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01 February 2024 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo SUPPLIED
Prof Prince Ngobeni
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. 

News Archive

Breyten Breytenbach to speak on poetry and philosophy at UFS
2013-02-22

 

Breyten Breytenbach
Photo: Supplied
22 February 2013

The Department Philosophy is hosting a public lecture and panel discussion with the poet Breyten Breytenbach on poetry and philosophy on Wednesday 27 February 2013. Breytenbach will read from work that has never before been heard in public. Members of the public will also be able to ask him questions. The discussion will be in Afrikaans, with simultaneous interpretation to English and Sesotho. Entrance is free.

  • Wednesday 27 February 2013
  • 15:00
  • Odeion

Enquiries can be directed to Johann Rossouw at rossouwjh@ufs.ac.za

Short Breyten Breytenbach biography:

Breyten Breytenbach was born in 1939 on the banks of the Breede River in the Little Karoo. He studied at the Michaelis School of Fine Arts at the University of Cape Town and left South Africa in 1959. His exile was confirmed after the Sharpeville massacre and his marriage to Yolande Ngo Thi Hoang Lien of Vietnamese origin, which brought him into conflict with the Mixed Marriages Act and the Immorality Act.

In 1964 he began publishing poetry, as well as prose. Since the early sixties of the previous century, he started exhibiting in various European art galleries. In 1975 he clandestinely returned to South Africa where he spent seven-and-a-half years of a nine-year sentence for terrorism in South African prisons. He lectured at various universities in both South Africa and the United States. He helped establish the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, and was co-founder of the Gorée Institute in Dakar, Senegal, where he is still involved. He works from Catalonia, Paris and Gorée.

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