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10 April 2024 | Story Okuhle April | Photo SUPPLIED
Sustainability and entrepreneurship workshop 2024
The UFS Community Engagement Festival showcased sustainability, entrepreneurship, and social justice initiatives as part of efforts to empower students.

The Engaged Scholarship Office at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently hosted the Community Engagement Festival, a week-long event focused on sustainability, entrepreneurship, and social justice for students. The festival, which forms part of the office’s broader Community Engagement project, showcased various activities and initiatives aimed at educating participants about these critical topics.

A standout feature of the festival, which was hosted on the UFS’s Bloemfontein Campus, was its emphasis on sustainability. Activities included crafting beads from recycled magazines into bracelets and making soap from eco-friendly material. Beyond promoting sustainability and entrepreneurship, the festival also aimed to foster social cohesion by helping first-year students navigate university life.

Gernus Terblanche, an assistant researcher who heads the Engaged Scholarship Office, emphasised the importance of such initiatives. “The Community Engagement project’s focal points are environmental affairs, social justice – where we make use of the hashtag #KovsiesCare – and health and wellness, where the project aims to raise awareness about menstrual health and find ways to assist with sustainable menstrual health,” he said.

The Community Engagement project has grown significantly over the past year, expanding from six members to a community of 200 individuals. Successful projects include a worm farming initiative for income generation, which teaches students how to cultivate and sell worms for composting.

With support from entities such as the KovsieACT office, CTM, the Bloem Shelter and the Bloemfontein National Hospital, the project has gained widespread recognition for its impactful work.

Additionally, the project’s efforts align with the graduate attributes of UFS’s Vision 130, which emphasises skills like communication, critical thinking, and professionalism. Terblanche highlighted the importance of these attributes in shaping well-rounded graduates.

Looking forward, the Community Engagement project plans to sustain its work, with upcoming initiatives like a sewing competition to further engage and empower students within the university community.

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Centre for Financial Planning Law and INSETA making a difference
2014-07-16

The Centre for Financial Planning Law (CFPL) in the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State and the Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (INSETA) has established a hugely-beneficial collaboration. Due to this partnership, students at CFPL has access to bursaries of R950 000. These bursaries are available to students studying towards a undergraduate BIuris degree, a postgraduate diploma in Financial Planning, or an advanced postgraduate diploma in Financial Planning.

The CFPL handles the recruitment and selection process for the bursary fund, which will cover up to R68 040.95 for tuition, accommodation and book fees. In addition, the bursaries also cover other fees such as equipment and registration.

According to Shirly Hyland, Director of the Centre for Financial Planning Law, the centre recognises the financial strain some students undergo. The bursaries will therefor enable many of these students – who considered discontinuing their studies because of financial constraints – to continue studying, making a tremendous difference in their lives.

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