Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
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.”
Before I die …
2013-09-11
 |
Cornelia Faasen, Director: Student Life at the wall.
11 September 2013
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs |
The Bloemfontein Campus offers a new creative manner of expression through the Before I die Wall. Similar walls are found in over 30 countries across the globe, including Argentina, China, Italy, New Zealand and Denmark. Kovsies is the only university in South Africa with this fixture, one of merely three in the country.
The wall provides the opportunity to students to write down the things they would like to do before they die.Elsa Mostert, head of the Student Life and Leadership (SLL) volunteer’s office, says the presence of such a wall on campus contributes to the holistic, personal and professional development of students. “The wall addresses post-tertiary development needs. It serves the university by enabling students to rethink the priorities in their lives and to help them focus on their dreams.”
This wall is located at the student centre, Thakaneng Bridge, outside the bookshop.“Everyone is welcome to write on the wall. It will be wiped clean after every two weeks,” Mostert says.