UFS

Friendship should never come at the expense of someone’s dignity. Vukona Baloyi, President of the Student Representative Council, challenges students to stop protecting peers who engage in harmful behaviour and to take responsibility for the culture they create on campus. Our culture starts with us. Read more: ufsweb.co/4BTghgo #EndGBV #TheStandardWeSet #16DaysOfActivism #UniversityOfTheFreeState

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆? The UFS Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences’ third Annual Research Day brought together postgraduate students, academics, industry leaders, government representatives and community partners to explore how research can address pressing societal challenges and contribute to a more resilient and sustainable African future. Read more: ufsweb.co/3X3lZw5 #UniversityOfTheFreeState #KnowledgeForChange #EngagedScholarship

The University of the Free State (UFS) celebrates the graduation of 15 members of four royal houses who successfully completed two short learning programmes offered by the UFS Business School. This milestone recognises their commitment to lifelong learning, leadership development, and strengthening governance within their communities. Read more: ufsweb.co/3XlivoN #UniversityOfTheFreeState #TransformingTomorrow #UFSGraduation #UFSBusinessSchool #Kovsie

The University of the Free State has established four new research chairs to advance solutions to some of South Africa’s most pressing societal challenges, bringing together expertise to address issues ranging from poverty and human rights to childhood infections, antimicrobial resistance, biodiversity loss and the relationship between people and nature. By supporting these research programmes, the University is strengthening its research capacity while creating opportunities for collaboration, postgraduate development and research that responds to the needs of South Africa and the wider African continent. Through these initiatives, the University aims to advance research that not only expands knowledge but also responds to challenges affecting communities and contributes to long-term societal impact. Read more: ufsweb.co/4zFDkto

South Africa faces another significant economic challenge as the US moves to withdraw its preferential trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) from 1 January 2027. While the immediate concern is the potential loss of access to the American market on favourable terms, the development raises a much bigger question: How can South Africa build an economy that is competitive, diversified and resilient to global economic shocks? The challenge is not simply to find another market for South African products. It is to build an economy capable of producing goods that the world wants to buy, regardless of preferential trade arrangements, writes UFS’ Dr Calvin Mudzingiri. Read more: ufsweb.co/4BXEvWC #Agoa #Opinion

The University of the Free State (UFS) continues to advance multilingualism and access to justice through the development of legal terminology in Sesotho, isiZulu, and Afrikaans. The initiative, led by the Academy for Multilingualism in collaboration with the Faculty of Law, has so far produced 477 legal terms in Sesotho, verified and authenticated by the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB). The work was highlighted during the Faculty of Law’s Dean’s Distinguished Public Lecture on 9 November 2026, delivered by Justice Mahube Betty Molemela, President of the Supreme Court of Appeal. Addressing the role of language in advancing access to justice, she emphasised the importance of ensuring that people can understand the law and participate meaningfully in legal processes. The initiative reflects the UFS’s commitment to developing African languages as languages of scholarship and strengthening the accessibility of knowledge and institutions. Read more: ufsweb.co/4ey8pqG #UFSLaw #RegionallyEngaged #EngagedScholarship

A joke at a woman’s expense is not harmless. Neither is laughing along or brushing off disrespect. UFS Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Strategic Initiatives, International and Institutional Affairs, Prof Sam Tshehla, calls on men to stop normalising such behaviour and to hold one another accountable. The change starts with what we refuse to excuse. Read more: ufsweb.co/4BTghgo #EndGBV #TheStandardWeSet #16DaysOfActivism #UniversityOfTheFreeState

Disrespect does not become harmless because we laugh it off or stay silent. Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, challenges men to take responsibility for the culture they create and the behaviour they allow. Silence is a choice. So is change. Read more: ufsweb.co/4BTghgo #EndGBV #TheStandardWeSet #16DaysOfActivism #UniversityOfTheFreeState

The vivacious impasse of political footsteps imprinted by our former leaders perhaps may demonstrate that “If we keep voting for the same political parties, we’re likely to be led by the same leaders even though they may be rebranded through impractical manifestos”. Subsequent to the 2026 local government elections which took place on the 4 November, the results provide a glimpse toward a state of absolute deadlock – requiring political parties such as the DA, ANC, MK Party ActionSA, EFF, and others to simultaneously charge themselves with intense commitment to form coalition partnerships. There has been a plague of water outages, failing service delivery, and collapsing infrastructure in municipalities. A multi-party coalition is upon us, and business cannot continue as usual. Only the DA can claim majority seats in Cape Town, the rest of the metros and local municipalities would require that all parities form a stable and capable coalition committed to root out corruption and fix the broken municipal system to serve the citizens, writes UFS’ Dr Terrance Molobela. Read more: ufsweb.co/4AhFO16 #LocalGovernmentElections #Opinion #Coalitions

𝗔 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝗨𝗙𝗦 𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 (𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗳) 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲. Their achievements span maternal health care, specialised blood diagnostics, infectious disease surveillance, animal ecology, and the development of future researchers. Meet the six scholars whose contributions have earned one of South Africa's highest academic honours. Read more: ufsweb.co/4k8v8xc #UFS #ASSAf2026 #ResearchExcellence

𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀. Through its Human Rights in Everyday Life short story competition, the Free State Centre for Human Rights at the University of the Free State invited undergraduate and postgraduate students to explore how creative storytelling can make human rights meaningful to children aged 8 to 12. Congratulations to the winner, Sibahle Mabaso, the runner-up Pikolomzi Qaba, and the other top 10 finalists: Tebogo Mammoge Kgari, Lerato Gladys Khasane, Cynthia Mosia, Cynthia Mabulela, Asekho Sigxabayi, Bongeka Chamane, Rochelle Mosepele, and Dhlalisa Karabo. With selected stories potentially adapted for schools, workshops, and digital platforms, the initiative offers an opportunity to extend human rights education beyond the university and help more children understand the values of dignity, equality, fairness, inclusion, freedom, and respect. #HumanRights #EngagedScholarship #UFSLaw

The University of the Free State (UFS) is exploring new research partnerships with French veterinary specialists as it prepares to establish its School of Veterinary Sciences in Bloemfontein. A UFS delegation led by Prof Bulelwa Nguza-Mduba visited VetAgro Sup, where insights into clinical training and veterinary hospital design could inform the development of the University's planned Veterinary Academic Hospital. The engagements also identified potential research opportunities relevant to South Africa's livestock sector, where foot-and-mouth disease continues to affect farmers and rural economies. Read more: ufsweb.co/4BNSjD7 #UniversityoftheFreeState #VeterinaryScience #AgriculturalResearch #InternationalCollaboration #ResearchWithImpact

As we approach the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, UFS Chancellor Prof Bonang Mohale opens a series of messages from men in our University community under the theme The Standard We Set. His message calls on men in positions of leadership to take responsibility for the example they set and the standards they uphold. Setting a different standard starts with us. Read more: ufsweb.co/4BTghgo #EndGBV #TheStandardWeSet #16DaysOfActivism #UniversityOfTheFreeState

Between April and June 2026, 50 511 cases of gender-based violence and femicide were recorded in South Africa. Behind these figures are women and girls whose lives are being disrupted by violence, whose freedom is restricted by fear, and whose experiences are too often met with silence, excuses, and victim-blaming. The jokes, the harassment, the abuse dismissed as a private matter – these are part of the problem too. We cannot continue to look away. As we approach the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children, the University of the Free State (UFS) is taking a stand under the theme The Standard We Set. We are calling on men to examine how they treat women, challenge harmful behaviour among their peers, and stop making excuses for abuse. But ending GBV is everyone's responsibility every day – not only during the 16 days of activism. In the lead-up to 25 November and throughout the 16 Days, we will share messages from men in the UFS community, including staff, students, and alumni, on the role they must play in challenging GBV. Read more: ufsweb.co/4BTghgo #EndGBV #TheStandardWeSet #16DaysOfActivism #UniversityOfTheFreeState

The University of the Free State has secured a place among South Africa’s top 10 universities, ranking eighth nationally and 1 060th worldwide in the fifth edition of the ufsweb.co/4z6OWoo Best Universities in South Africa Ranking. The ranking recognises universities based on the research performance of their affiliated scholars across a range of scientific disciplines. It draws on bibliometric data, including publications and citations, to assess researchers’ scholarly impact within their respective fields. According to ufsweb.co/4z6OWoo, the ranking is based primarily on comprehensive bibliometric data collected from sources such as OpenAlex and Crossref, supplemented by information from other research data repositories. The citation-based metrics used for the latest edition were aggregated on 12 January 2026. This ranking follows the Times Higher Education (THE) Sustainability Impact Rankings 2026, with the UFS recording its strongest global performance in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10: Reduced Inequalities, where the University is ranked in the band 101-200, placing it among the top institutions worldwide. Read more: ufsweb.co/4sLBeFQ #ExcellenceInEducation #ResearchLed #LeadingWithImpact

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮? That question brought professional planners, academics, and industry representatives to the UFS for a recent accreditation review. Read how the Department of Urban and Regional Planning is working to ensure that its graduates are ready for the communities they will one day serve. Read more: ufsweb.co/3UOX52H #UniversityOfTheFreeState #UFSImpact #ResponsibleSocietalFutures

𝗙𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟬 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗡𝗦𝗙𝗔𝗦’𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝘆, “𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗗𝗠 𝘂𝘀”. 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿? UFS PhD Fellow Pikolomzi Qaba, writing from the Higher Education and Human Development Research Group, looks at 1 119 student interactions and argues the fix isn’t only NSFAS’s job. Universities, TVET colleges, DHET, SRCs and students all hold part of it. A question asked in public deserves an answer the public can see. Getting there is a job for everyone in the system, not one institution alone. Read more: ufsweb.co/4Ajxj5R #NSFAS #StudentFunding #UFSResearch #HigherEducationSA

From the rehearsal room to the opera stage! The University of the Free State's International Institute of the Arts has welcomed acclaimed opera director and educator Christine Crouse as Artist-in-Residence. Through lectures, workshops and the staged production of Orlofsky's Party, UFS students are gaining valuable practical experience and learning from one of South Africa's leading opera practitioners. Read more: ufsweb.co/4irQvIw #UniversityOfTheFreeState #ResponsibleSocietalFutures #ProudlyKovsies

More than 100 children in Bloemfontein had the opportunity to discover and play the bassoon through the Bassoon Kick-Off Bloemfontein 2026, hosted by the University of the Free State’s Odeion School of Music in collaboration with Musicon. Led by internationally recognised bassoonist and musicologist Dr Antonia Teibler from Vienna, Austria, the initiative brought together young learners, music educators and professional musicians to renew interest in bassoon education and inspire the next generation of musicians. Through school outreach, interactive workshops and concerts, the project highlighted the value of music education, international collaboration and creating opportunities for emerging musical talent in South Africa. Read more: ufsweb.co/4BMDvES #UniversityOfTheFreeState #KnowledgeForChange #BeyondTheClassroom

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆? At the UFS Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences' Postgraduate Symposium, emerging researchers, academics, industry leaders and government representatives explored how collaboration and agricultural innovation can help address South Africa's agricultural challenges and build a more sustainable, food-secure future. Read more: ufsweb.co/3WlRSjm #UniversityOfTheFreeState #KnowledgeForChange #ResponsibleSocietalFutures