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Student Geography conference inspires next generation of geographers

06 November 2023 | Story MBALI MABOEA | Photo SUPPLIED

The Department of Geography on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus recently played host to the Society of South African Geographers Conference (SSAG 2023), which gathered more than 100 students over three days.

Fostering academic growth, collaboration, and inspiration among students and researchers in the field of geography, the Department of Geography on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus recently played host to the Society of South African Geographers Conference (SSAG 2023), which gathered more than 100 students over three days.

Following a five-year hiatus, the three-day conference comprised student proposal presentations in different fields: human geography, environment geography, geoinformatics, and physical geography, divided into breakaway sessions over two days. Furthermore, day three of the annual conference included an excursion to the Basotho Cultural Village and Clarens.

The three-day annual student conference focused on different themes presented by two main speakers. The topic of the first keynote speaker, Dr Mahlomola Daemane, General Manager of the SANParks Arid Research Unit, focused on the contemporary conservation, transition, and relevance of science in policy and decision making.

The second keynote speaker was Dr Felicia Akinyemi, a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Research Fellow affiliated with the Institute of Geography at the University of Bern in Switzerland. Her work focuses on the intersection of geoinformatics, global change, and sustainability. Dr Akinyemi focused her talk on the integrative geospatial methods and metrics for sustainable land use. She introduced different techniques and metrics and gave students insight in early-career African research.

Speaking about the success of the conference, Nthebohiseng Sekhele, Geography Lecturer on the Qwaqwa Campus and chair of the organising committee, said, “The local organising committee was also very impressed with the quality of presentations from our postgraduate students in Geography, as well as the robust discussions that happened during the parallel sessions in the two days of the conference. We had a positive response of physical and online participation from many universities across South Africa. We are pleased that we have achieved our goal with this conference, which is to inspire the next generation of geographers.”

News Archive

UFS on energy-saving mode

2009-09-15

The University of the Free State (UFS) has undertaken several measures to reduce energy consumption on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

“Part of Eskom’s strategy is that all the main universities must reduce their electricity consumption. Because the university is the second biggest user of electricity in Bloemfontein we have to cut our consumption according to the new energy policy,” said Prof. Niel Viljoen, Chief Director of Operations at the UFS.

“Electricity is also expensive and if we look at global warming and everybody’s responsibility, I think we all have a moral obligation to save energy,” said Prof. Viljoen.

“The energy crisis of January 2008 and beyond, with its load-shedding limitations, was a major driver for the government to introduce the Power Conservation Scheme,” said Mr Anton Calitz, the UFS’s electrical engineer.

The measures put in place by the UFS include amongst others:

The introduction of a solar water-heating system in the residences, which is a first of its kind in Bloemfontein.
An investigation is also being launched into alternatives and the effective heating of rooms in the residences.

Feasibility studies are currently being conducted to determine whether energy saving can be achieved with radiation panels.

Energy-saving lights have been installed in the following buildings: the Architecture Building, Genmin Lectorium, Geology lecture halls, Winkie Direko Building, George du Toit Building, Sasol Library, Francois Retief Building, as well as in the residences. This measure has resulted in massive energy saving.

Energy meters for the Library, Computer Laboratory Building, François Retief Building and Steyn Substation are being planned as the first phase.

Real-time metering will result in every UFS computer user being aware of power consumption on the campus.

New lift motors and control systems that reduce energy consumption have been installed at the Agriculture and the George du Toit Buildings.

In the Computer Laboratory Building the temperature adjusting point for the venues is set at 22 °C and, in the case of new projects, green guidelines are applied.

It is expected that the government and local authorities will bring more pressure to bear on the UFS to save energy. Applications for increased capacity will possibly be linked to energy-saving targets.

This trend will continue until 2014 when additional power stations will be put into operation.

“Our aim is to save 10% on energy consumption,” said Prof. Viljoen.

“Heavy financial penalties will be imposed if a 10% saving is not achieved,” added Mr Calitz.

On average, our energy consumption per day this year is 128,964 kWh as compared to last year’s 119,752 kWh.

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt.stg@ufs.ac.za
14 September 2009

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