Fewer graduates means fewer data analysis experts to aid in knowledge creation and innovation.
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University of the Free State
The University of the Free State (UFS) is increasingly being seen as an exciting scholarship destination, as evidenced by an unprecedented level of interest by academics and students from around the world. The changes taking place at the university continue to capture the imagination of people everywhere, including the international media and our growing base of international universities.
One of the reasons for the broader interest in the UFS is our very public commitment to the highest academic standards. In doing so, the university pursues a vision of uplifting standards for students and academics alike despite the challenges young people encounter in the school system. We believe strongly that given the opportunity, all young people can achieve the high standards set by our university. This is our academic project.
The UFS remains conscious, however, of its responsibility for public scholarship, for turning ideas into action, for making research count in the lives of ordinary people and for developing a spirit of service through scholarship among our students. These students are the next generation of leaders in South Africa, on our continent, and in this global, interconnected world. In these pursuits, the university seeks to distinguish itself from its competitors. Few universities, for example, make human reconciliation one of the foundations of its mission. This is our human project.
With its central campus situated in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State province, the UFS is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in South Africa. It opened its doors in 1904 with a mere six students in the Humanities and has since grown to more than 30 000 students spread across seven faculties. Besides the Bloemfontein Campus, the university also has a South Campus in Bloemfontein.
Bloemfontein is not only the birthplace of major political parties that shaped the political landscape in South Africa. The city has also produced some of the leading minds in teaching, medicine, agriculture, science, theology, economics, management and many other fields. We are particularly proud of the legal minds cultivated in the university and in the city, the home of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The UFS also has a vibrant Qwaqwa Campus in the Eastern Free State serving rural students from the immediate area and surrounding provinces, and a smaller South Campus in Bloemfontein that provides alternative access to higher education for promising students who obtained poor marks in their final school examinations.
The university’s seven faculties with more than 130 departments and/or schools are served by more than 1692 academic staff members, supported by a strong administrative and support staff.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 132 articles
A reintrodução de tartarugas gigantes em Madagascar, encontradas pela última vez na ilha há 600 anos, pode ajudar a ilha a mitigar as mudanças climáticas.
Mayat embodied principled, faith-based, socially committed, inspired leadership.
Re-wilding Madagascar with giant tortoises last found on the island 600 years ago could help the island mitigate climate change.
South Africa’s defence force has been in decline for some time as its budget has shrunk while its duties have changed.
Pretoria needs to pull off a balancing act in managing South Africa’s international relations to advance its economic interests.
It’s about more than wasteful destruction; it’s a way of restoring dignity to marginalised young lives.
The African university cannot be created through changing the intellectual lens and basis alone. Political action is key.
South Africa is a large peninsula on the strategic Cape sea route. Some 90% of its trade flows through its harbours. The navy defends the country’s sovereignty and national interests.
Land disputes arise when the fundamental principles of customary law are breached. The breach can be at the hands of the state or its representatives.
Taffy Theman and Bustop TV are YouTubers who use comedy to criticise the ruling elite.
Oil and gas exploration pose a threat to the Okavango River Basin water resources. The Namibian and Botswana governments need to properly assess the risk of contamination.
Temperature records are being broken in Africa and around the world.
A new book delves into the issues faced by a 1971 international tennis tour, and calls for injustice to be recognised.
In parts of Nigeria and Mozambique, the central governments and state institutions are either absent or unable to address the dire socio-economic conditions and related instability.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent form of dementia. This is a term used to describe a range of symptoms linked to the decline in brain function with age.
The NHI bill aims to ensure that all South Africans have access to quality healthcare services.
Making South African Sign Language official is more symbolic than useful in the lives of a very marginalised community.
A mismatch between the skills employers want and what young people have is the major cause of youth unemployment in South Africa. Soft skills are key.
Climate systems which drive anomalously cold weather will still cause cold extreme events into the 21st century.
Authors
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Senior Lecturer of Physical Geography and GIS, University of the Free State
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Research Associate, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State
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Senior Professor (Emeritus) and Research Fellow, Department of History, University of the Free State
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Lecturer, University of the Free State
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Senior lecturer in Economics, University of the Free State
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Lecturer, University of the Free State
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Lecturer, University of the Free State
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Associate Professor, University of the Free State
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Senior lecturer in law, University of the Free State
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Associate Professor, Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of the Free State
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Lecturer in Communication Science, University of the Free State
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Research Professor, UFS History Department, University of the Free State
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Senior Lecturer Centre for Environmental Management, University of the Free State
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Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Studies and Governance, University of the Free State
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Professor Emeritus, University of the Free State
