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01 September 2025 | Story Martinette Brits | Photo Supplied
Engineering
From 2026, the University of the Free State (UFS) will offer its first four-year Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, alongside new MSc and PhD programmes in Ecological and Nature-based Engineering Sciences – preparing graduates to address sustainability challenges in food, water, energy, and the environment.

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

Call for campus review and participation into renaming and renewal of statues, signs, and symbols on UFS campuses
2016-08-25

 

The leadership of the University of the Free State (UFS) is issuing a Call for the renaming and renewal of statues, signs, and symbols on the three campuses to staff, students, and alumni.

In line with the founding statement and guidelines of the Naming Committee of Council, The Call will seek to retain the best representations of the history and identity of the UFS over more than a century, while committing to the transformation imperatives of our new democracy so that the totality of statues, signs, and symbols give credence to both the past and the future, all in line with the values of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

Submissions should be made to the
SSSC between 21 July 2016 and 31 August 2016.
Proposals can be delivered to the
office of the Director: Communication and
Brand Management at Room 49,
Main Building, Bloemfontein Campus, or
via email to sssc@ufs.ac.za.

The ‘Guiding Principles’ of the Naming Committee, approved by Council on 8 March 2013, are transformation, reconciliation, excellence, distinctiveness, leadership, comprehensiveness, balance and sensitivity. The Policy of the UFS on Naming and Renaming is available here: http://bit.ly/2aeTLUz; and the Remit of the Naming Committee of the UFS is available here: http://bit.ly/29NXESC.

The Call will give special attention to creative submissions from staff, students, and alumni, such as signs and symbols that reflect our entangled past and place rival memories in critical conversation. Whatever is proposed, our commitment to the Academic Project and the Human Project remain foundations on which inspirational proposals could be based. In the end, a campus that is richly diverse, inclusive, and just in its symbolic infrastructure, would give visible meaning to the university’s commitment to social justice and reconciliation.

All submissions should be made to the Statues, Signs, and Symbols Committee (SSSC) between 21 July 2016 and 31 August 2016. Proposals could be delivered in hard copy to the office of the Director: Communication and Brand Management at Room 49, Main Building, Bloemfontein Campus or via email to sssc@ufs.ac.za.

Proposals will be reviewed by the SSSC, which is a subcommittee of the Naming Committee.

Final proposals will be submitted to Council for consideration at its final meeting of the 2016 academic year. In other words, new statues, symbols and signs – those approved by Council – will be implemented from January 2017.

Submissions could include, but are not limited to, the following: the renaming of streets and buildings; the proposal of new statues and other symbols on campus; the renewal of artwork collections; the reconfiguration of existing statues and symbols; the introduction of memorial gardens; the instatement of new galleries, sculptures, and literary collections; the establishment of prominent academic chairs or annual academic lectures in the name of illustrious figures, etc. Particular attention should be given to new buildings in the process of being built, such as residences.

Finally, it is important that the views and recommendations of all staff, students, and alumni be considered in submissions and that every campus citizen, past and present, has a sense of being able to participate fully and freely in the process.

Released by: Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Tel: +27 51 401 3422/2707 or +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393

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