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03 March 2023 | Story Nonsindiso Qwabe | Photo Stephen Collett
Prof Francis Petersen_ UFS Official Opening 2023
Prof Francis Petersen outlined the strategic intent of Vision 130 during his official welcoming address.

The trajectory to 2034, when the university turns 130, is not a dream, but an exciting journey that we are working towards achieving. Painting a picture of the university of the future, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, welcomed staff in his official opening speech on the Bloemfontein Campus on Friday 17 February 2023.

2023 marks the starting point of Vision 130, a vision with bold ambitions that will lead us to the renewal, re-imagining, and repositioning of the UFS in 2034, Prof Petersen said.  “We are building on our strengths, achievements, and learnings of our past and, in particular, the past five years. The vision is driven by excellence, and we won’t compromise excellence. It is about excellence, but it is also about visibility as an institution, and it is about impact.”

What does the UFS look like in 2034?

Prof Petersen said ours will be a university of choice for exceptional students, exceptional academics, and exceptional support staff. We will be recognised and acknowledged by peers and society as a top-tier university in South Africa, specifically among the top five universities in South Africa and the top 600 globally.

“Remember, I said we have built on the past, specifically the past five years, to give us a foundation. Still, we need to use that foundation to be able to deliver those specific goals or activities or deliverables that we want to achieve. We will have to start now if we want to achieve this in 2034.”

The Rector outlined four goals towards achieving these commitments:

• Improving academic excellence, improving our reputation, and improving our impact.

• Promoting an environment of agility, flexibility, and responsiveness.

• Advancing a transformational institutional culture that demonstrates the values of the University of the Free State – a place where ideas are discussed, contested, improved, and implemented in a culture of civil, robust engagement.

• Promoting stewardship and the prioritisation of institutional resources for strategic intent, which include our people, our staff, and our students.

Understand how your space is connected to Vision 130

“This is about creating a culture of delivery and empowering everyone within the University of the Free State and the UFS community to contribute to the realisation of Vision 130. This is what I am asking of you within your own sphere of operation. I am asking for a renewed commitment from you to own that space that you operate in. To understand how your space is connected to Vision 130 and to share what I would call an unrelenting ambition to deliver on this vision.”

Watch recording of the 2023 Official Opening below:


News Archive

An exceptional year at Kovsies — one of the most successful years in academic achievement
2014-12-04

 

The University of the Free State (UFS) had an exceptional year, with many staff members and students performing both nationally and internationally. Considerable progress has also been made in improving the academic standards of the university.

“So far, this has been one of the most successful years in academic achievement. The UFS now has the highest academic pass rate in years, partly as a result of the admission standards which were raised four years ago.

“We now also have the highest rate of research publications, one of the highest publication figures for scholarly books in history, three Mandela Rhodes scholars and several international communication awards”, says Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS.

“The university now attracts top professors from all over the country and other parts of the world and for the first time in many years, two researchers received A-ratings from the National Research Foundation (NRF). This is the first time in the history of the UFS that two A-ratings were awarded simultaneously. The most researchers ever were rated by the NRF this year. After the constant turmoil of a few years ago, Kovsies has now become one of the most stable campuses in South Africa,” Prof Jansen says.

The impartial findings of a recent survey of UFS stakeholders showed that our values are endorsed by 92%; 86% agrees with our vision; 81% agree with our goals; 77% agree with our transformation; 78% believe that we are inclusive; and 78% applauded our overall reputation index. “These figures are very different from a few years ago when the university experienced a crisis,” he says.
 
According to Prof Jansen, the UFS’s financial situation is one of the most stable of all universities in South Africa, with a strong balance sheet and growing financial reserves – way better than before. This is exactly the reason why the UFS received confirmation from the Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors (IRBA) this year that we complied with international standards of reporting for the financial year which ended on 31 December 2013.

“I am also pleased to report that the crisis in the delivery of health services in the Free State province has been resolved due to collaboration between the UFS Management (including the Dean: Health Sciences and Head of the School of Medicine), the Department of Health and the Premier, Mr Ace Magashule. Although the loss of skilled personnel is still a concern, the Dean and Head of the School of Medicine are recreating the Health Services Platform at Universitas Hospital. However, the academic training of no undergraduate medical student or any student in the Health Sciences was influenced by the crisis in the Universitas and Pelonomi Hospitals”, he says.

The UFS is regarded around the world as a model of transformation and reconciliation in the student body. The recent SRC elections are only the most visible example of how far we have come in terms of leadership diversity. “Not a week goes by in which other universities, nationally and abroad, do not come to Kovsies to consult with us on how they can learn from us and deepen their own transformations, especially among students”, Prof Jansen says.

“The UFS will continue its model of inclusive transformation which provides opportunities for study and for employment for all South Africans, including international students and colleagues. We remain committed to our parallel-medium instruction in which Afrikaans remains a language of instruction; we are in fact the only medical school in the country that offers education and training in Afrikaans and not only English. We provide bursaries and overseas study opportunities to all our students, irrespective of race. And our ‘future professors’ programme is richly diverse as we seek the academic stars of the future. But we remain steadfast in our goal of making the UFS a top world university in its academic ambitions and its human commitments,” Prof Jansen says.

 

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