Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
31 January 2018 Photo Charl Devenish
Kovsie Star of Stars winner believes that Geology rocks
Director of UFS Marketing, Nomonde Mbadi, with the winner of Kovsies Star of Stars for 2017, Palesa Modutwane.

Starting in 2016, UFS Marketing embarked on a project designed to help learners from less fortunate backgrounds to discover their potential. This competition, dubbed ‘Kovsies Star of Stars’, designed to help recognise excellence and reward disadvantaged learners from Quintile 1 to 3 (non-fee-paying) schools. The project’s motto is ‘Aspire to Inspire’, with the goal of discovering the potential hidden beneath the hard-packed surface of poverty.

Two of the five Free State districts were identified, namely Xhariep and Motheo, where the initiative is currently being conducted. In 2016, Grade 12 learners were invited to participate, with ‘Doctor’ Tshepo Thajane, from Lefikeng Secondary School in Botshabelo, being selected as the winner of the inaugural competition. He was pursuing a degree in Actuarial Sciences at the UFS, and towards the end of 2017, he was offered a scholarship to study abroad. This outstanding initiative by the UFS Marketing team was honoured with an award from the organisation Marketing, Advancement, and Communication in Education (MACE) in November 2017.

“We hope to give
… life and hope.”
—Nomonde Mbadi,
Director: UFS Marketing

Initiative seeks to ‘give life and hope’
Nomonde Mbadi, Director of UFS Marketing, whose brainchild the project is, says, “In spite of living in the depths of poverty, taking each day as it comes, these learners have more drive and passion than many others.”

Ms Mbadi and her team, including Chantel Koller, project lead on Star of Stars, aim to "give these learners life and hope" by means of the project, she says.

The winner of the Kovsie Star of Stars for 2017 is Palesa Modutwane from Ipetleng Secondary School in Petrusburg, Free State. She says of her achievement: “This means that all the hard work that I invested in my studies and in community projects is being recognised, and I feel like a new chapter of opportunities has been opened to me. It means that my background does not determine my future. Despite all of this, I still managed to conquer.”

Palesa will be studying Geology at the UFS. After all the hard work getting into her chosen programme, she is up for the challenges and is ready to represent women who were denied the opportunity in a previously male-dominated industry. She says, “I want to show that we have the same potential and wisdom as men.”

News Archive

SRC Consultation desk
2015-04-20

In an era where woman are consistently escalating up the echelons of power, this universal phenomenon is also making waves on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State. As different citizens would recognise First lady Michelle Obama, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and United Nations Ambassador Angelina Jolie, so it is also with Student Representative Council Secretary General, Dineo Motaung. She is among a handful of ladies within the student leadership who cherish her responsibilities diligently for the interests of human beings.

The SRC Consultation Desk is an official space created by the office of the Secretary General, aimed at being of service to students alongside the students’ academic pursuit. Inspired by Ubuntu, meaning ‘I am what I am because of who we are’ comes the task of cultivating and nurturing the essence of who we are, through constructive and honest dialogue between students and the university staff. It is by talking to one another that we will establish an environment that permeates our uniqueness and pollinates our consciousness with awareness that would cause us to act in unison in propagating the vision of the university.

Toward this end, the Secretary General has commissioned two SRC members to various stations every Monday and Wednesday, to interact with both students and staff. Please find the schedule reflected below. It is hoped that through this engagement, problems will not simply be identified, but that practical and feasible solutions will be offered.

“Through the SRC Consultation Desk I hope to see the manifestation and spirit of Ubuntu on campus by the time my term ends. With all that said, I am available for any concerns,” said Motaung.

Monday 20 April 2015, 12:00-13:00

SRC Accessibility and Student Support: Louzanne Coetzee

Station: Thakaneng Bridge

Wednesday 23 April 2015, 14:00-15:00

SRC Media, Marketing & Laison: Lethabo Maebana

Station: New Computer Labs (Entrance door)

Wednesday 29 April 2015, 14:00-15:00

SRC Student Development and Environmental Affairs: Victor Ngubeni

Station: Sasol Library (Opposite Deli)

Monday 4 May 2015, 14:00-15:00

SRC Secretary General Dineo Motaung

Station: Amphitheatre             

Wednesday 6 May 2015

SRC Student Media: Masingi Sam

Station: Sasol Library (close to Deli)

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept