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07 March 2018
Photo Supplied
Ts’epang Sello, one of the Kovsie contenders for a medal at Friday’s Varsity athletics meeting.
Ts’epang Sello, one of the Kovsie contenders
for a medal at Friday’s Varsity athletics meeting.
Photo: Supplied
The University of the Free State will hope to start developing their next Wayde van Niekerk when the first Varsity athletics meeting takes place on Friday at the Tuks Athletics Stadium in Pretoria.
The second meeting is on 23 March, also in Pretoria.
Thirteen members (five men and eight women) of the Kovsie team of 25 are still under the age of 21.
The hope for medals among the men would be on Sefako Mokhosoa (triple jump), Hendrik Maartens, and Tsebo Matsoso (both 200 m). Mokhosoa, who represented South Africa last year at the Southern Region Championships, is in red-hot form and achieved a personal best of 16.13 m at the Motheo/Xhariep meeting two weeks ago. This is currently the third best distance in the country for 2018.
Maartens would like to go one step further. In last year’s final Varsity meeting, he finished second in 20.62. Great things are expected of Matsoso, a first-year student who competed at the African Junior Championship in 2017. Last year, he was one of the top athletes at school level by winning the SA title in a time of 21.14.
Ts’epang Sello (800 m) and Elmé Smith (100 m and 200 m) will lead the charge for the women. Sello already came close to her personal best (2:09.8) this year, while Smith has also been running fast times. Her best this year was 11.88 (100 m) and 24.53 (200 m).
Tyler Beling (1 500 m) is another first-year student who is showing great potential. She obtained a fourth position at last weekend’s CAA Southern Region Cross-country Championships. Maryke Brits (100 m hurdles and long jump) is a possible medallist, despite running her first event for the year on Wednesday night.
The meeting starts at 17:15 and will be broadcast on SuperSport 5.
Two academics receive prestigious fellowship for leadership programme
2013-01-16
The University of the Free State (UFS) boasts two academics who received the HELM LEAD (Higher Education and Leadership Programme) Fellowship for 2013. Prof. Liezel Lues from the Department of Public Administration and Management and Prof. Liezel Herselman from the Department of Plant Sciences both received this prestigious fellowship.
After the nationwide nomination procedure – with a choice from 120 applications - Higher Education South Africa (HESA) awarded 25 placements in the programme. Candidates who were selected, had to be in middle-management positions within the university sector, had to have exceptional qualities, and had to exhibit management and leadership potential within their university.
This group will now undergo a number of modules in Higher Education, which will start during January in Cape Town. The aim of the programme, running between February 2013 and April 2013, is to provide learning opportunities for middle and senior managers to gain knowledge and skills, with a view to the successful navigation of the constant challenges of change and to interpret effectively the operational impact of internal and external drivers.
Modules include topics such as Academic Policy and Planning; Governance and Strategy; Systems Management; and Managing People and Change.
Prof. Lues stated that she applied for the programme because she strongly believes that an effective and vibrant public sector, and especially the role of female academics therein, will play a fundamental role in the transformation of the South African community towards a prosperous and tolerant society. “I believe the LEAD component of HESA will offer me the opportunity to enhance my knowledge and insight with regard to the socio-political environment and its impact on higher education institutions. The envisaged outcomes of the programme will also directly lead to the improvement of my leadership and management practices within the UFS’ Department of Public Administration and Management,” said Prof. Lues.
Prof. Herselman was appointed as Head of the Department of Plant Sciences, effective from 1 January 2013. She is very excited about this new position and said: “Although I am looking forward to the new challenge, I am aware of my lack of experience as a manager. The LEAD programme will provide me with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed as Head of Department and will give me the opportunity to strengthen the Department of Plant Sciences and to make it a Department of international stature.”