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UFS and US Consulate strengthen century-long academic partnership

05 September 2025 | Story Kagiso Ngake and Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo Stephen Collett

The University of the Free State (UFS) recently had the honour of hosting Stephanie Bunce, Consul General of the United States (US) in South Africa, and her delegation on the Bloemfontein Campus. The visit came at a significant moment, shortly after the first 100 days of Prof Hester C. Klopper’s tenure as Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

The meeting marked an important introduction between two leaders new in their respective roles: Prof Klopper at the UFS, and Consul General Bunce, who began her posting in Johannesburg in September 2024. Their discussions offered an opportunity to align the strategic ambitions of the UFS with the priorities of the U.S Mission in South Africa, while reflecting on the longstanding and fruitful relationship between the UFS and American universities.

Consul General Bunce commended the depth of UFS’s academic partnerships with the United States and expressed enthusiasm about the university’s future direction. “I’m really excited to hear what you’re looking for in the next few years and how we can continue to work together,” she said.

Advancing clinical training and collaboration

The delegation toured the world-class Clinical Simulation and Skills Unit (CSSU), where Prof Mathys Labuschagne, Head of Clinical Simulation and Skills Unit, School of Biomedical Sciences, and his team showcased how advanced simulation technologies prepare students for clinical practice. “Hands-on practice in a safe, non-threatening environment is one of the best ways to build confidence and skills,” explained Prof Labuschagne.

The CSSU was developed based on a model from Penn State University following a visit 15 years ago - a collaboration that has continued to thrive. “Collaboration with US universities opens doors for joint teaching, student exchanges, and research partnerships that drive innovation,” Prof Labuschagne added.

Deepening a century of partnership

Collaboration between the UFS and the U.S universities dates back more than a century. In the 1920s, the University of Michigan established the Lamont-Hussey Observatory on Naval Hill, and Harvard University relocated the Boyden Observatory to Maselspoort. Both observatories, now part of the UFS, symbolise a legacy of shared scientific discovery.

These historic ties have since evolved into formal agreements with universities across the United States. Between 2020 and 2024, the US was the leading country collaborating with the UFS, producing more than 929 co-authored publications across 648 institutions. Today, partnerships continue to expand through research, academic exchanges, and staff mobility programmes that leave a lasting impact on students and society alike.

Consul General Bunce highlighted the distinctive nature of these partnerships. “In many countries, academic exchange is driven by government. Here, it grows organically from strong relationships and programmes.”

Prof Lynette Jacobs, interim Director in the Office for International Affairs, emphasised the value of these ties: “Our partnership with the United States shows how a strong and mature relationship can drive diversified internationalisation, advancing our strategic goal of global engagement with real impact. We look forward to welcoming the Consul General on our other two campuses.”

Driving innovation and commercialisation

In her address, Prof Klopper outlined the university’s vision to translate research into real-world solutions and commercial opportunities. “The UFS is learning from many American universities’ innovative models, which leverage multiple income streams and strong industry partnerships,” noted Prof Klopper. Prof Klopper emphasised that diversifying income is not only about sustainability but also about ensuring research has impact. Recent spin-off companies are an example of this vision becoming reality.

Charting the future

The US delegation expressed strong interest in UFS’s areas of strength, including community engagement, entrepreneurship, and student success initiatives. They also highlighted the potential for US students to study at the UFS, with consular support services in place to assist visiting students in emergencies.

“It is wonderful to see relationships that grow and change but continue to bring in new partnerships and exchanges,” Consul General Bunce remarked.

With plans for new mobility schemes, joint research projects, and a shared commitment to innovation, the UFS and its US partners are well-positioned to shape the next chapter in their century-long story of collaboration.

News Archive

University publishes its Integrated Report

2013-08-23

23 August 2013

The university is proud to have published an integrated report in line with the King III requirements on corporate governance. The university is one of the first universities – if not the first – in South Africa to do so. The UFS sees integrated reporting as a public process through which we report to all our stakeholders, using evidence-based data, on the achievements and challenges of a public university.

Our first Integrated Report reviews the overall performance, non-financial and financial, of the UFS for the 2012 academic year. It is the first report of its kind delivered to stakeholders and guided by the King III framework which recommends integrated, sustainable performance that is reported in a way that enables stakeholders to make an informed assessment of an institution.

The Integrated Report notes that the conditions under which higher education institutions operate have become more demanding in the last two decades and there is a growing need for universities to be more explicit and transparent about the manner in which their core functions (teaching, research and public duty), as well as its administrative operations, are defined by and support good governance, sustainability and corporate citizenship.

The university welcomes this opportunity to present in public an integrated account of itself. In particular, the UFS sees this report as an opportunity to align more strongly its financial and non-financial reporting in pursuit of organisational sustainability and social transformation in South Africa.

Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, notes in the report that in the past four years the university has made significant progress in respect of its two foundational commitments, the Academic Project and the Human Project.

There are now more students entering the university who satisfy the higher requirements set for admission. “This will improve the throughput and graduation rates of incoming students, ensuring their personal success and satisfaction with higher education.” The establishment of a state-of-the-art Postgraduate School, for example, is expected to increase the number, quality and success rates of postgraduate students.

The research output has increased steadily and the contribution of the new Senior Professors project, as well as the five research clusters, have helped to improve the quality of research and the spread of postgraduate recruitment beyond South Africa.

On transformation, the Vice-Chancellor observes that “We have made significant progress in building inclusive, democratic and embracing campus cultures which affirm the value and dignity of all students and staff. With the steady increase of black students in a majority black campus, our goal remains to retain our diversity in a university that serves as an experiment in teaching students to live and learn and love together.”

Financial sustainability is a major commitment and the UFS has not only maintained its record of unqualified audits, but has steadily built a culture of risk management and performance evaluation throughout the system. Internal auditing is a strong instrument in our arsenal to secure financial and operational compliance in every department of the university.

“What integrates the systems and functions of the university is the alignment of everything we do with our two pillars, the Academic and Human Projects, built on a solid foundation of professional support services as described in the Strategic Plan adopted in 2012. In the process of preparing the Integrated Report we discovered how much still needs to be done to align the still disparate and independent activities of the three campuses, seven faculties and more than 100 departments of this large university,” according to the Vice-Chancellor.

The report is available at: http://www.ufs.ac.za/content.aspx?id=184.

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