Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

UFS partners with Xhariep Municipality and SALGA to enhance employee training

08 August 2023 | Story EDZANI NEPHALELA | Photo EDZANI NEPHALELA

Mbulelo Aven Jafta and Dr Engela van Staden — Mbulelo Aven Jafta, Xhariep Municipality Corporate Services Director, and Dr Engela van Staden, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic at the UFS, sign a memorandum of understanding to enrich various communities in the Xhariep Municipality areas through leadership training.

The University of the Free State (UFS) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and the Xhariep Municipality that is aimed at positively impacting communities through strategic partnerships. The organisations plan for their collaboration to make a significant difference by training 35 of their employees via the UFS Business School – 15 will undertake the Foundation Skills Short Learning Programme, and 20 the Bachelor’s degree in Management Leadership.

This joint effort will equip these employees with essential skills and knowledge and empower them to carry out their responsibilities efficiently and effectively. Rooted in the UFS’s Vision 130, this initiative fosters positive change within the community by enhancing social justice and innovation.

Dr Engela van Staden, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic at the UFS, emphasised the university's dedication to human resource development and empowering individuals. “We were very excited when we got this engagement with you, and I hope it will be fruitful for you, because that’s the intention. We are also reaching out to other municipalities because we are doing it for our country, and the sooner we do it, the better the services you will deliver to people.”

Xhariep Municipality expressed gratitude for the collaboration, recognising its significance in empowering its employees. Mbulelo Aven Jafta, Corporate Services Director at the municipality, thanked the university for accepting the partnership. “As a municipality, we are interested in capacitating our employees to perform their duties optimally. It is through these partnerships that we reach our intended targets. This is the first two projects, and many more will be coming as our partnership progresses, and we intend to use this opportunity to the best of our abilities.”

Jafta said that such partnerships encourage a more interconnected and interdependent world. “As organisations work towards common goals, they create a ripple effect that can lead to a brighter and more promising future and play a vital role in shaping a positive and sustainable future.”

News Archive

Equipment worth R23 million to carry out research at nanometer level

2009-05-28

The Department of Physics at the University of the Free State (UFS) has just received equipment to the value of R23 million that will be utilised for research at nanometer level.

By purchasing the NanoSAM and VersaProbe XPS systems, the UFS also became the only university in Africa that has both these instruments at its disposal.

This also places the UFS at the forefront of surface characterisation at nanometer scale.

Prof. Hendrik Swart, Head of the UFS’s Department of Physics, described the acquisition of this research apparatus as an amazing event for the department. Prof. Swart said this meant that the department would now become a national facility for research on surface characterisation, and that this would also help to ensure that the department’s publication contributions would be included in higher-impact publications.

According to Prof. Swart, this apparatus would not only be valuable for fundamental research on nanophosphors and segregation, but in particular would also assist in the industrial development of better catalysts to synthesise petrol and chemicals from gas or coal supplies. Prof. Swart continued to say that Sasol was one of the industries that would benefit from this, and that Prof. Jannie Swarts from Chemistry was closely involved in the latter.

The equipment was purchased with funds donated by the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, the University, the National Research Council and Sasol. Technicians from the manufacturing company are currently visiting the department to assist with the installation and to train staff.

Media Release:
Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt.stg@ufs.ac.za
28 May 2009

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept