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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

UFS student named as SA Women's Hockey Player

2010-11-08

Lesley-Ann George.

Lesley-Ann George, student and staff member in die Office: Corporative Liaison, Institutional Advancement and Sport at the University of the Free State (UFS), was named by SA Hockey as die South African women’s hockey player of the year. This is the highest recognition that a woman’s hockey player can receive in South Africa.

Lesley-Ann, the Vice-Captain of the Protea team, has this year already represented South Africa in, amongst others, the World Cup Tournament in Argentina en the Commonwealth Games in New-Delhi, India. At the latter meeting the Protea team came fourth.

We are absolutely delighted about Lesley-Ann’s se performance,” said Mr Frans van der Watt from KovsieSport at the UFS. He was also happy that the UFS could play a part in Lesley-Ann’s entry into international hockey. Lesley-Ann is the captain of the UFS women’s hockey team.

“It is an incredible privilege. Many of the other players also deserve this honour, because they have a good season behind them,” said Lesley-Ann.

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