Latest News Archive

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

UFS appoints Prof Paul Oberholster as Dean: Faculty of Natural And Agricultural Sciences

10 October 2023 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo SUPPLIED

The University of the Free State (UFS) has appointed Prof Paul Oberholster as Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences as of 1 January 2024.

Strong networks and winner of prestigious awards for research, innovation, and leadership

Prof Oberholster is currently the Director: Centre for Environmental Management at the UFS. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at the UFS before obtaining a PhD in water resource management at the University of Pretoria.

After several years in secondary education, Prof Oberholster started his scientific research career as a Senior Scientist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 2007. In 2017, he became a Chief Scientist (the highest scientific position at the CSIR, and senior management) managing large multidisciplinary projects on the African continent related to integrated water resource management and natural-based treatment solutions/ecological engineering.

During his time at the CSIR, he acted as extraordinary professor and lecturer in several academic departments at different institutions, including Stellenbosch University, the University of Pretoria, and the University of the Western Cape. During the same time, he received several prestigious awards for research, innovation, and leadership.

In 2019, Prof Oberholster joined the UFS as Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and also received the National Science and Technology Foundation (NSTF) award in the category Water Research Commission, with a focus on natural-based passive phyco-remediation and phytoremediation treatment technology. In 2022, he was elected as a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) in recognition of his academic achievements in South Africa, and in 2023 he was appointed as the Managing Director of the Ecological Engineering Institute of Africa (EEIA).

Rated among top 2% in the world in the scientific category of engineering/technology, ecological engineering and environmental engineering.

Currently, Prof Oberholster is rated among the top 2% in the world in the scientific category of engineering/technology, ecological engineering, and environmental engineering. “Prof Oberholster has an extensive and impressive international research standing and has established extensive networks and partnerships. He can lead and manage the faculty in support of the UFS Vision 130’s ultimate intent for the coming years to be a research-led, student-centred, and regionally engaged university,” says Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

“It is a privilege to be part of the leadership team in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences – we will ensure that the faculty is known nationally and internationally as an excellent faculty serving our community. We aim to consolidate and build on the strengths of the university in order to extend its excellence in research and teaching and learning, which is imbedded in the UFS Vision 130,” says Prof Oberholster.

Prof Oberholster will succeed the current Dean, Prof Danie Vermeulen, who will be retiring at the end of December 2023.

News Archive

Meet our Council: Ndaba Ntsele – Inspiring entrepreneurs

2016-04-19

Mr Ntsele
Photo: Stephen Collett

To call Mr Ndaba Ntsele just a businessman seems like a bit of an understatement. The Executive Chairman and co-founder of Pamodzi Group Limited lives and breathes business, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation. He is also a member of the Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) since September 2013.

His greatest passion is entrepreneurship, and sharing his ideas of self-employment with young (and old) South Africans. “I preach self-employment wherever I go. Everyone knows that unemployment is a major problem in our country. However, people often expect the government or big corporations to provide them with jobs. I like to influence people to start thinking about working for themselves, thereby creating opportunities for employing others,” he says.

His entrepreneurial drive extends even to his time on the UFS Council. Now in his second term, Mr Ntsele has been well placed to get a sense of the kind of contribution the university and its students could make to South Africa, and even further afield.

“In addition to training students for all the other important industries in South Africa, I think the UFS is ideally situated to create agricultural entrepreneurs. The Free State is one of South Africa’s prime agricultural areas, after all. Food security is an issue worldwide, and it is an area in which we could make a real contribution by training food producers, food technologists, and agricultural specialists. In fact, I think the UFS could become the leading agricultural institution in the country.”

Being the best is something that he strives for continually, while high standards are not something he shirks. In fact, he believes that Council members should hold an institution accountable for maintaining the highest standards possible, whether it is in governance, financials, procurement, or any other areas of importance in an institution.

As the executive chairman of a multi-billion African-owned group with assets across the globe, Mr Ntsele does not have a great deal of free time. However, he enjoys sitting down with MBA students and graduates to share his views about entrepreneurship.

“If I can change their mind-set from ‘others must employ me’ to ‘I need to create my own employment’, then I will feel as if I have accomplished something,” he says.

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