Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

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

State-of-the-art audio-visual studio up and running at UFS

2015-11-25

The state-of-the-art audio-visual studio that was unveiled in the beginning of this year reaped its first crop during a historic moment. On Wednesday 28 October 2015, the eight pilot students in the Postgraduate Programme in Film and Visual Media, which was launched at the beginning of this year, had their first big screen experience. Eight films were premiered in one night at the University of the Free State (UFS) Bloemfontein Campus.

An intimate movie theatre was brimming with friends and family of the students, their lecturers, and judges who doubled as moderators. This was no ordinary motion picture viewing. The apprentice filmmakers’ productions were undergoing formal external examination.

Judge by a legend

Katinka Heyns critiqued the student’s final products. Heyns is a renowned filmmaker, actress, director, producer, and founder of the production company, Sonneblom Films. She has numerous awards to her name, including the Career Contribution and Innovation Award, Legendary Award for Woman in Film and Television, and Medal of Honour for Paljas, which were presented by the Absa Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK), International Crystal Award, and South African Academy for Science and Arts, respectively.

Johanet Kriel and Chris Vorster from the film school also assisted as moderators.

The cinema exam

Each student had 20 minutes to provide a synopsis for the viewers, and screen the movie. At the end, The Secret of the Golden Flower, written and directed by Rudiker Janse van Rensburg, and The Nexus Effect, written and directed by Gawie Myburgh were judged the best movies “Both films had had clear and creative story lines, a solid structure, and quality editing,” said Chris Vorster.

Despite technical teething problems, all the students showed a great deal of talent and passion for filmmaking. “Given the time constraints and technical challenges, I’m very relieved that we actually got films on screen. They all impressed me with their creativity. Mission accomplished,” added Vorster.

The films

• The Blood of Barbara (Yvonne Allwright)
• Diary of an Oreo (Nonsindiso Qwabe)
• GeFop! (Hendrik Cronje)
• The Nexus Effect (Gawie Myburgh)
• The Secret of the Golden Flower (Rudiker Janse van Rensburg)
• Well ain’t that a Coinkydink?! (Rethabile Radebe)
• What Lurks in the Dark…(Rese Moore)

(Photo caption: Front row from left: Nonsindiso Qwabe, Suné van Heerden, Theresa Moore, Gawie Myburgh. Middle row: Rudiker Janse van Rensburg, Hendrik Cronjé, Yvonne Allwright, and Rethabile Radebe. Back: lecturer: Chris Vorster.)

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept