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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

Kovsies hoist the rainbow flag to show support for International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia

2015-05-25

Photo: Lihlumelo Toyana

Kovsies reaffirm diverse expressions of love (Facebook video clip)

Transformation is not about black or white anymore, it's about including different diversities (Facebook video clip)

Violence and discrimination against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) community is rife in South Africa. Advancing the spirit of the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Human Project, Out@Kovsies and the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ) showed their true colours by hoisting the rainbow flag in front of the Main Building on the Bloemfontein Campus.

International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia

This event was in anticipation of International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia celebrated on Sunday 17 May 2015. People across the world, regardless of their sexual orientation, come together annually on this day in support of the LGBTI community. This year, Kovsies became part of that global community when, for the first time in history, the rainbow flag – a popular symbol of LGBTI pride – fluttered high over the Red Square.

Human embrace

Committed to the human embrace, this event was another decisive step towards true transformation. “Transformation is not about black or white anymore,” said Zanele Thela, coordinator and guardian of Out@Kovsies, during the event. “It’s about including different diversities, different sexual orientations.”

Laura-Jane Watkins, research assistant at the IRSJ, said that this day “reflects our attitude as a collective community to embrace difference. Today is a day that we reaffirm diverse expressions of love beyond societal perceptions of gender as an inherent human need and right. Let us now stand together as a student community to promote the value of humanness.”

Rainbow flag

The rainbow flag, also fondly known as the freedom flag, was designed by civil rights activist, Gilbert Baker, and was hoisted publically on 25 June 1978. The modern version of the flag consists of six colours, each with a specific meaning. Red stands for life, orange for healing, yellow depicts sunlight, green stands for nature, blue for serenity, and violet for spirit.

The hope that Thela holds is for everyone to be free to express themselves and their love for one another, because “that’s the one thing we all have in common: love”.

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