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

Students attend prestigious National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme

2014-08-22

From the left are: Thokozane Ngcongwane with Mbali Xaba and Thabo Kumalo (both third-year Physics and Chemistry students).

Three students from our Qwaqwa Campus – Thokozane Ngcongwane, Mbali Xaba and Thabo Kumalo – were recently selected to attend the prestigious National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme (NASSP). The programme – in partnership with the National Research Foundation (NRF) – ran for two weeks at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Cape Town.

The project targets students from formerly disadvantaged institutions of higher learning, where astronomy and astrophysics are not offered.

Students are invited to apply for the programme, with emphasis placed on students majoring in mathematics and physics. Students from other fields are also invited to apply, though. The programme allows for the development of black astronomers and astrophysicists, which are in demand in the ever-growing environment of astronomy in South Africa.

“Topics such as gravitational lenses, black holes, stellar evolution and the mysteries of cosmology were presented and students were invited to engage with the speakers during and after the presentations,” said Ngcongwane, a third-year Zoology and Entomology student.

The programme challenged them to work on basic astrophysical concepts in groups while individual written assignments were part of the learning process as well.

“Given the lack of information about the complexities of astronomy the students had, this was the most ideal time to learn about all matters astronomy and astrophysics as lectures offered a lot to young and excited minds,” Ngcongwane said.

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