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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 Luyt says young researchers should not allow circumstances to determine their future
2016-02-01
Prof Riaan Luyt, an NRF B-rated researcher
Photo: Supplied |
Young researchers, who spend their life at a disadvantaged and rural campus like the University of the Free State’s Qwaqwa Campus, should not be deterred from achieving their dreams.
This is the view of Prof Riaan Luyt, former Assistant Dean in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, who achieved his B-rating by the National Research Foundation (NRF) late in 2015. This was by far the highest-ever rating on the Qwaqwa Campus.
“When I moved to the Qwaqwa Campus many years ago, having had the opportunity to do a post-doctoral fellowship in Polymer Science at the Leeds University in the United Kingdom, I was determined to get the Department of Chemistry off the ground, and to embark on serious research,” said Prof Luyt, who is now the Affiliated Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Research Associate Professor at the Centre for Advanced Materials, based at Qatar University.
“It was through sheer determination that I managed to obtain enough funds to equip a decent research laboratory. There were many obstacles over the years, but I managed to attract more and more postgraduate students and published more,” he said.
At first, Prof Luyt was not successful with his NRF-rating applications.
“My first couple of attempts to get rated produced no success. I was then awarded a C3-rating, which was later followed by C2 and then C1,” he added. “Getting a B-rating is the highlight of my research career. It shows that it can be done. Young researchers should not allow their past or present circumstances, or their work environment to stand on their way,” said Prof Luyt, who has supervised 38 master’s and doctoral students as well as 11 postdoctoral fellows. He has also published 185 papers in international and accredited journals.
Although abroad, Prof Luyt will continue to supervise eight postgraduate students at the Qwaqwa Campus.