Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
01 February 2024
|
Story Lacea Loader
|
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.
Willem Boshoff’s artwork placed on Bloemfontein Campus
2011-10-21
 |
Students viewing the new artwork on our Bloemfontein Campus
Photo: Hannes Pieterse |
There was great excitement last week when Willem Boshoff’s Thinking Stone sculpture arrived and was installed near our Main Building. The black granite stone, which was quarried at Boschpoort Granite in Belfast, Mpumalanga, weighs approximately 20 tons and took about a year to polish to give it its burnished quality.
On the surface of the stone are engravings that resemble the prehistoric rock engravings of the Driekopseiland rock art site close to Kimberley. Added to the engravings are sandblasted inscriptions in six languages of verses and well-known quotes that refer to the word “rock”.
Willem Boshoff is one of South African’s most established artists and his artworks are deeply involved in relationships and focused on bringing about conversation. Willem describes the Thinking Stone as being “a place for gathering and sharing ideas, as universities should be”. The sculpture is a huge investment for our university and will, for many years to come, inspire thought, dialogue and contemplation.
Willem Boshoff’s sculpture is, to date, the largest of fifteen artworks commissioned by the Sculpture-on-Campus Project and funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.