Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

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

Health Sciences’ students graduate

2008-11-29

Students in medicine honoured

A number of students received prizes for their achievements at this year’s graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of the Free State (UFS), held on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein. Here are, from the left: Dr Erika Kleynhans, who received the Eli Lilly Prize for the student with the best achievement in Psychiatry in all the years of study, dr Ernst Möller, who received the PPS Insurance Company Award for best postgraduate student in Family Medicine, and dr Aletta van Tonder, Dux student who received a total of nine prizes.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Medical students pass their studies with cum laude

Degrees were awarded today to 213 students from the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Faculty of Health Sciences during the faculty's graduation held today on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein. Four of the students who passed their studies with cum laude are, from the left, front: Dr Ida Pretorius, and Dr Deidré van Wyk; back: Dr Aletta van Tonder, Dux student who received a total of nine awards, and Dr Liesel Schärf, who received the Theo Arndt Medal for best undergraduate student in Urology during the clinical years and the Smith & Nephew Prize for best undergraduate student in Orthopaedics. All four students received the MB.Ch.B. degree.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Health Sciences’ students graduate

The Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of the Free State (UFS) today held their graduation ceremony on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein. Some of the top achievers who received their MB.Ch.B. degrees were, from the left: Dr Liesel Schärf, who received the Theo Arndt Medal for best undergraduate student in Urology during the clinical years and the Smith & Nephew Prize for best undergraduate student in Orthopaedics, Dr Sarah Barrett, who received the SA Academy Prize for best final-year student in Family Medicine, Dr Lelethu Bango, best project in Family Medicine, and Dr Deidré van Wyk, who passed the degree Cum Laude.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept