UFS prepares for the future

‘Because tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today’

The wisdom contained in this African proverb comes true through the centuries, resonating in all sectors of society, reverberating in local, regional and global contexts.

At the University of the Free State we have a clear vision of where we want to be in the coming years, until the year 2034, when the university turns 130. This vision is encapsulated in our Vision 130, which expresses our intention and commitment to be recognized by our peers and society as a premier university in South Africa, ranked among the best in the world.

Equally important to this clear vision is our explicit strategy for how to turn the vision into reality. We are focused on constantly renewing and reinventing ourselves to effectively impact the communities that surround us. We aim to do this by building on our enduring strengths and successes, established and honed since our inception in 1904. We are proud of our steady growth in student success, brought about by a holistic approach to student development; our continued contribution to the areas of scarce training in our country and our region; and our growing curricular relevance and employability of graduates. We are constantly improving our research productivity and expanding our number of leading researchers, with distinctive research areas in continuous development.

We want to build on these strong foundations by increasing our number of graduate students, recruiting the best students and scholars from diverse backgrounds, cultivating and expanding valued partnerships with our wide range of stakeholders, and making maximum use of new and existing technologies. to improve the quality of learning, teaching, research and business processes. Academic excellence, quality, and impact are at the center of our vision. So does maximum social impact with sustainable relationships, as well as a diverse, inclusive, and equitable university culture.

We are setting our sights high, knowing that our institution has the human capital, resilience and innovation necessary to go from strength to strength. With our final destination firmly in focus, we are guided by shining beacons, in the form of the values ​​that we, as a university community, subscribe to and hold dear. Excellence, innovation and impact, responsibility, care, social justice and sustainability will always shape and inform our institutional culture and provide a framework for our actions and decisions.

Our ultimate mission is to generate and impart new knowledge that impactfully supports social development.

The future landscape of higher education will be characterized by unprecedented change, brought about by technological advancement, increased internationalization and a renewed focus on the need to actively and sustainably move societies around the world forward.

It is a future that we boldly and confidently approach, because we are preparing for it today.