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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.”
Junior researcher makes Kovsies proud
2014-11-11
Herkulaas Combrink received the Junior Researcher Award at the 3rd Annual Health Research Day held on 30 and 31 October 2014. On this day, clinicians and scientists shared information on research that will impact health in the Free State.
Combrink is a student in the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Department of Human Genetics, as well as Medical Science intern with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). His research project: ‘Familial Breast Cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 within the Indian population of South Africa’ forms part of an umbrella study which looks at the various populations of South Africa for familial breast cancer mutations within BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, so that diagnostic panels can be created. This is the first study of its kind to be done on this population group in South Africa.
He says: “I am passionate about my research and the impact of my work. I am hard-working and believe in the value of my contribution to science. My philosophy is that theory must always be put into practice. I apply this philosophy to everything I pursue.”
The research week was held by the School of Medicine in conjunction with the Free State Department of Health.