Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2019 2020 2021
Months
January March May June
Previous Archive
10 June 2019 | Story Lacea Loader
The executive committee of the University of the Free State (UFS) has today resumed the training of its undergraduate students in the School of Clinical Medicine at the Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein with immediate effect.

The decision to suspend the training of undergraduate students at the hospital came after the attempted rape of a medical intern last week, as well as the robbery of a medical officer in the parking area of the hospital over the weekend.

This morning, discussions involving the university management, the Head of the Department of Health (DoH) in the Free State Province, the executive committee of the Pelonomi Hospital, and the South African Police Service (SAPS) took place regarding the security situation at the hospital. The DoH provided the university with a security project plan comprising immediate and medium-term interventions, and a commitment to execute the plan as a matter of urgency. The university’s executive management furthermore met with the management of the Faculty of Health Sciences and, based on a safety risk assessment, the university’s executive management agreed that undergraduate students could again fully access the clinical platform at Pelonomi Hospital.

Interventions in the security project plan include the installation of high-mast lights in the precinct of the hospital, reparation of the perimeter fence, security locks, and limiting access to the hospital and the hospital grounds after 20:00 until 06:00. A Venue Operation Centre (VOC) made up of SAPS, institutional security management, and the Community Policing Forum will also be established at the hospital.

“The main focus and concern for the executive management of the university is the safety of its students and staff. We are satisfied with the security plan and the overall interventions committed to by the DoH and will monitor the implementation of these interventions with the management of the Pelonomi Hospital and the DoH. The security interventions will alleviate the situation at the hospital in order for the university to continue sending its undergraduate students there for training,” said Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, during a media briefing today.

Prof Petersen also met with undergraduate students in the Schools of Clinical Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health Professions today to discuss the situation at the hospital. Trauma counselling is provided to undergraduate students and staff and those in need of counselling at the Pelonomi Hospital.

The DoH has furthermore extended its bus service between the clinical platforms in Bloemfontein to students in need of transport of the School of Clinical Medicine according to time slots as from the beginning of the second semester. This service will ultimately be extended to undergraduate students in the Schools of Nursing and Allied Health Professions. “We will also look into further transport solutions for the longer term for our students,” said Prof Petersen.

Undergraduate students from the university’s Schools of Clinical Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health Professions are trained on the clinical platforms in Bloemfontein – these include the Pelonomi Hospital, Universitas Hospital, National Hospital, the Mangaung University Community Partnership Programme (MUCPP), and the Free State Psychiatric Complex.

Although these clinical training platforms are under the jurisdiction of the DoH in the Free State Province, they form a critical part of the training of undergraduate students in the university’s Faculty of Health Sciences. Staff on the joint establishment of the UFS and the DoH also work at hospitals on the clinical platforms.

Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Department of Communication and Marketing)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za


News Archive

UFS hosts the 2017 SAIMS Conference
2017-09-21

Description: SAIMS confrence Tags: SAIMS, Kopano Nokeng, conference, research, Prof Francis Petersen, business, Kovsies, St Dairy, Mushrooms House 

The hosts of the 2017 SAIMS conference:
Dr Jacques Nel
(UFS:Business Management), Prof Francis Petersen
(UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor),
Dr Werner Vermeulen (HOD of UFS: Business Management),
Dr Habofanwe Koloba (UFS: Business Management),
and Prof Hendri Kroukamp
(UFS: Dean of Economic and Management Sciences).
Photo: Supplied



The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Business Management recently hosted the 29th South African Institute of Management Scientists (SAIMS) conference at Kopano Nokeng in Bloemfontein. This year’s theme, ‘Management Research: Science Serving Practice’ focused on the importance of sharing our results and making it relevant and usable to different communities.

Prof Petersen motivates researchers to become part of the business cycle 
On the first day of the conference, the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Prof Francis Peterson, welcomed 148 delegates from 18 different institutions (academic and professional) to the City of Roses. He motivated them to keep on doing highly scholarly research by being part of the business cycles.

Prof Adré Schreuder, founder of Consulta (Pty) Ltd, was the keynote speaker of the conference. He highlighted four personas needed to further enhance and develop the science-practice alignment in market research and business. “The first skills persona is called a Social Media Maven, which is in line with the rapid growth of social media networks and the growing need for social media analytics. Then there is the Data Synthesiser that supports the growth trend in Big Data and Advanced analytics, which are both driven by technological innovation and the enormous volume of available data. The third one is Marketing Strategist, which has strong representation in brand and advertising research in our industry. Lastly, we have the ‘Business Consultant’ which aligns with the industry trends towards deeper insights and consultative skills required to move beyond mere reporting, but rather getting involved in the design and implementation of recommendations.”

Conference to collaborate academics and business
Dr Werner Vermeulen, SAIMS 2017 Conference Chair, says, “This conference will underpin the need for collaboration and cooperation of individuals from the academic environment and the business world itself.” He says the conference will also provide a wonderful forum to refresh knowledge and explore contemporary trends and future-based business research.
 
Delegates were also given the opportunity to dress up to the carnival theme and were entertained by a fire dancer and magician. They had the honour of indulging in two Kovsie-produced food products, the St Dairy organic cheese and exotic mushrooms by Mushroom House. 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept