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UFS welcomes GeoCongress 2025 delegates

02 June 2025 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

Dr Martin Clark, chair of the local organising committee, is looking forward to welcoming delegates to the GeoCongress.

In just more than three weeks, the University of the Free State (UFS) will open its doors to delegates attending GeoCongress 2025, hosted in collaboration with the Geological Society of South Africa. From 23 to 27 June 2025, academics, industry professionals, and students will come together on the Bloemfontein Campus to share knowledge, discuss new research, and connect with peers in the geosciences.

This biennial event will feature a dynamic programme of workshops, keynote addresses, and presentations covering a broad range of topics in the field.

Message from the event organisers and UFS leadership

“It is a unique honour to be able to host the national GeoCongress, being responsible for bringing together our partners in industry and academia to share our evolving understanding of the rocks, minerals, and advances in the geosciences and associated disciplines. My view of the GeoCongress stems from my appreciation and understanding of one of South Africa’s most highly regarded geologists, Dr Hans Merensky. Dr Merensky is credited with finding platinum in the Bushveld, diamonds in Namaqualand, and phosphorus and vermiculite in Phalaborwa. However, less remember was Dr Merensky’s ability to coordinate comprehensive investigations of rocks, and his tenacity in exploring across the South African landscape. For this, I believe our theme Embracing Change through Collaboration is apt, since it's through interactions between various sectors that we are best able to handle the challenges of tomorrow,” comments Dr Martin Clark, Senior Lecturer in the UFS Department of Geology and principal investigator of the Merensky Group for Airborne Geological Image Classification (MAGIC) at the Department of Geology.

“The 2025 GeoCongress symbolises the principles of sustainable research and innovation that we advocate for in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and underscores our dedication to the development of interdisciplinary collaboration. Research collaboration through our Green and Complex Research Hubs is consistent with the congress theme of ‘Embracing Change Through Collaboration’. By integrating geoscience research with broader sustainability and technological advancements, we guarantee that our scientific discoveries make a significant contribution to both environmental stewardship and industry," said Prof Paul Oberholster, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences.

Outstanding line-up of attendees

GeoCongress 2025 is set to bring together some of the most influential minds in geoscience, creating a space where leading academics, industry experts, and emerging researchers can exchange ideas and insights. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with key figures shaping the field, including Prof Glen Nwaila, Director of the Wits Mining Institute and a leading authority in economic geology and geometallurgy at the University of the Witwatersrand; Prof John Carranza, a highly regarded researcher at the UFS; and Sifiso Siwela, Chairperson of the SAMCODES Standards Committee and past president of the Geological Society of South Africa.

Adding to the wealth of expertise, Dr Geoffrey Howarth, Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Town and Head of the Electron Microprobe Facility, will bring his knowledge in mineral studies, while Prof Susan Webb, Associate Professor of Geophysics at the University of the Witwatersrand and acting co-director of the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Integrated Mineral and Energy Resource Analysis (CIMERA), will share her insights into geophysical research. Dr Hayley Cawthra, specialist scientist at the Council for Geoscience, will contribute her expertise in coastal geology, and Prof Steve McCourt, President of the Geological Society of South Africa and Professor Emeritus at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, will bring his experience in structural geology. The line-up also includes Prof Wolfgang Maier from Cardiff University, whose research on magmatic ore deposits continues to influence the field.

To make the most of your GeoCongress 2025 experience, be sure to take full advantage of the networking opportunities – from informal meet-and-greets to engaging panel discussions. Don't miss the chance to attend hands-on workshops and exciting field excursions. These excursions offer a deeper look into the country’s rich geological history, with opportunities to visit Florisbad, Kimberley, the Beatrix operations in the Goldfields, or the Drakensberg. For more tips on navigating the congress and must-see highlights, visit the GeoCongress 2025 website at https://geocongress2025.org.za/ or contact us at secretariat@geocongress2025.org.za.

GeoCongress 2025 is set to be a landmark event on the geosciences calendar. With the UFS as your host, prepare for an experience that combines academic excellence, innovation, and a collaborative spirit. Welcome to GeoCongress 2025!

News Archive

First UFS/AS Young African Scholar Award winner announced

2016-03-10

Fana Gebresenbet Erda, winner of the first University of the Free State /Africa Spectrum Young African Scholar Award, for his research on political economy.
Photo: Supplied

Scholarship in African Studies still faces the challenge of capacity-building to increase ownership by authors and institutions from and on the African continent. It also requires more coordinated efforts to provide the space deserved by African authors in the international domain. In 2015, the University of the Free State (UFS) Centre for Africa Studies joined forces with Africa Spectrum (AS) in a bid to address this issue by establishing the UFS/AS Young African Scholar Award.

This award seeks to strengthen efforts to promote internationally recognised African scholarship in African Studies. One way to achieve this objective is through publishing articles by researchers based in Africa and in the diaspora in Africa Spectrum, an accredited journal compiled by the German Institute of Global and Area Studies in Hamburg.

The inaugural award winner
Fana Gebresenbet Erda, a PhD candidate in a Global and European Studies programme jointly offered by the University of Leipzig (Germany) and Addis Ababa University, wrote the winning article for 2015. He will receive a three-year affiliation to the UFS Centre for Africa Studies as a Research Fellow, along with prize money of R5 000, sponsored by the UFS.

His article, The Ethiopian Developmental State in Its Peripheral Lowlands: Large-Scale Land Acquisitions, the Politics of Dispossession and State Remaking in Gambella, Western Ethiopia, argues that development through large-scale land acquisitions in Gambella, Western Ethiopia, belies a state-remaking project under a dispossessive political economy.

Submission now open
Africa Spectrum invites scholars to submit research articles in the context of the award. In October of each year a review committee selects submissions for review. Those eligible to submit are postgraduate students nearing completion of their PhD theses and postdoctoral scholars who were awarded their PhDs no more than five years earlier at the time of the submission deadline. Those submitting should be from Africa or should be affiliated to African institutions.

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