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06 November 2023
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Story MBALI MABOEA
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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.”
Sports physician receives prestigious award from SASMA
2009-11-25
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Dr Louis Holtzhausen, Director of Kovsie Health at the University of the Free State (UFS) was recently awarded an honorary membership of the South African Sports Medicine Association (SASMA). Dr Holtzhausen received this award from the Executive Committee of SASMA, together with prominent names in the profession such as Prof. Tim Noakes, Director of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine and founding member of the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Science Academy, Prof. Martin Schwellnus, Professor of Sports Medicine, UCT and Sports Physician at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa and Prof. Wayne Derman, also from UCT and recently the Chief Medical Officer of the National Olympic Committee of South Africa for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
This award by SASMA goes to members of the medical and scientific community who have made significant contributions to the advancement of sports medicine. Dr Holtzhausen has been the President of SASMA and over the last two years the membership of this organisation has increased with 30%. He also established essential working relationships with key sports bodies in the country, including Sports and Recreation South Africa, the South Africa Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) as well as with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs |