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07 July 2025 | Story Martinette Brits | Photo Charl Devenish
NAS Conference
Leaders in science and innovation at the NAS Research Conference 2025. From the left: Prof Samuel Adelabu (Vice-Dean: Research and Postgraduate Studies in NAS), Prof Vasu Reddy (Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation), Prof Bonang Mohale (Chancellor), Prof Paul Oberholster (Dean of NAS), Dr Alba du Toit (Research Chair: Innovative Agro-Processing for Climate-Smart Food Systems), and Prof Daryl Codron (Department of Zoology and Entomology).

The inaugural Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (NAS) Research Conference at the University of the Free State (UFS) signalled a decisive shift in how science is being imagined and practised at the institution. The two-day gathering, which took place on 1 and 2 July 2025, not only showcased research excellence, but also marked the official launch of two flagship initiatives: the Green Futures Hub and the Complex Systems Hub. Both are designed to enable transdisciplinary research that connects across fields, responds to global and local challenges, and contributes to the university’s Vision 130 strategy.

The conference theme, Integrating science for societal impact and a sustainable future, framed the programme, which featured presentations by researchers, postgraduate students, and postdoctoral fellows across all NAS disciplines. Opening the event, Prof Paul Oberholster, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, said: “This is more than a research gathering. It’s a signal – a step forward in our faculty’s approach to science, innovation, and impact.”

He emphasised that in a world marked by climate instability, digital disruption, and growing inequality, science must step forward not only to understand the world, but also to help shape it. “Our goal is to create research pathways that are sustainable, collaborative, and responsive to both local and global needs,” he said. The Green Futures Hub and the Complex Systems Hub are practical, future-facing platforms that make that vision real – connecting researchers, government, industry, and communities, he explained.

 

A catalyst for agricultural and environmental transformation

Prof Wayne Truter, Executive Manager of the Green Futures Hub, introduced the initiative as a catalyst for bringing applied science and sustainability together. He asked how innovation can translate into practical solutions that serve society and the environment. “We often focus so deeply on our disciplines that we forget to ask how our work creates social and economic impact,” he said.

The Green Futures Hub is a virtual platform and flagship of agricultural and environmental stewardship and sustainable development. It fosters partnerships that unleash value through nature-based solutions, land rehabilitation, climate risk finance, water resource management, bio-energy innovations, and more – by connecting researchers with industry, government, and international stakeholders. It also supports initiatives that enhance food and water security, investigate the coexistence of mining and agriculture, and address the carbon and nitrogen economy. The hub serves as a space for funding, knowledge transfer, and community transformation.

Prof Truter noted that complex societal challenges – from sustainable agriculture to the energy transition – cannot be solved by isolated disciplines. “Research must be applied in ways that industry and communities can understand and value,” he said. “If we want businesses to believe in science, we must speak their language and show relevance. The Green Futures Hub exists to bridge that gap.”

 

Science that responds to complexity

Prof Oberholster explained that the faculty’s second major initiative – the Complex Systems Hub – is designed to equip researchers to solve pressing problems in a digitally interconnected age. By bringing together data science, AI, advanced modelling, and interdisciplinary design, the hub strengthens the university’s ability to respond to global challenges.

“These are not abstract concepts,” he said. “They are practical responses to the question: how can we do science that matters?”

Dr Jacques Maritz, Head of the Unit for Engineering Sciences, who presented the launch, emphasised that complexity is not a threat to science – it is a source of innovation. “Scalability, unpredictability, nonlinearity, and emergence – these aren’t just buzzwords. They define the future of research.”

The Complex Systems Hub is a digital platform that enables agile, multidisciplinary teams to develop integrated responses to major issues such as climate change, pandemics, and space science. It connects NAS entities such as the Green Futures Hub, the One Health Centre of Excellence, and Advanced Materials Research to foster collaboration and innovation.

Dr Maritz explained that the hub bridges academic research and real-world application by creating spaces where diverse fields intersect. “If we want research to move from lab scale to real-world solutions, we need diverse teams working together – no single field can do this alone.”

Current projects include eco-friendly materials for sustainable construction, scientific water management using algae, and genomic surveillance for public health – all united by one goal: to turn complexity into opportunity and data into direction.

 

Bringing research closer to impact

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation, officially opened the conference and praised the faculty for its foresight and leadership. “This conference is not only about exchanging ideas,” he said, “but about igniting conversations that matter.” Science, he noted, is not a luxury of the privileged, but “the lifeblood of progress,” and its success must be measured not only in citations but in consequences.

He reminded delegates that global challenges such as climate change, food insecurity, and biodiversity loss are no longer distant threats, but urgent realities. “Science must respond – not with silence, but with solutions and deeper questions.”

