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01 February 2024
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Photo SUPPLIED
Prof Prince Ngobeni, newly appointed Campus Principal of the UFS Qwaqwa Campus.
The University of the Free State (UFS) has appointed Prof Prince Ngobeni as Principal of the Qwaqwa Campus as from 1 February 2024.
Prof Ngobeni completed his first qualification in Analytical Chemistry at the then Technikon North-West before furthering his studies at the then Technikon Pretoria. He completed a DTech in Chemistry at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in 2003. In 2016, he enrolled for a Doctor of Business Administration in Higher Education at the University of Bath in England.
His lecturing career began at TUT in 1995 where he progressed from Head of Department: Chemistry in 2003 to Associate Dean: Faculty of Science in 2010, before being appointed as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Sciences at TUT in 2015 – a position he held until 2023. He also served as Interim Campus Rector of TUT’s Pretoria Campus from 2018 to 2020.
“With extensive years of academic leadership experience, Prof Ngobeni has the experience required to guide the Qwaqwa Campus towards the university’s Vision 130. The campus is already recognised as a leader in some of its unique research fields, and Prof Ngobeni’s strong research background will be valuable in this regard,” says Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS.
Prof Ngobeni is a member of several professional bodies in his field of expertise, including MatTEK at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the South African Chemical Institute (SACI), the Society for Atomic Spectroscopy, and the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP). During his career, he has also secured research funding for individual projects and international partnerships. Prof Ngobeni also initiated chemistry practical sessions for local schools and participated in the Technology Station in Chemicals project, which offers a wide range of services designed to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the chemical sector.
His substantial list of publications in journals and books covers a range of chemistry-related and managerial topics. He is also a well-versed presenter at local and international conferences.
“The Qwaqwa Campus has experienced major developments in recent years; I look forward to further contributing to the growth of the campus and to support the university in achieving its Vision 130,” says Prof Ngobeni.
Ethics at the heart of healthcare practice
2017-05-17
Prof Gert van Zyl during the launch of Health
Ethics for Healthcare Practitioners with
Prof Laetus Lategan at the Central
University of Technology.
Photo: Supplied
The Central University of Technology (CUT) in partnership with the University of the Free State (UFS) launched a newly published book: Health Ethics for Healthcare Practitioners that aims to raise awareness among healthcare practitioners and patients about various unethical challenges faced by healthcare services in both the private and public sectors.
Prof Laetus Lategan, Director of Research Development and Postgraduate Studies at CUT, and Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean of the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences, are the co-editors of the book intended to provide a moral guide to healthcare professionals when dealing with their patients.
Holistic approach to healthcare practice
Their work places renewed emphasis on the importance of healthcare ethics. This is due to a diversifying range of healthcare services and the imminent collapse of the public healthcare service sector; most notably in developing countries. The authors particularly focus on how their findings can be integrated into real-life situations.
The book looks at modern-day healthcare ethics and how they apply to both patients and healthcare practitioners including doctors, professional nurses and therapists. It is an elaborate reference book that will help healthcare practitioners to make informed decisions should they be faced with ethical dilemmas in their practices and assist them to gain a better understanding and devise solutions to problems faced by communities.
Academic journey and partnerships forged
Prof Van Zyl said the book had been a joyful journey of collaboration between the two universities, a journey of academic colleagues who become friends. He explained that they wanted to focus on creating new approaches to healthcare from an ethical perspective, to provide a guide and reference on ethics, not only to healthcare practitioners, but also to patients. “We hope this book will make a difference in healthcare delivery,” he concluded.
Prof Lategan said modern science needed to become more interdisciplinary, which would transcend the way science was conceived. “The essence of healthcare is to be of service to other people and have relationships with other people. I think it’s high time for us to start caring for one another, especially in the academic environment. If we are really looking after the health of other people, whether it is mental, spiritual or physical health, it starts with caring for other people.”