go through a selection process, whereafter nominations will be sent to the partner universities.

 

UFS Exchange Programme

The programme offers more than just providing students with international experience or introducing them to other cultures and activities. It also helps students to explore new professional prospects and expand their network in preparation for future employment or even business partnerships. Registered UFS students have an opportunity to study for a semester abroad at one of the university's European partners.

Studying abroad is not always an option for everyone, and most of time limited it is to those who could afford to travel. Erasmus+ Key Action 107 and International Credit mobility programmes offer fully funded grants to increase mobility.

Five students from the current cohort are on exchange at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid (Spain;, three at the Fulda University of Applied Sciences (Germany); and two will complete their student mobility at the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona through the Alliance 4 Universities (Spain). Students are expected back at the end of January 2023.

 

Strengthening relationships

By sending students on exchanges, the UFS strengthens its links and collaborations with other universities throughout the world. It also positions the UFS as an active participant in collaborations, increasing the possibility that the UFS will be granted additional opportunities. Students gain a competitive edge for future career opportunities, benefiting the UFS community with the information and experience gained.

Interested in Study abroad opportunities? Visit the website of the Office for International Affairs to find out how you can study abroad at partner institutions.

News Archive

UFS receives exclusive copy of Pasture Science research volume
2010-04-22

 
From the left are: Dr Malcolm Hensley (Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences, UFS), Prof. Brian Roberts, Ms Cathy Giesekke (UFS Sasol Library) and Prof. Neil Heideman (Acting Dean: Natural and Agricultural Sciences, UFS).
Photo: Lize du Plessis


The University of the Free State (UFS) became the proud recipient of a copy of a Pasture Science research volume.

The 508-page volume was presented by Prof. Brian Roberts, an adjunct professor at the James Cook University in Cairns, Australia, to the UFS Sasol Library. It consists of 43 papers on his agricultural research work in the Free State from 1956 to 1975.

He said the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS had the power and expertise to lead the way in food security in South Africa and in building a sustainable society. He also stated that not enough people were taking food security seriously.

“Whatever else you regard as priority, none is more basic than support for the nation’s food producers,” he said.

The papers in the bound copy are arranged in two groups. The first section focuses on Pasture Management. “This series forms a useful overview of Pasture Science,” he said.

The section on Grassland Science covers all aspects of the maintenance, improvement and utilisation of veld and cultivated grasslands.

The second part is a series of publications arising from his fieldwork in the Free State, Eastern Cape and Lesotho.

“Having read with great interest the curriculum vitae of the Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, I felt a strong inclination to contribute somehow to the transformation process and the emerging future UFS,” said Prof Roberts.

Although he acknowledged that change could not happen overnight he was, however, positive that medium-term results could be achieved in that regard.

“One way of doing this is to focus staff and students’ attention on working towards a sustainable society, an on-going curriculum challenge which should, at an early date, replace the past preoccupation with race – an issue that has dogged progress for too long,” he said.

Prof. Roberts was a foundation lecturer in Pasture Science at the UFS 36 years ago before he left for Australia where he plays a fundamental role in land-use planning.

He is also recognised as the father of Landcare, an Australian partnership between the community, government and business to protect and repair the environment.

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za  
21 April 2010
 

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