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UFS to offer agricultural engineering, as well as Africa’s first postgraduate ecological engineering sciences degrees

01 September 2025 | Story Martinette Brits | Photo Supplied

For the first time, the University of the Free State (UFS) will be offering a full four-year engineering degree. From 2026, the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences will present the Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, alongside new PhD and MSc degrees in Ecological and Nature-based Engineering Sciences – the first postgraduate qualifications of their kind on the African continent. Together, these programmes strengthen the university’s role in addressing some of the world’s most pressing and complex sustainability challenges.

Louis Lagrange, BEng Project Manager, describes the new undergraduate degree as a milestone for the university: “It will be the first full engineering degree presented by the UFS, and it directly targets the pressing water–food–energy nexus. It combines hard-core engineering and precision farming digital skills with the living world of biosystems to develop regenerative and environmentally sustainable food production systems.”

The BEng degree is endorsed by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) and approved by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). It is designed to prepare students for the full agricultural engineering design process – from identifying and evaluating challenges, to designing, implementing, and testing sustainable solutions. Students will also be able to specialise through electives in animal production, horticulture, or open land crop production.

Lagrange explains that the programme offers students hands-on engagement from the start. “They will gain experience in agricultural mechanisations such as drones and GIS, water and irrigation systems, soil and environmental stewardship, renewable energy including solar and biofuels, precision agriculture, data-driven smart farming, and food processing.”

BEng graduates will be well positioned for diverse careers, ranging from agricultural/biosystems engineer, irrigation and water resource engineer, smart farming specialist, and food processing engineer to roles in mechanisation, soil conservation, animal husbandry, and energy conversion. Employers include agribusinesses, consulting engineers, environmental firms, government agencies, and research organisations.

According to Dr Jacques Maritz, Head of Engineering Sciences, “Our BSc, MSc, and PhD graduates will be uniquely positioned as ecological engineering scientists who can also branch out to advanced sustainability analysts, computational sustainability professionals, or nature-based complexity scientists who will have the future-proof skill of solving complex sustainability challenges in interdisciplinary teams by using some of the most advanced technology. On the horizon – an NQF 8 postgraduate diploma (PGDip) in Ecological and Nature-based Engineering Sciences to academically link undergraduate students to postgraduate studies.”

Postgraduate degrees: advancing ecological engineering

Alongside this undergraduate development and the existing BSc specialising in Physics with Engineering Subjects, the UFS is also introducing new postgraduate degrees in Ecological and Nature-based Engineering Sciences. “These are the first qualifications of their kind on the African continent and are endorsed by the International Ecological Engineering Society (IEES) and the Ecological Engineering Institute of Africa (EEIA),” explains Dr Maritz.

Dr Maritz explains: “Ecological engineering applies ecological and complexity science principles to design and restore sustainable ecosystems that integrate human society with the natural environment. These programmes will also strengthen work-integrated learning at the UFS, preparing graduates to address climate resilience, scientifically led biodiversity restoration, pollution remediation through data-driven interventions, and sustainable complex systems development.”

The postgraduate programmes are linked to the UFS’ growing research agenda, which includes plans for a biomass production facility at the UFS Industrial Park to advance scientific circular economy solutions, sustainable energy, and bio-inspired technologies. They also engage with cutting-edge fields such as extreme ecological engineering – creating new ecological functionality in severely degraded environments – and industrial ecological engineering, which reimagines the built environment through green construction materials, circular economy practices, and innovations such as 3D-printed green concrete.

Both Lagrange and Dr Maritz emphasise that these qualifications reflect the UFS’ Vision 130 commitment to being research-led, student-centred, and regionally engaged. They agree that the new programmes are ideally suited for students who want to combine engineering, science, and nature with emerging technologies, while pursuing careers that make a real impact on sustainability in South Africa and beyond.

News Archive

Former architecture student takes part in Archiprix in Moscow

2013-06-24

Jurie Swart in Moscow.
24 June 2013

“I am proud that I could honour the UFS’ name,” says Jurie Swart. He participated in the prestigious Archiprix in Moscow in May 2013.

Archiprix is an international competition where the world’s top architecture students are selected. Architecture departments, schools and faculties of 1 500 universities from 78 countries worldwide are invited to enter their top master’s students over two study years.

In 2012, Jurie Swart was honoured as regional winner of the Corobrik Architectural Student of the Year Award and also received an honourable mention in the 2012 International Graduate Architecture Projects.

After several months of careful evaluation by a panel of five experts, his thesis, Borderline – mediated landscape, A water research centre for the University of the Free State, Qwaqwa Campus, was nominated as one of the world’s 25 master’s projects to take part in the Archiprix in Moscow. His thesis was also on display at the Central House of Artists in Moscow for a couple of months.

The judges were Yuri Grigoryan (architect and director of the Moscow-based Project Meganom, as well as director of educational programmes at the Strelka Institute in Moscow); Susan Herrington (professor of architecture and landscape architecture at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada); Kristin Jarmund (architect and director of the Norwegian-based Kjark, an architectural house); Hubert Klumpner (architect, director of the Venezuela-based Urban-Think Tank, and professor of architecture and urban design at the ETH, Zürich ); and Lesley Lokko (architect, academic and author from the UK).

Jurie Swart was selected as the participants’ favourite. “From the top 25, seven winners were announced, and although I didn’t win, it is still an amazing achievement and I am proud to have honoured the university’s name,” he said.

During his visit to Moscow, he also attended a workshop with the rest of the nominated students. This project, with the theme Railroads, was an exercise to help solve Russia’s transport problems.

View his project

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