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18 November 2024
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Story Jacques Maritz
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Photo Supplied
Muhammad Cassim, a second-year student in the Department of Engineering Sciences in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences.
Muhammad Cassim, a second-year student in the Department of Engineering Sciences in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State, will participate in the winter university project in Pskov, Russia, from 25 November to 9 December 2024.
The winter school aims to strengthen relationships among young engineers and deepen international interaction via skills improvement, joint projects, and social cohesion. The programme boasts a densely packed education block, project block, and cultural block.
Cassim is part of the UFS Grid Related Research Group and actively participates in research centred on complexity science. He intends to complete his BSc Physics degree with Engineering subjects and progress towards postgraduate studies in the UFS Department of Physics.
He is currently working on verifying experimental developments in the field of synchronisation in complex networks. While he has already completed this high-performance computing training in his first year under the leadership of Albert van Eck (Director, UFS E-research), he is looking forward to the masterclasses in holographic modelling, deep learning, direct laser deposition, and database. Closely resembling his current research, he will have the opportunity to gain more experience in the use of set theory and graph theory in solving digital information processing problems.
For more information about international scholarships for study abroad opportunities, contact Mbali Moiketsi in the Office for International Affairs.
Cassim’s student profile is the culmination of the department’s strategy to produce young applied scientists who are subjected to the culture of research during their undergraduate study and could articulate with ease to other departments for postgraduate studies. The department aims to align with the UFS’ Vision 130 by producing competitive students who can operate in the postgraduate paradigm with the digital themes of veterinary science and ecological engineering science.
Prof Jeffrey Sachs presented with honorary doctorate at Spring Graduation Ceremony
2015-10-01
Prof Jeffrey Sachs (centre) with Prof Philippe Burger,
Head of Department: Economics (left), and
Prof HJ Kroukamp, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and
Management Sciences (right).
Photo: Charl Devenish |
“Quality education is the best accelerator for sustainable growth. Universities have a unique role to play in this regard,” Prof Jeffrey Sachs said during a lecture he presented at the University of the Free State (UFS) Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. He gave an insightful overview of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The 17 SDGs replace the Millennium Development goals of the past 15 years. In a major achievement, 193 countries will sign the goals at the United Nations (UN) in New York on 25 September 2015.
Prof Sachs is the director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet professor of Sustainable Development, and professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also a special advisor to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals, and director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Another accolade now added to his résumé is an honorary doctorate in Economics conferred on him by the UFS at the Spring Graduation Ceremony on 17 September 2015 for outstanding achievements and contribution to academia.
“South Africa is not achieving sustainable development. It has the highest inequality in the world with high unemployment among the youth. Quality education is the best accelerator for growth,” Prof Sachs said. He used the high education investment in Korea as an example of that country’s growth. Prof Sachs added that the government cannot achieve the SDGs on its own. “It is important for the country and universities to take on the goals. Universities can apply pressure, influence and provide solutions.”