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29 April 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba
Government to enhance PhD production
University Staff Development Programme will capacitate PhD candidates in the tripartite Global Health programme.
Can you complete a PhD in three years? The answer is “yes!” However, a challenge of this magnitude requires a proper plan.The University Staff Doctorate Programme (USDP) will provide the blueprint for that plan to five high-calibre senior staff members at the University of the Free State (UFS) who have taken on the challenge to obtain PhDs.

What is the USDP?
The University of Venda and the University of Virginia in the US have partnered with our university to help transform South African academic expertise in Global Health. Leading the cohort is the UFS Office for International Affairs. This USDP project falls under the broader University Capacity Development Programme funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training.

Candidates will be supported through mechanisms including an annual training school, visits to partner universities abroad, scholarships and reduced fees, interdisciplinary and inter-institutional co-supervision and expert advice, as well as parallel support for supervisors.

Members of the cohort
Chevon Slambee, Chief Internationalisation Officer at the Office for International Affairs, said: “These are established academics and role models in their respective areas of specialisation who have displayed strong leadership skills whilst showing a keen interest to collaborate with institutions in the US in order to advance their academic and professional careers.”

Our cohort comprises of Prof Riaz Seedat, Head: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Dr Steven Matshidza, Head: Orthopaedic Surgery; Prof Shisana Baloyi, Head: Obstetrics and Gynaecology; Dr Edwin Turton, Head of and Senior Lecturer at the Department Anaesthesiology; and Prof Makoali Makotoko, Head: Cardiology, who will be funded by the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Carving changemakers
Three years later, this cohort will fulfil the National Development Plan to have 75% of university academic staff holding PhDs and becoming the dominant drivers of new knowledge production within the higher education science and innovation system by 2030.

News Archive

Full week of graduation ceremonies at UFS in April
2015-04-10

Autumn always sees the UFS’s first graduation ceremony of the year on the Bloemfontein Campus.

From 14 – 17 April 2015, graduates will once again be rewarded for their hard work while top speakers will address them in the Callie Human Centre. There will be a ceremony at 09:00 and at 14:30 each day on all four days of the graduation.

The programme for the 2015 April Graduation is as follows:

Tuesday 14 April 2015:

Professor Himla Soodyall will be the speaker at both ceremonies on this day. Prof Soodyall is a Medical Scientist for the South African Institute for Medical Research. She is also a Principal Medical Scientist for the National Health Laboratory Service, and a Director for the Human Genome Diversity and Disease Research Unit at the University of Witwatersrand.

During the first ceremony of the day at 09:00, all diplomas/certificates and B degrees in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences will be awarded. Only Honours degrees in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences will be awarded at the 14:30 ceremony.
 
Wednesday 15 April 2015:

Wednesday will see Ndumiso Hadebe take the stage to address graduates at both ceremonies.

At the age of 23, Hadebe is the Founder and Managing Director of Master Frontiers Consulting, a firm that capacitates leaders and managers to achieve business goals through their people. He worked previously as a Researcher at Shanduka Black Umbrellas, a flagship enterprise and supplier development programme of the Shanduka Foundation. 

He has been received numerous awards for excellence in leadership, such as the Sedibeng District Municipal Mayor’s Award for Service and Leadership. He is a Brand South Africa Ambassador and Read Educational Trust Ambassador.

All diplomas/certificates, B and Honours degrees in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, except B Com degrees, will be awarded during the morning ceremony at 09:00. Later, at the 14:30 ceremony, only B Com degrees in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences will be awarded.

Thursday 16 April 2015:

Multiple award winning South African TV presenter, Leanne Manas, will be the speaker at both Thursday ceremonies.

Manas has graced our screens for over a decade. Not many broadcasters can boast having had live TV experience, 5 days a week for 12 years. She is currently the anchor of SABC 2’s flagship breakfast programme, Morning Live. Leanne is a qualified Speech and Drama teacher. having studied at London Trinity College. She also has an Honours degree in English.
Diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculty of the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Communication Sciences will be awarded during the ceremony at 09:00. The 14:30 ceremony will have diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculty of the Humanities’ other qualifications except for Social Sciences and Communication Sciences.
 
Friday 17 April 2015:

Dr Maria Phalime will be the speaker at both ceremonies on Friday.

Phalime is a medical doctor and award-winning author. She practiced for a brief period as a general practitioner in South Africa and the United Kingdom, before leaving medical practice to pursue non-clinical interests. She has worked in trade and investment promotion, and has undertaken research and consulting in the areas of economic development and business facilitation.

Diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculty of Education (CE, NPDE and ACE excluded) will be awarded during the ceremony at 09:00. Diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculties of Health Sciences, Law, and Theology will be awarded at the 14:30 ceremony.

Click here for the simple layout of the 2015 April Graduation programme:
http://www.ufs.ac.za/adhoc-pages/2014-graduation-ceremony/graduation-ceremony

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