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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

First awards ceremony for tutors held at the UFS
2007-11-08

 

The Department of Student Development and Success at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently presented a New Academic Tutorial Programme (NATP) Awards evening to thank the 44 student academic tutors on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein for their work during the year. The tutors were also evaluated based on feedback from the students they tutored during the year. Marius Shardelow, student tutor in the Centre for Accounting in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences was named as the best tutor. He received an evaluation score of 95,5%. The Faculties of Health Sciences, Economic and Management Sciences, Natural and Agricultural Sciences and the Humanities participated in the NATP programme. It was the first time in the history of the UFS that such a function was held to acknowledge the student tutors for their hard work. At the NATP Awards evening were, from the left: Dr Francois Strydom (Director of Student Development and Success at the UFS), Mr Xcy Rathaba (Tutorials programme manager and co-ordinator at the UFS), Prof. Tienie Crous, (Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS), Marius Shardelow (winner of the NATP Awards), and Dr Ezekiel Moraka (Vice-Rector of Student Affairs at the UFS).
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs
 

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