Referencing the university’s Vision 130 strategy, Prof Reddy said the goal is not just to be research-intensive, but to reimagine the role of science in society. “The world doesn’t necessarily need more data,” he said. “It needs more direction. If our research does not touch lives, it is not reaching far enough.”

He described the conference as a space to “plant ideas, cross-pollinate disciplines, and harvest innovation,” and applauded the launch of the two new research hubs as engines of hope and practical impact. Addressing postgraduate students and early-career researchers directly, he encouraged them to be curious, collaborative, and courageous: “You are not simply here to follow footsteps. You are here to forge new paths.”

 

Building a future grounded in our own narratives

Prof Bonang Mohale, the Chancellor, reminded delegates that science cannot be separated from history, context, or social justice. Quoting Emeritus Professor J Edward Chamberlin, he asked: “If this is your land, where are your stories?” He challenged researchers to ensure that science is not only excellent but also rooted in African realities and driven by the desire to transform society.

“Those nations that make English compulsory but agriculture optional are destined to produce a citizenry that speaks fluently – but on an empty stomach,” he said. “We must do science that describes, defines, and shapes this country in our own image.”

 

A faculty on the move

Over the two-day programme, students and researchers presented cutting-edge work aligned with the faculty’s wide range of disciplines and the university’s strategic research goals. The conference replaced the Flash Fact competition as NAS’s flagship research platform.

In closing, Prof Oberholster invited delegates to make the most of the opportunity to engage across disciplines. “Let’s ensure that the science we do here continues to transform lives – locally, nationally, and globally.”

News Archive

Bullying in schools: Everyone’s problem
2005-06-03

From left:  Prof Gerhardt de Klerk, Dean: Faculty of the Humanities; Prof Corene de Wet; Prof Rita Niemann, Head of the Department of Comparative Education and Educational Management in the School of Education and Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS

It is not only learners who are the victums of bullying in schools, but also the teachers. Prof. Corene de Wet from the Department Comparative Education and Educational Management at the University of the Free State reported, against the background of two studies on bullying in Free State secondary schools, that bullying is a general phenomena in these schools.

Prof. de Wet, who delivered her inaugural lecture on Wednesday night, is from the Department Comparative Education and Educational Management which resorts under the School of Education at the University of the Free State. She is the first women who became a full professor the School of Education.

Prof. de Wet says, “A student is being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative action on the part of one or more students. Bullying always includes the intentional use of aggression, an unbalanced relationship of power between the bully and the victim, and the causing of physical pain and/or emotional misery.

In some Free State schools there are victims and perpetrators of direct and indirect verbal, as well as emotional, physical and sexual bullying.

“Adults who say that bullying are part of the growing-up process and parents who set not only academic expectations but also social expectations to their children cause that victims are unwilling to acknowledge that they are being bulled. Many parents are also unaware of the levels of bullying their children are exposed to.

“Some of the learners were at least once a month the victim of direct verbal harassment, 32,45% were assaulted by co-learners and 11,21% of them were at east once per week beat, kicked, pushed and hurt in any other physical way. Free State learners are very vulnerable to bullies at taxis and on the school yard they are mostly exposed to bullies in bathrooms.

“Learners are usually bullied by members of the same gender. However, racial composition also plays a role in some Free State schools. A grade 12 girl writes, ‘There are boys in my school who act means against black people. When the teacher is out they take a red pen and write on the projector and spray it with spirits. It looks like blood and they would say it is AIDS and my friends and I have it.’

“Educators must take note of bullying in schools and must not shrug it off as unimportant. Principals or educators could be find guilty of negligence. A large number of educator respondents, 88,29%, indicated that they would intervene in cases of verbal bullying and 89,71% would intervene if they saw learners being physically bullied. However, only 19,97% of the learners who were victims of bullying were helped by educators/ other adults from their respective schools.

“The learners’ lack of trust in their educators’ abilities and willingness to assist them in the fight against bullying has important implications for education institutions. The importance of training must be emphasised.

Learners bully their educators to undermine their confidence. In Prof. de Wet’s study on educator-targeted bullying in Free State schools 24,85% of the respondents were physically abused by their learners, 33,44% were the victims of indirect verbal bullying, and 18,1% were at one time or another sexually harassed by their learners. These learner offences may lead to suspension.

“Educators are not only victims of bullying; some of them are the bullies. The South African Council for Educators prohibits bullying by educators. It is worrying that 55,83% of the educators who participated in the research project verbally victimised learners, 50,31% physically assaulted learners and a small percentage was guilty of sexual harassment.

“Every educator and learner in South Africa has the right to life, equal protection and benefit of the law, of dignity, as well as of freedom and security of the person. These rights will only be realised in a bully-free school milieu.

“To oppose bullying a comprehensive anti-bullying programme, collective responsibility and the establishment of a caring culture at schools and in the community is necessary,” said Prof. de Wet.
 

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