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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

Inter-religion Forum established at UFS

2010-05-28

Persons who attended the founding meeting are, from the left, front: Mr Sunil Poken (representative from the Hindu religion), Ms Ria Paz (Jewish religion), Mr Ronnie Rosen (Jewish religion); back: Rev. Nic Schmidt (Christian), Mr Misaac Davids (Bah'ai religion), Mr Douglas Henney (Bah'ai religion), Rev. Maniraj Sukdaven (Christian religion), and Mr Kebra Melkitsedek (Rastafarian religion).

An Inter-religion Forum (IRF) was established by Rev. Manirjaj Sukdaven, Head of the Department Religion Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS). Representatives from different religions were invited to the founding meeting of the IRF. Religions that showed interest to become involved in the IRF include, amongst others, Ba’hai, Rastafarians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists en New Age followers. The IRF will, amongst others, assist in the compilation of course material about different religions. The forum has also arranged a series of meetings where representatives of different religions discussed the question, “Why am I here?” This is the first forum of this nature at a tertiary institution in South Africa.

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