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Developing global citizens: UFS students studying abroad in Austria

10 February 2023 | Story Kekeletso Takang

UFS students Frans Benecke and Su-Mari Dreyer are two of the beneficiaries of the programme and will spend one year in Salzburg, from February 2023 until January 2024.

Nowadays, universities strive more and more to develop global citizens. For the University of the Free State (UFS) and the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences (SUAS) in Austria, collaboration on the Consecutive Master’s Degree Programme in International Finance is directed at this.

This exclusive and pioneering collaboration between the Department of Economics and Finance at the UFS and the Department of Management and Tourism at SUAS emanates from more than 15 years of collaboration between Prof Johan Coetzee (UFS) and Prof Christine Mitter (SUAS ).

The collaboration addresses the concerns constantly raised in South Africa that graduates do not have the requisite practical skills when entering the workplace. The UFS attempts to bridge this gap and contribute to a better-equipped, employable South African graduate who understands the link between theory and application in a problem-riddled world entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

UFS students Frans Benecke and Su-Mari Dreyer are two of the beneficiaries of the programme and will spend one year in Salzburg, from February 2023 until January 2024.

“This is a dream come true, a dream I didn’t even know I had. To experience a different culture through educational and cultural exchange will deepen my understanding of international relationships, which is a driver of development,” says Dreyer, who completed her MCom degree at the UFS.

Interdisciplinary research

The Consecutive Master’s Degree Programme in International Finance allows students wishing to pursue a master’s degree to acquire two degrees over a two-year study period: an MCom specialising in Finance in the Department of Economics and Finance at the UFS, and an MA in Business Management specialising in Financial Risk Management at SUAS in Austria. The degrees are done on location in Bloemfontein and Salzburg respectively. The UFS master’s is more quantitative in nature and exposes students to highly technical methods and applications, while the SUAS master’s degree is more qualitative in nature and exposes students to more practical real-world management scenarios.

“The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences has a long-standing and valued partnership with the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. As a faculty, we see the development of the consecutive master’s degree as a wonderful opportunity for students from both universities to participate in the learning opportunities that both universities offer. These opportunities transcend the academic learning that will take place, to also include the exposure of students to the culture and life in the partner country,” says Prof Philippe Burger, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. “We believe the learning that will take place through the exposure that the consecutive degree offers, will improve students’ employability and contribute to them building successful careers.”

Bridging the gap

As part of the curriculum requirements, students will also be offered the opportunity to do a short apprenticeship in Austria.

Benecke, who also completed his UFS master’s degree, says he hopes the programme will serve as a call to action for students considering postgraduate studies in the Department of Economics and Finance at the UFS.

News Archive

UFS boasts with most advanced chemical research apparatus in Africa

2005-11-23

Celebrating the inauguration of the NMR were from the left Prof Frederick Fourie (Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS), Dr Detlef Müller (Development Scientist and Manager: Africa and Asia of Bruker in Germany, the supplier of the NMR), Prof Jannie Swarts (head of the head of the Division Physical Chemistry at the UFS) and Prof Herman van Schalkwyk (Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS). Photo: Lacea Loader

UFS boasts with most advanced chemical research apparatus in Africa

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Chemistry now boasts with some of the most advanced chemical research apparatus in Africa after the latest addition, a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer, was inaugurated today by the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie. The NMR is used to analyse molecular structures.

Last month the Department of Chemistry celebrated the installation of the most advanced single crystal X-ray diffractometer in Africa. The diffractometer provides an indispensable technique to investigate among others the solid state of compounds for medicinal application.

“Three years ago the UFS executive management realised that, if we want to build a university of excellence, we should invest in research. We started to think strategically about chemistry and decided to bring the apparatus at the Department of Chemistry on a more competitive standard. Strategic partnerships were therefore secured with companies like Sasol,” said Prof Fourie during the inauguration ceremony.

“The installation of the NMR symbolises the ability of the UFS to turn academic areas around. I hope that this is the beginning of a decade of excellence for chemistry at the UFS,” said Prof Fourie.

”The catalogue value of the Bruker 600 MHz NMR is approximately R11 million. With such an advanced apparatus we are now able to train much more post-graduate students,“ said Prof Jannie Swarts, head of the Division Physical Chemistry at the UFS.

”The NMR is the flagship apparatus of the UFS Department of Chemistry that enables chemists to look at compounds more easily at a molecular level. Research in chemistry is critically dependent on NMR, which is a technique that can determine the composition of reactants and products in complicated chemical reactions, with direct application is most focus areas in chemistry,“ said Prof Swarts.

”Parts of the spectrometer consists of non-commercial items that were specifically designed for the UFS Department of Chemistry to allow the study of unique interactions in e.g. rhodium and platinum compounds,” said Prof Swarts.

According to Prof Swarts the NMR enables chemists to conduct investigations on the following:

To evaluate for example the complex behaviour of DNA in proteins as well as the analysis of illegal drugs sometimes used by athletes.
It provides an indispensable technique to investigate compounds for medicinal application for example in breast, prostate and related bone cancer identification and therapy, which are currently synthesised in the Department of Chemistry.
It can also be applied to the area of homogeneous catalysis where new and improved compounds for industrial application are synthesized and characterised, whereby Sasol and even the international petrochemical industry could benefit. This analytical capacity is highly rated, especially in the current climate of increased oil prices.
The NMR can detect and identify small concentrations of impurities in feed streams in the petrochemical industry, e.g. at Sasol and also the international petrochemical industry. These minute amounts of impurities can result in metal catalyst deactivation or decomposition and can cause million of rands worth in product losses.
It is indispensable for studying the complexity of samples that is non-crystalline. These materials represent the vast majority of chemical compounds such as solvents, gasoline, cooking oil, cleaning agents and colorants as examples.

According to Prof Swarts the general medical technique of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) in use at larger hospitals, is based on NMR technology.

”The NMR apparatus enabled the Department of Chemistry to characterise complex molecules that were synthesised for the multi-national company, FARMOFS-PAREXEL, and to negotiate research agreements with overseas universities,” said Prof Swarts.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
22 November 2005

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