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UFS welcomes 2025’s new student cohort at two campuses

20 February 2025 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Kaleidoscope

Dream Walk 2025 — First-year students celebrate the start of their academic journey at the University of the Free State (UFS) during the 2025 FTEN Welcoming event.

The University of the Free State (UFS) officially welcomed its 2025 cohort of first-time entering students (FTENs) at ceremonies held at its Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses on Saturday 15 February.

The events marked the culmination of the university’s FTEN Welcoming and Orientation Programme, which began with a Parents Information Session in December 2024.

The Institutional VC Welcoming and Dream Walk ceremonies at the Qwaqwa and Bloemfontein Campuses were attended by Prof Hester C. Klopper, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS; Prof Prince Ngobeni, Qwaqwa Campus Principal; the UFS’s executive and academic leadership; and members of the Student Representative Council (SRC) alongside the vibrant class of 2025.

The FTENs participated in a series of activities, including dance challenges that could win them prizes. “I felt overjoyed, and I also felt welcomed,” said first-year BCom Accounting student Omphile Khomari. “The entire experience was enlightening in a lot of aspects as far as the UFS is concerned.”

Words of wisdom

Gerben van Niekerk, Head of Student Experience at the UFS and host of the ceremony at the Bloemfontein Campus, encouraged the students to reflect on the significance of this moment. “See the sacrifices you’ve made to be a part of this community, see the late-night study sessions, feel the determination that fuelled your efforts, and acknowledge the strength that resides in you,” he said. Van Niekerk also encouraged the students to envision the type of people they want to become as part of the UFS community.

The first-time experience for the new students was also a first for Prof Klopper, who became the UFS’s new Vice-Chancellor from 1 February. In her speech at both events she highlighted that the ceremony was a special moment for both her and the students. “I want to congratulate all of you, because by choosing the University of the Free State for your higher education studies, you have joined the winning team,” she added.

Prof Klopper encouraged students to work hard and persevere through all the challenges of university studies and urged them to follow three key steps to ensure their personal success: take advantage of the opportunities provided by the UFS beyond the lecture halls, such as the university’s cultural and sporting offerings; lean on the UFS support structures such as the Student Counselling and Development Office (SCD) and the Food Environment Office; and embrace and embody the UFS values contained in the university’s Vision 130 strategic plan, including ‘excellence’, ‘innovation and impact’, ‘accountability’, ‘care’, ‘social justice’, and ‘sustainability’.

Prof Ngobeni echoed the Vice-Chancellor’s sentiments in a heartfelt address in which he also urged students to make use of the support structures available on campus.

At the end of the ceremonies, students wrote their dreams and aspirations for their time at the UFS on dream cards.

The students at the Bloemfontein Campus hung their cards on railings along the way, as they took part in the UFS’s iconic ‘Dream Walk’ tradition, in which the new students and the university leadership walk together from the Callie Human Centre to the Main Building. Students at the Qwaqwa Campus handed their cards in as they walked from the Mandela Hall to the sports field. These walks symbolise the beginning of the FTENs’ journeys at the UFS. “I’m really looking forward to learning new things, meeting new people and having fun as a member of this community,” said first-year BCom Accounting student Enzo Ernest.

News Archive

Art and science help us understand the world and our place in it

2017-10-28

Description: Art and science Tags: Art and science

At the event were, from the left: Tristan Nel, first-year Fine Arts student;
Dr Janine Allen-Spies from the Department of Fine Arts;
Prof Carlien Pohl-Albertyn from the Department of Microbiology,
Biochemical and Food Biotechnology; and Pheny Mokawane, a
Microbiology, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology student.
Photo: Charl Devenish

Although BioArt dates back as far as the 15th and 16th centuries with the work of Leonardo da Vinci, it is not every day that art and science combine. This rare phenomenon made its appearance when two totally different groups of students – studying arts and microbiology respectively – joined hands in an initiative to create BioArt.

This first-time undergraduate teaching collaboration between the Departments of Fine Arts and Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the University of the Free State (UFS), which is characterised by the use of living materials, such as enzymes, microbes and DNA, as well as scientific tools and methods, is exploring a number of questions.

Different outcomes for arts and microbiology students
According to Prof Carlien Pohl-Albertyn from the Department of Microbiology, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, one of the central questions explored in BioArt is the nature of ‘life’. “At which stage can matter be classified as being alive or living?” she asked.

“We realised that the outcomes for the two groups of students would not be the same. For the microbiology students, the focus would be on the understanding and effective communication of a microbiological concept. For the art students the focus would be on the execution of the assignment using visual elements and applied theory of art,” said Prof Pohl-Albertyn.

Dr Janine Allen-Spies from the Department of Fine Arts added: “Art students will also be exploring strangely or previously unforeseen gaps between art and science that can be filled with imaginative interpretations which may forward creative insights in both BioArt as a developing art form and microbiology as investigative science.”

Students’ understanding of microbial evolution reflected in art
The art students had to visit the microbiology labs for their assignment as this is mostly a foreign environment for these students. “The paint medium they had to use was gouache. This medium with its bright colours works well to depict microscopic organisms in art,” Dr Allen-Spies said.

On display at the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology on the Bloemfontein Campus, at a recent event to introduce this new initiative to a wider audience, was a range of visually and scientifically compelling paintings and artefacts (such as paintings, poems, songs, apps) which explore a theme within microbiology from a BioArt perspective that uses creativity to communicate concepts dealt with in the module Microbial Evolution and Diversity.

Any parties who are interested in buying the art can contact Dr Allen-Spies at allenj@ufs.ac.za.

Paintings and artefacts reflects students understanding of BioArt. At the recent opening of the BioArt exhibition at the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, was the work of Madeleen Jansen van Rensburg on display.

Pheny Mokawane, a Microbiology, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology student, wrote a poem for his BioArt project in the Microbial Evolution and Diversity assignment.

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