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08 May 2024
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The Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Prof Paul Oberholster, has the pleasure of inviting you to the inaugural lecture of Prof Dirk Opperman.
Date: 21 May 2024
Time: 17:30
Venue: Equitas
Click here to RSVP before Wednesday, 15 May 2024. Alternatively, contact Christelle van Rooyen on +27 51 401 9190.
About Prof Dirk Opperman
Prof Dirk Opperman obtained his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of the Free State in 2008. This was followed by postdoctoral research on directed evolution with Prof Manfred T Reetz at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research (Germany). In 2010, he was appointed in the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry. He subsequently established structural biology at the UFS, and his current research focus lies at the interface of evolutionary and structure-function relationships of biocatalysts, and their application in green chemistry. He is an NRF B-rated researcher with co-authored papers in Science, Nature Communications, and Angewandte Chemie.
His research has been funded by both local and international organisations, ranging from industries such as SASOL to the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF, UK). He has a long-standing collaboration with researchers at the Delft University of Technology (TUDelft, the Netherlands) and is currently part of a European Research Area Network Cofund (ERA-NET Cofund) partnership on Food Systems and Climate (FOSC) that develops biocatalysts for upcycling waste.
Centre for Teaching and Learning honours excellence and innovation
2015-11-27

The 2015 Excellence in Teaching and Learning nominees with CTL management and Dr Lis Lange
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Excellence and innovation. These were the qualities celebrated at the recent Excellence in Teaching and Learning Awards. Annually, the University of the Free State (UFS) Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) honours lecturers for their outstanding achievements in the classroom.
During the illustrious event, individual as well as group winners were announced in the category of the Vice Chancellor’s Award, as well as in several categories in the Innovation Awards. The winners of the Excellence in Teaching Awards were:
Vice-Chancellor’s Award
Individual
• Louise van den Berg (Faculty of Health Sciences)
Teaching team
• Salomien Boshoff and Naquita Fernandes (Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences)
Innovation Awards
Engagement and Learning
• Lerato Sekonyela (Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences)
• Rentia Engelbrecht, Jolandi Bezuidenhout, and Jamie-Lee Nortje (Faculty of the Humanities)
Curriculum Design
• Joyce Ras (Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences)
• Adre le Roux and Frans Kruger (Faculty of Education)
Community Engagement
• Martin Oliver (Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences)
• Ielse Seale and Karen Venter (Faculty of Health Sciences)
Assessment Practices
• Joyce Ras (Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences)
• Salomien Boshoff (Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences)
The awards serve to celebrate excellence among the university’s academic staff, while showcasing current best practice, and inspiring innovation among lecturers.
In aid of this, CTL hosted a showcase following the award ceremony. Academic staff and the broader university community could look over the various entries for new insights and added inspiration. A series of workshops and activities explored themes such as professionalism, and lectureship, as well as various apps that can be used in higher education.