04 December 2025
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Story Tshepo Tsotetsi
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Photo Supplied
The UFS wins the EDHE Learning and Teaching Excellence Award. From left: Dr Edwell Gumbo, Director: EDHE; Dr Ekaete Benedict, Lecturer: Business Management; Chipo Matambo, Manager: UFS Business Incubator; and Mandisa Cakwe, Director: University Capacity Development.
The University of the Free State (UFS) has earned national recognition after winning first place in the 2025
Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) Learning and Teaching Excellence Awards. EDHE received 34 entries from the country’s 26 public universities, with the Top 7 invited to present their work at the EDHE Lekgotla at UNISA in Pretoria on 8 October. The final Top 3 were announced at the EDHE Gala Awards Ceremony in Johannesburg on 26 November, where the UFS project took the top prize.
The winning submission, ‘Enhancing Graduate Employability through Integrated Entrepreneurship Education’, was led by
Dr Ekaete Benedict from the
Department of Business Management and
Chipo Matambo, Manager of the UFS
Business Incubator. Their work stood out for showing how a strong link between teaching, experiential learning, and dedicated entrepreneurial support can shape confident, capable, and opportunity-driven graduates.
“This award celebrates more than teaching. It celebrates confidence, creativity, and the courage to turn ideas into impact,” said Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation & Postgraduate Studies. “Entrepreneurship education is not an add-on. It is a lifeline for graduate employability. I am proud to see UFS leading nationally in this space.”
Building confidence, competence and an entrepreneurial mindset
The award reflects a collaboration that begins in Dr Benedict’s classroom and continues in the incubator, where students encounter real business contexts, personal growth, and the space to test ideas. Their combined work offers students a rare opportunity to link learning, community engagement, and entrepreneurial development in a cohesive journey.
“Entrepreneurship is more than business. It is about shaping futures,” Prof Reddy said. “This award proves UFS is building graduates who lead with purpose. Our students are not just learning business; they are learning resilience, leadership, and possibility.”
For Dr Benedict, the recognition carries personal meaning. She said it affirms the decision she made six years ago to redesign the entrepreneurship modules entirely, moving them into experiential- and service-learning-based programmes that respond to real needs. She explained that this approach “empowers students to see possibilities, take initiative, and believe in their ability to create value”, and added that she has seen students become “more confident decision-makers, more strategic problem-solvers, and more resilient leaders” when they step into real work environments and engage with small- and medium-sized businesses and communities.
That development continues when students enter the UFS Business Incubator, where Matambo works closely with student founders through mentorship, coaching, and venture support. Reflecting on the award, she described it as deeply personal, explaining that it connects to her purpose of helping young people discover their potential. She said the incubator often sees “the grit before the glory,” where students work through doubt and uncertainty before finding clarity and confidence. Matambo added that “students enter curious yet uncertain, and then grow into confident innovators with a voice, a plan, and a sense of possibility”, a transformation she regards as central to the university’s mission to build future leaders.
The faculty’s leadership emphasised the broader relevance of this recognition.
Prof Philippe Burger, Dean of the
Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, noted that in a country marked by high unemployment and low growth, entrepreneurship education is essential. He said the awards recognition highlights the faculty’s commitment to helping students “express their entrepreneurial spirit successfully” and to preparing graduates who can contribute new ideas and initiatives to the economy.
Together, the reflections from Dr Benedict, Matambo and Prof Burger show a shared commitment to strengthening graduate employability through meaningful, supported, and practical learning experiences. The award places a national spotlight on the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at the UFS and the work being done to equip students with the confidence and capability to build opportunity for themselves and others.
Prof Reddy concluded, “National recognition for UFS shows that when academia meets innovation, graduates don’t just find jobs, they create them.”