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One-room magic: UFS' immersive classrooms redefine learning

29 August 2025 | Story Igno van Niekerk | Photo Stephen Collett

The university is transforming education across its Bloemfontein, Qwaqwa, and South campuses with its pioneering one-room spaces, mirrored across all three locations to deliver cutting-edge, immersive learning. Research for these innovative spaces began in 2023, sparked by a photo from the University of Leuven in Belgium, which the university identified as showcasing Leuven’s advanced classroom setup. Prof Philippe Burger, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, leveraging a connection there, led a team to explore this technology globally, collaborating with Canada’s X2O OneRoom to make the UFS the first in South Africa – and one of (as far as we know) two in Africa, alongside Kenya – to offer such immersive classrooms.

Unlike Zoom or Blackboard, where online students were often overlooked as small icons, one-room spaces ensure that everyone feels included. Designed for postgraduate training and PhD interactions, these rooms accommodate up to 40 in-person and 40 online participants, with large video camera feeds on screens, reminiscent of the TV programme Small Talk, where children’s faces lined the wall for engagement. Directional audio and personal cameras create a sensory experience, with sound coming from the speaker’s direction and eye contact feeling natural. Angelique Carson-Porter from the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics shared her excitement about a postgraduate session led by Prof Aletta Olivier, Lecturer in the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies: “It feels like you’re right there, even from Pretoria or Ghana. You see everyone, interact, and never miss a beat.”

Gavin Coetzer at ICT Services, a key project leader, highlighted how lecturers struggled with older platforms’ limitations, often only addressing online questions at the end, disrupting the flow. The UFS’ one-room spaces, implemented in the UFS Business School, the Clinical Skills Unit, South Campus teacher training, and Qwaqwa, solve this with breakout sessions and global conference support. While other universities rely on Teams, the UFS’ user-friendly tech, with around 24 screens and ceiling microphones, allows lecturers to focus on teaching.

Staying ahead of tech trends is challenging, but the university is excelling, making education inclusive, engaging, and truly global.

News Archive

Nguni project flourishes

2008-08-28

The Board of Trustees of the Northern Cape IDC Nguni Cattle Development Project recently held a meeting on the Main Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein. The UFS, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Department of Agriculture and Land Reform in the Northern Cape are involved with this project, which aims to develop first-time farmers into Nguni stud farmers. The project started in June 2006 and to date 11 groups of farmers have been provided with cattle and seven groups will soon be receiving their cattle. These new farmers are spread across the vast expanse of the Northern Cape - from the Botswana border in the north to Noupoort in the south. Because of its success, funding for the project has also increased dramatically. This money is used for a health programme for the cattle, to buy registered pregnant Nguni heifers and bulls and to provide some limited infrastructure on the farms. The Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences at the UFS is involved with the training of the farmers. At the meeting of the Board of Trustees were, from the left: Ms Jacqui Maisela, Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Trustees and Chief Director: Agricultural Development Services of the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture and Land Reform, Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS, and Mr Tommy Mohajane, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees.
Foto: Lacea Loader

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