The Centre for Development Support

14/05/2026

Fully funded postgraduate opportunities available for 2027!

The DSI-NRF Research Chair in City and Regional Economies at the University of the Free State is inviting applications for:

• Full-time PhD bursaries x2
• Full-time Masters bursary x1

The scholarships cover tuition, living expenses and related study costs.
This is an excellent opportunity for graduates interested in:

• Urbanisation and economic development
• Urban housing, land and spatial inequalities
• Strategic industries and business dynamics
• The formal and informal economies of cities, including spatial patterns and
trends
• Dynamic places – central cities, business nodes and township economies
• Urban labour markets, unemployment and poverty
• Urban governance, policy and practice, including public-private partnerships and civil society engagement
• The delivery and financing of urban infrastructure and essential services, including transport, energy, water, sanitation and waste services

Successful candidates will join a dynamic research community led by Professor Ivan Turok.

Application deadline: 31 May 2026

To apply, submit the following as a single PDF:
• CV
• Academic transcripts
• ID/passport
• Short research proposal (500–1500 words)

Submit applications to: Ms Nomvula Makhubu [email protected]

For more information:
Prof Ivan Turok [email protected]
Prof Abrahama Matamanda [email protected]

28/04/2026

Want to turn your passion for change into real impact?
The 𝗨𝗙𝗦 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 helps you do exactly that.

This programme's blend of research, theory and hands-on learning equips students to actively turn ideas into real solutions.

🖋️ Flexible part-time study with online learning and in-person sessions - 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳!

Click on "Apply now" or contact the Centre for Development Support Office:
[email protected] | +27 51 401 3812
𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟳 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝟯𝟭 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

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The University of the Free State (UFS) is an institution of higher learning established in terms of the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997, published in Government Notice 33490 dated 27 August 2010.

24/04/2026

When the passion for change is there, you can achieve anything. That is why the 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀, offered by the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State is your gateway to real-world change.

Interdisciplinary | Fully online | 1 year | Ideal for scholars from across Africa

🌍 Learn from anywhere. Make a difference everywhere.
𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 30 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 2026 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!

Need more info?
E: [email protected]
T: +27 51-401-3812

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The University of the Free State (UFS) is an institution of higher learning established in terms of the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997, published in Government Notice 33490 dated 27 August 2010.

20/04/2026

INVITATION TO BOOK LAUNCH - THE ENDURANCE OF
INEQUALITY: RACE, PROPERTY AND SPATIALITY IN
BLOEMFONTEIN AND SURROUNDS

27/03/2026

🚨 Exciting Opportunity!

The University of the Free State is inviting applications for a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mining, Migration and Regional Development, under the supervision of Prof. Lochner Marais.

⛏️ This 2–3 year fellowship forms part of a broader research programme exploring the social, demographic, and developmental impacts of extractive industries in Southern Africa.

📊 The successful candidate will contribute to research on migration dynamics, labour mobility, settlement patterns, and socio-economic outcomes in mining regions.

🎓 If you have recently completed a PhD and have a strong interest in migration, inequality, or regional development, this opportunity may be for you.

📅 Application deadline: 10 April 2026
📧 Submit applications to: [email protected]

📎 Please refer to the attached document for full details on requirements and how to apply.

23/03/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱?

A documentary, what remains through time: slowness and stillness, explores how community knowledge, artistic practice, and institutional spaces intersect across the Meraka Cultural Village, the Sekoele Holistic Living Arts Centre, and the Oliewenhuis Art Museum.

Through collaboration, storytelling, and shared history, the project highlights how museums can transform into inclusive spaces where all people can see themselves and where knowledge is created, not only preserved.

Read more: https://ufsweb.co/4bFJw9Z

18/02/2026

The Centre for Development Support invites you to the premiere of what remains through time, slowness and stillness. This documentary captures a collaborative decolonising initiative led by interdisciplinary artist Sonya Rademeyer at Oliewenhuis Art Museum in Mangaung. Exhibited during the Vryfees 2025 in partnership with the University of the Free State, Queensland University of Technology, and the Vrystaat Arts Festival, the film is more than a record of an exhibition; it is an immersion in slowness, care, and regenerative cultural practice.

We ask: What knowledge systems survive erasure? How do we make visible what indigenous memory still carries? Community members, performers, and "more-than-human kin" – live snails, Earth, and waste – become equal partners in reimagining what a museum can hold. These collaborators are not metaphors but witnesses, their material traces resisting hierarchies of knowledge. At the heart of this vision is Meraka (place of gathering): cultural walls built inside the museum using post-natural and indigenous methodologies. Building becomes a living act of reclamation – brick by brick, hand by hand, reconstructing relationships with place, heritage, and one another. Bridging Oliewenhuis, the Meraka Cultural Village, and the Sekoele Holistic Living Arts Centre, the film invites knowledge to flow in multiple directions. Through auto-ethnographic storytelling, we are asked to consider what endures when we pause. Please join us for an afternoon of viewing and reflection as we sit with the questions raised: What remains, what is carried, and what becomes possible when we slow down enough to notice?

Date: 13 March 2026
Time: 14:00 – 16:00
Venue: Equitas Auditorium, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein Campus
Cost: Free (limited spots available)
Click here https://forms.office.com/r/MJWfxz7NQx to RSVP

For more information, please contact Anita Venter at [email protected]

12/02/2026

🌍 Interested in Africa’s Urban Future?

Applications are now open for our 18-week online Short Learning Programme in Urban and Regional Economics in Africa, starting 14 April 2026.

This programme explores the economic forces shaping African cities — from urbanisation and informality to housing, transport, infrastructure, public finance, and the use of AI and big data in urban analysis.

It is designed for policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and professionals working in urban and economic development.

🗓 Applications close: 20 March 2026
💻 Fully online (with virtual classroom sessions)
🎓 Certificate endorsed by UFS

📘 Brochure available here:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7427601340689711104/?actorCompanyId=96419504

Apply here:
https://kpha.ufs.ac.za/Application/Apply?programmeScheduleID=477

Feel free to share with colleagues who might be interested!

29/01/2026

26/11/2025

🚨 Request for Quotation (RFQ) – Web Development & Data Analytics Services

The NRF Chair in City-Region Economies (CRE) at the University of the Free State (UFS) is inviting service providers to submit quotations for web development, data analytics, and visualisation support for a 12-month period.

The work includes:

1. Building a new Small Business Dashboard for the Spatial Tax Portal
2. Final design and user experience updates for the CRE website
3. Ongoing system support, data updates, reporting, and technical maintenance

We are looking for providers with experience in:
React, Python, Django, MS SQL, Mapbox, and data dashboards.

📅 Deadline for submissions: 5 December 2025
📧 Enquiries and quotes: Nomvula Makhubu ([email protected])
📄 Full details are available in the attached document.