Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
08 June 2023 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Stephen Collett
Dr Karen Booysen, Acting Director: Centre for Graduate Support; Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation; and Dr Nthabeleng Rammile, Senior Officer: Company Relations in Career Services
Dr Karen Booysen, Former Acting Director: Centre for Graduate Support; Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation; and Dr Nthabeleng Rammile, Senior Officer: Company Relations in Career Services – the main speakers at the 2023 Postgraduate Konnect – highlighted the importance of having degrees with positive impact on the society.

“You are the future of this country. It is encouraging to see that we have this pool of talent. Pursuing a postgraduate qualification gives you an opportunity to become more of an expert in your chosen field,” said Dr Nthabeleng Rammile, Senior Officer: Company Relations in Career Services, at the 2023 Postgraduate Konnect. 

Hosting the Postgraduate Konnect event, the Centre for Graduate Support provides an opportunity for new and returning postgraduate students ‘to connect with the University of the Free State (UFS), as well as to the resources, and to assist them in successfully navigating their postgraduate studies journey.’ 

Foundation laid for students to thrive

Speaking at the 2023 event held virtually and face to face in the Equitas Auditorium on the Bloemfontein Campus on Friday 2 June 2023, Dr Rammile said: “I know people say that experience is a teacher; this is true to a certain extent. However, relying on experience alone is a limitation. But your intellect sharpens in a way that you cannot on any other platform, except when you get your qualification. With your qualification, you become attractive to industries.”

Dr Karen Booysen, Former Acting Director: Centre for Graduate Support, reminded students to ‘keep in mind that they are part of a larger community.’ “Many have faced adversities and emerged stronger and wiser. The UFS has developed a network of support structures designed to provide assistance and resources to encourage you to thrive academically and professionally,” added Dr Booysen.

The UFS currently has two sources of funding for students pursuing postgraduate studies – The National Research Foundation (NRF) and the University of the Free State Tuition Bursary. To qualify for NRF funding, students must have 65% average for the honours degree to pursue a master’s degree. For the UFS Tuition Bursary, students applying for honours degrees must have 65% for all modules completed at undergraduate level. 

Remembering the roots to building a strong future

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation, said embarking on postgraduate studies is a “journey to be inspired by many who came before you and those who will come after you”. Prof Reddy said: “We must remember our heritage, our roots, and the people who put us there – the families, mothers, and grandmothers.”

“This is not only about accomplishing a degree and a qualification. The University of the Free State is very focused on the kind of individual you will become, because you will be brand ambassadors of the university with your qualification. We want our students to become future leaders with attributes that develop entrepreneurial spirit, think ahead about the uses of my degree, civic engagement – recognising that you are there because of the community, ethical reasoning,” said Prof Reddy.

Jeremiah Hlahla, PhD student in Plant Sciences who arrived at the UFS in 2022, said the event helps with ‘navigating the institution, helps to know where I can get support’. “The event also helped me to understand the available funding models. I really need the financial support, and I am hoping that the planned seminars and conferences will be relevant to our studies,” said Hlahla.  

Pursuing his studies, Hlahla said it would also be important to ‘prioritise mental health, as it does not help to leave without getting what one came for.’ “Your physical well-being contributes a lot to your mental health; the institution has training facilities, including outdoors, to help with putting the mind at ease regarding challenges we endure in our studies,” said Hlahla.

News Archive

Water research aids decision making on national level
2015-05-25

Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

With water being a valuable and scarce resource in the central regions of South Africa, it is no wonder that the UFS has large interdisciplinary research projects focusing on the conservation of water, as well as the sustainable use of this essential element.

The hydropedology research of Prof Pieter le Roux from the Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences and his team at the UFS focuses on Blue water. Blue water is of critical importance to global health as it is cleared by the soil and stored underground for slow release in marshes, rivers, and deep groundwater. The release of this water bridges the droughts between showers and rain seasons and can stretch over several months and even years. The principles established by Prof Le Roux, now finds application in ecohydrology, urban hydrology, forestry hydrology, and hydrological modelling.

The Department of Agricultural Economics is busy with three research projects for the Water Research Commission of South Africa, with an estimated total budget of R7 million. Prof Henry Jordaan from this department is conducting research on the water footprint of selected field and forage crops, and the food products derived from these crops. The aim is to assess the impact of producing the food products on the scarce freshwater resource to inform policy makers, water managers and water users towards the sustainable use of freshwater for food production.

With his research, Prof Bennie Grové, also from this department, focuses on economically optimising water and electricity use in irrigated agriculture. The first project aims to optimise the adoption of technology for irrigation practices and irrigation system should water allocations to farmers were to be decreased in a catchment because of insufficient freshwater supplies to meet the increasing demand due to the requirements of population growth, economic development and the environment.

In another project, Prof Grové aims to economically evaluate alternative electricity management strategies such as optimally designed irrigation systems and the adoption of new technology to mitigate the substantial increase in electricity costs that puts the profitability of irrigation farming under severe pressure.

Marinda Avenant and her team in the Centre for Environmental Management (CEM), has been involved in the biomonitoring of the Free State rivers, including the Caledon, Modder Riet and part of the Orange River, since 1999. Researchers from the CEM regularly measures the present state of the water quality, algae, riparian vegetation, macro-invertebrates and fish communities in these rivers in order to detect degradation in ecosystem integrity (health).

The CEM has recently completed a project where an interactive vulnerability map and screening-level monitoring protocol for assessing the potential environmental impact of unconventional gas mining by means of hydraulic fracturing was developed. These tools will aid decision making at national level by providing information on the environment’s vulnerability to unconventional gas mining.

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