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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

SRC Arts and Culture speaks up

2015-03-17

"Stagedoor was an absolute success," says fourth-year medical student, Stefan van der Westhuizen and SRC member for arts and culture.

"I've always been a diverse person and exposed myself to many things."

Raised in Vanderbijlpark near Johannesburg, Stefan has always had a passion for arts and culture.

"It's a platform where students express so much. Stagedoor is where you can see students express their commentary on what is happening on campus and feel like it’s almost a safe zone."

Stefan’s year on the SRC brought about a new format to rotations. Residences paired with each other, while the new 'outdoor' interactions made it possible for residence and off-campus students to interact with rotations.

"I was most proud of the rotations that took place even at the Agricultural Building. There was some great interaction," he said.

Stefan said the idea was to fix things.

“Not much had changed with Stagedoor when I got into office, even ticket sales were decreasing. I wanted to get students amped about it again."

A different element of Stagedoor 'outdoor' was to try to get spontaneity, and to try to get away from residences doing the same plays, but get them out of their comfort spot.

“When we heard the results, we lit up with excitement because we didn't have the usual winners,” Stefan said.

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