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31 January 2024 | Story EDZANI NEPHALELA | Photo ANJA AUCAMP
Dr Martin Laubscher
Dr Martin Laubscher’s thesis, crowned with the Andrew Murray-Desmond Tutu Prize, is testament to the university’s unwavering commitment to scholarly excellence.

In a historic triumph that reverberates over four decades since its inception, the UFS has clinched the coveted Andrew Murray Prize – now renamed the Andrew Murray-Desmond Tutu Prize – for the first time. Standing shoulder to shoulder with institutions such as the University of Pretoria (UP) and Stellenbosch University (SU), this achievement marks a significant milestone in the UFS’ journey.

At the heart of this accomplishment lies the profound contribution of Dr Martin Laubscher, distinguished Senior Lecturer specialising in Practical and Missional Theology in the Faculty of Theology and Religion. Dr Laubscher’s dedication and scholarly prowess culminated in the groundbreaking work titled Publieke teologie as profetiese teologie? (Public theology as prophetic theology), a revised edition of his doctoral thesis, which was originally crafted at Stellenbosch University in 2020, with a focus on the eminent Karl Barth.

Dr Laubscher received the Andrew Murray Prize for Theological Books in Afrikaans for his research and insightful analysis. The journey started when he realised, under the guidance of his study leader, Prof Dion Forster, that his script had the potential to be published in Afrikaans. Sun Media’s interest in publishing this work in Afrikaans, led to it being the first-ever published thesis in Afrikaans. Dr Laubscher recalls, “I was grateful and excited about Sun Media’s interest. The book emerged within a year, and during a celebratory launch Prof Forster suggested I submit it for the Andrew Murray Prize.”

Earlier this year, Dr Laubscher was excited to learn that he was being shortlisted for the prestigious award. Reflecting on the significant moment, he shares, “The elation I felt upon receiving the news was unparalleled. I was not only celebrating a personal triumph, but also etching my name as the first laureate from our faculty to secure this prestigious accolade.”

News Archive

Postgraduate UFS student obtains an international first place
2008-08-01

 

Ms Stella Heyns, a postgraduate student in Sustainable Agriculture at the University of the Free State (UFS), had an exceptional achievement by obtaining a first place in all four of the evaluation categories of the international GLO-BUS business strategy simulations. GLO-BUS, which is the world's first real international simulation focusing on competitive business strategy, is used by the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development at the UFS. The GLO-BUS exercise is done online and students are not only competing in the class, but also on an international level against other registered students. In South Africa, the UFS, Stellenbosch University and the Wits Business School is taking part in GLO-BUS. Here are, from the left: Prof. Klopper Oosthuizen, Department of Agricultural Economics at the UFS and presenter of the module within the Sustainable Agriculture programme, Ms Heyns, and Prof. Izak Groenewald, Director: Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development.
Photo: Lacea Loader

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