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07 January 2025 | Story Gerda-Marie van Rooyen | Photo Supplied
KovsieX
KovsieX offers a comprehensive digital experience through podcasts, video content, and social media. This initiative is set to transform the student experience, creating a strong sense of belonging and collaboration across campuses.

Optimising student experience while providing students with multimedia training using state-of-the-art equipment and aligning with Vision 130, KovsieX is set to become a great asset to the university, its students, and the community. 

This initiative, approved by the UFS Rectorate on 29 November 2023, combines various student media brands on the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa campuses (KovsieFM, Q-Lit, KovsieTV, KovsieCAST) into a unified brand consisting of three student-driven sub-departments. This includes audio (radio and podcasts), video (long and short form), and social media (including TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube). 

An all-digital approach 

Gerben van Niekerk, Head of Student Experience (KovsieX), explains: “This all-digital approach leverages digital radio, podcasts, and social media platforms to create a sense of belonging among students by reflecting on and leading student life across the campuses.” KovsieX has achieved remarkable success, reaching an audience of more than 1,2 million in the first semester alone, with multiple TikTok videos surpassing 100 000 views. 

“Recognising the evolving radio landscape, our approach integrates a comprehensive digital strategy to adapt to changing media consumption preferences and provide students with hands-on experience on emerging platforms, strengthening their market relevance. KovsieX (previously KovsieFM) moves away from traditional FM broadcasting and has enabled the students to cover a wider range of topics that affect the Kovsie community,” says Van Niekerk. He adds, “The essence of KovsieX can be summarised in our one-word slogan: IMAGINE.”  

KovsieX supports Vision 130, as it leverages emerging technologies to enrich academic and non-academic student experiences. Furthermore, it also provides students with the opportunity to gain on-the-job and leadership experience in the KovsieX executive committee (KovsieXco), comprising a small group of ‘dynamic and highly talented students’, with their first objective: to decide on a brand name and setting on KovsieX – with the ‘X’ referring to experience. 

A mobile app provides students with easier access to KovsieX’s content. This initiative is set to increase students’ experience even more, as possible partnerships are in the pipeline to deliver a year-long dialogue series on themes pertinent to students. “This initiative will engage students on key issues such as leadership, mental health, heritage, and anti-discrimination through a blend of digital content – including interviews, social media posts, and expert discussions – and live on-campus events.”  

State-of-the-art facilities 

The construction of the KovsieX Pod on the Bloemfontein Campus allows students to produce content in a state-of-the-art podcast and video studio with Apple Mac workstations and a meeting room. A similar space in the current Student Media Building on the Qwaqwa Campus, named the KovsieX Q-Pod, is on the cards, as is the integration of KovsieX across the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa campuses. “KovsieX will be broadcast from two locations and will, therefore, allow students from both campuses to interact with one another live on air. Both radio studios will be rebuilt to allow students to stream directly on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok from both campuses simultaneously. This is made possible by cutting edge cloud-based software – popular in Europe – but KovsieX will be the first to leverage this technology in the country,” shares Van Niekerk.

News Archive

New yeast named after Bloemfontein
2011-11-21

 
Martie Smit, prof Jacobus Albertyn and Carlien Pohl.
Photo: Stefan Lotter

A second living organism was named after Bloemfontein, adding to the fact that the University of the Free State (UFS) has the largest yeast collection in the Southern Hemisphere.

In an article in the highly acclaimed scientific journal, International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, three lecturers from the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, at the UFS, Dr Carlien Pohl, Prof. Martie Smit and Prof. Jacobus Albertyn, describe four new yeast species.
 
One of these species, isolated from pine needles from Bloemfontein, has been named after this city and will be known as Rhodotorula bloemfonteinensis. ‘Rhodo’ refers to the redness of these types of yeast. This makes this yeast only the second living organism to be named after Bloemfontein. The other is a mite (Pilogalumna bloemfonteinensis), which was described in 1972.
 
In short, yeast is a micro-organism that is part of the fungi family. Prof. Albertyn, “The most common of these are the bakers’ yeast, of which the bloemfonteinensis forms part.”
 
Among these four species they discovered, the Rhodotorula pini was also discovered on the Bloemfontein Campus of the UFS during December 1995.
 
“The UFS now has the largest yeast collection in the Southern Hemisphere. All over the world, science is busy researching the field of bio-diversity. This promotes the bio-diversity at the UFS,” Prof. Albertyn says.

 

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