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02 May 2018 Photo Charl Devenish
South Campus UAP celebrates 27 years of access to education
Mr Francois Marais, Prof Kalie Strydom, Prof Daniella Coetzee (South Campus Principal), Prof Francis Petersen, Dr Nthabeleng Rammile (Vice-Chairperson of the UFS Council), and Dr Khotso Mokhele (Chancellor of the UFS).

More than 27 years ago, international funding from the Human Sciences Research Council and Anglo American was put to an unusual use for that time. Prof Kalie Strydom’s research unit at the University of the Free State (UFS) was tasked with reviewing how institutional missions would change in the new South Africa. Prof Strydom worked closely with surrounding communities in Bloemfontein to develop a bridging course which would help students who showed potential to access tertiary education, although they did not meet the requirements. His vision brought to birth the University Access Programme (UAP), as it is known today, which is hosted on the UFS South Campus, and is still providing unique access to higher-education institutions in South Africa.

People with a passion for human development
March 2018 saw the 27th anniversary of this remarkable initiative, which has given a second chance to over 18 000 students. Special guests at the event included Prof Strydom, Mr Francois Marais, and representatives from the Department of Higher Education and Training and Investec’s corporate social investment office.

Dr Sonja Loots, researcher in the UFS Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), singled out two key individuals in the formation of the UAP: Prof Kalie Strydom, who initiated the programme, and Mr Marais, who has been Director of the UAP since its inception. Dr Loots highlighted one of the driving forces behind Prof Strydom’s perseverance, vision, and determination with the UAP by quoting from an interview with him for an upcoming book on student access and success. He said, “It was a decision based on principle … to be part of the solution to a better country.”

Access and success still an issue today
In his presentation on the “Importance of Access”, Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, pointed out the vital role of access in South Africa, especially the value it offers for the betterment of the country’s people. However, he said that student success is also an issue, and institutions need to be accountable for it. Quoting Prof John Martin of the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Engineering, “We must be flexible on access, but robust on success.” Only by “closing the loop” in this way, can the UFS and other higher-education institutions ensure a valuable contribution to the economy of the country.

News Archive

Business Management students scoop Tata Africa Scholarship awards
2016-12-09

Description: Tata Africa Tags: Tata Africa 

From left: Mr Harneet Luther, Nomcebo Langa
(first-place winner), Palesa Makhetha and Dr Johan van Zyl.

Tata Africa celebrated the class of 2016 of the Department of Business Management at the University of the Free State (UFS) on 1 December 2016 on the Bloemfontein Campus. As part of the company’s Postgraduate Scholarship Programme, 11 academically and financially deserving students will have their postgraduate studies sponsored in 2017.

The scholarship programme was initiated by the Department of Business Management in 2012, in collaboration with Tata Africa. The aim is to provide final-year Strategic Marketing students an opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge by developing practical marketing strategies for any one of the Tata Group companies operating in Africa.

Students were invited to present their ideas to a panel of UFS and Tata Africa representatives, who selected the category winners. The categories were for the Tata Bakkies, Jaguar vehicles, Tata Chemicals in Magadi, Kenya, and Land Rover vehicles, intended to enhance the business’ competitive edge. The top three winners were Nomcebo Langa, Internal Marketing; Johan Nel, #OutPaceThis campaign; and Jesse Heath, Entrepreneurial Development campaign.

Topics covered by the students include target market identification, development of practical marketing strategies (digital and traditional), service strategies, experiential campaigns and application design.  The Executive Director of Tata Africa Holdings, Mr Len Brand, said, “In the course of change in Africa and South Africa, in particular, we are very honoured to inspire young minds to bring innovative marketing solutions to the Tata business. We hope that their creativity will also inspire innovations in business, government, and civil society that will ultimately sell South Africa and Africa as good investment destinations.”  

Dr Johan van Zyl from the Centre for Development Support congratulated the winners and encouraged them to continue on the path of augmenting creativity in business. In presenting the awards, Executive Director of Tata Automobile Corporation SA, Mr Harneet Luther, spoke of the origins of the Tata company, its vision and the level of innovation that its founders had, which was necessary in propelling it to where it is today. He commended the students for their outstanding performance and innovative campaigns. Since 2006, over 250 scholarships have been awarded through the University of the Free State, the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Wits University.

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