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#YouthMonth: UFS makes strides in youth career development

30 June 2023 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Supplied

CareerHub: connecting UFS students to dream jobs

In response to the alarming rate of unemployment facing South Africa's young population, the government has launched various youth development and empowerment projects as part of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, aiming to encourage greater youth participation in the economy.

To combat the high rate of graduate unemployment, the University of the Free State (UFS) Career Services in the Division of Student Affairs plans to launch the CareerHub on 3 July 2023. CareerHub is an innovative job portal aimed at revolutionising the job search process and connecting employers with highly qualified UFS candidates. The platform boasts a wide range of opportunities, collaborates with reputable companies, offers advanced search filters, and enables employers to create detailed company profiles to attract top talent. Job seekers can personalise their search criteria and set preferences to streamline their job search.

UFS Youth Month campaign

Highlighting the positive impact of the UFS in youth career development, the institution's Department of Communication and Marketing launched a campaign in June 2023 aimed at showcasing the success stories of alumni who have studied at the university and are now employed by the institution.

One such success story is Katleho Lechoo, who joined the UFS as an undergraduate student and is now a football administrator in KovsieSport. Lechoo's journey exemplifies his commitment to excellence, having served as the President of the Institutional Student Representative Council during his time as a student. Reflecting on his experiences, Lechoo expressed gratitude for the opportunities to contribute positively and to make a difference in the UFS community.

“I was recently elected as the youngest Institutional Forum member at the University of the Free State. A position I look at and remind myself that – apart from my ordinary position at the university – I also have an opportunity to contribute and influence the space positively and otherwise for its benefit. I wake up knowing that I have yet another day to do good unto others as I would expect from them. And to sum up my experience thus far? As Roy T Bennett simply puts it: ‘Be thankful for everything that happens in your life; it’s all an experience’,” said Lechoo.

Annelize Kruger shared Lechoo’s sentiments. Kruger graduated in 2020 with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy and now serves as a lecturer in the Department of Occupational Therapy. She credits the UFS for providing her with a solid foundation to excel in her profession and to contribute to the training of future occupational therapists.

Maximising impact through the SDG lens

The introduction of CareerHub aligns with the UFS' Vision 130 strategy, which aims to maximise societal impact and contribute to the development of the Free State and South Africa. The platform addresses a pressing local issue – youth unemployment – by leveraging the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework for assessing societal impact.

SDG Goal eight, focusing on Decent Work and Economic Growth, highlights the importance of providing young people with opportunities for decent jobs. This involves investing in quality education and training, matching skills with market demands, ensuring social protection and basic services, and promoting equal opportunities for productive employment, irrespective of gender, income level, or socio-economic background.

WATCH: UFS ends Youth Month on a high note with a performance from the 1992 film Sarafina!

News Archive

UFS to host one of three world summits on crystallography

2014-04-15

Prof André Roodt from the Department of Chemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS), co-unveiled a special plaque in Poznan, Poland, as president of the European Crystallographic Association, with prof Gautam Desiraju, president of the IUCr (front right) and others to commemorate the Nobel prize winner Max von Laue. (Photo's: Milosz Ruszkowski, Grzegorz Dutkiewicz)

Prof André Roodt from the Department of Chemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS), co-unveiled a special plaque in Poznan, Poland, as president of the European Crystallographic Association, to commemorate the Nobel prize winner Max von Laue at a special Laue Symposium organised by prof Mariusz Jaskolski from the A. Mickiewicz University in Poznan.

Max von Laue, who spent his early childhood in Poznan, was the first scientist to diffract X-rays with a crystal.

2014 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Crystallography, and it was recently officially opened at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, by the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon. The International Year of Crystallography celebrates the centennial of the work of Max von Laue and the father and son, William Henry and William Laurence Bragg.

As part of the celebrations, Prof Roodt, president of the European Crystallographic Association, one of the three regional affiliates (Americas, Europe and Africa; Asia and Australasia) of the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), was invited by the president of the IUCr, Prof Gautam Desiraju, to host one of the three world summits, wherein crystallography is to showcase its achievements and strategise for the future.

The summit and conference will take place on the Bloemfontein Campus of the UFS from 12 to 17 October 2014 and is titled: 'Crystallography as vehicle to promote science in Africa and beyond.' It is an ambitious meeting wherein it is anticipated to bring the French-, English- and Arab-speaking nations of Africa together to strategise how science can be expanded, and to offer possibilities for this as nestled in crystallography. Young and established scientists, and politicians associated with science and science management, are the target audience to be brought together in Bloemfontein.

Dr Thomas Auf der Heyde, acting Director General of the South African Department of Science and Technology (DST), has committed some R500 000 for this effort, while the International Union of Crystallography provided R170 000.

“Crystals and crystallography form an integrated part of our daily lives, form bones and teeth, to medicines and viruses, new catalysts, jewellery, colour pigments, chocolates, electronics, batteries, metal blades in airplane turbines, panels for solar energy and many more. In spite of this, unfortunately, not many people know much about X-ray crystallography, although it is probably one of the greatest innovations of the twentieth century. Determining the structure of the DNA was one of the most significant scientific events of the 20th century. It has helped understand how genetic messages are being passed on between cells inside our body – everything from the way instructions are sent to proteins to fight infections, to how life is reproduced.

“At the UFS, crystallography finds application in Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Mathematics, Geology, Engineering and the Medical fields. Crystallography is used by the Curiosity Rover, analysing the substances and minerals on Mars!

“The UFS’s Departments of Chemistry and Physics, in particular, have advanced instruments and important research thrusts wherein X-ray crystallography has formed a central part for more than 40 years.

“Crystallography has produced some 28 Nobel prize winners over the past 100 years and continues to provide the means for fundamental and applied research,” said Prof Roodt.

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