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UFS research scholars celebrated at the annual research awards

05 October 2023 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Stephen Collet

The University of the Free State (UFS) recently hosted its annual Research Awards function at the Wynand Mouton Theatre on the Bloemfontein campus. Present at this event on 26 September 2023 were Prof Francis Petersen, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UFS, Prof Crain Soudien, a globally renowned academic and the President of the Cornerstone Institute, and members of the UFS academic community, among others.

The awards ceremony

Prof Petersen stated, ‘’The purpose of the event is to recognise scholars at the University of the Free State who are conducting outstanding research in their respective fields of expertise.’’ Certificates were presented to researchers in various categories, including National Research Foundation (NRF) Rated Scholars from categories P to A. Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation at the UFS, highlighted that there are precisely 217 NRF-rated scholars within the institution. However, some of these scholars had not been acknowledged internally. Hence, the ceremony aimed to celebrate these scholars.

Furthermore, UFS staff members were acknowledged for their research at both national and international levels. Prof Abdon Atangana, named as one of five recipients of the inaugural UNESCO-Al Fozan International Prize for the Promotion of Young Scientists in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), was among these individuals. Future professors of the institution who are part of the Professoriate Programme were also recognised for their outstanding performance in transforming the programme.

The highly anticipated category of the evening was the UFS Book Prize for distinguished scholarship. Prof Reddy explained, ‘’the purpose of the award is to recognise outstanding publications produced by any permanent member of the UFS staff, which are research-based and published in a book. Prof Soudien, who was the guest speaker for the evening and one of the reviewers of the books nominated in this category, indicated that he found the books ‘’illuminating and in many ways challenging of positions I hold and positions that I think that we all ought to be reflecting on in terms of where our world is going’’.

From the four nominees vying for this award, Prof Helene Strauss was announced as the winner of the 2022 UFS Book Prize for her book entitled, ‘Wayward Feeling: Audio-Visual Culture and Aesthetic Activism in Post-Rainbow South Africa’. Strauss expressed her appreciation, saying, ‘’It is a great honour to be awarded the UFS Book Prize given the high calibre of this year's nominees. It is a lovely morale boost at this time of the year when our motivation can start to flag under the weight of the workload. It inspires me to continue to try to live up to the many examples of outstanding research produced on this campus.’’ The prize includes a certificate of honour as well as a monetary award.

The significance of the awards ceremony

While the award ceremony aims to recognise and celebrate research outputs by the UFS staff, Prof Petersen emphasises that it is also an acknowledgement of the researchers’ impact. Through their contributions, they elevate the research profile of the institution, thereby bringing the vision of becoming a research-led university, as outlined in Vision 130, closer to reality.

News Archive

Support our FNB Shimlas as they play against the NWU Pukke

2011-02-16

Jamba Olengu in action.
Photo: Van Zyl Naudè

On Monday, 7 March 2011 Steinhoff International will be presenting the last Varsity Cup match for the season on Xerox Shimla Park, as the FNB Shimlas take on the NWU Pukke. Do not miss this mini intervarsity! The Shimlas need your support.

The match, which starts at 19:00, will be preceded by matches between the FNB UFS U.19 vs. the NWU u.19 (15:00), and the FNB UFS u.21 vs. the NWU u.21 (16:30). So, take your seat early and also watch as, for the first time during a Varsity Cup match in Bloemfontein, parachuters will land on Xerox Shimla Park. Look out for this sight between 18:30 and 19:00.

Let us arrive in our numbers and make it a record breaking crowd to support our FNB Shimlas. Big prizes are once again at stake. Carling Black Label is giving away two Apple iPods. Tickets will be sold at the gate and will put you in the draw for one of these incredible prizes.

Campus residences and associations who rocks up in the biggest numbers, is the most visible and who is making the loudest noise stand a chance to win a six month DSTV subscription.

Tickets will be sold for R10, fifty percent less than the normal price.

The normal price is R20 per ticket, but a limited number of tickets will be sold at R10 per ticket for students who do not have a royal blue supporter shirt on. These tickets are available from the south ticket office at Xerox Shimla Park. They will be sold on a “first come first served” basis. Once the tickets have been sold out, the normal price of R20 would apply once again. So be at the field early and save R10 on your ticket.

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