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#KovsiesCare: UFS takes lead in online adult learning

14 August 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Valentino Ndaba

To thrive in the future, employees need a skill set and mindset that constantly adapts to the fast rate of change. In line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the University of the Free State (UFS) is the first higher education institution to introduce online adult learning.

Digitised learning

Eva Stinani is one of 17 staff members who is currently enrolled for the Adult-Based Education and Training (ABET) Programme through the Department of Human Resources (HR). For Stinani, the programme is gearing her up for better career prospects. “I have come to realise that obtaining a school qualification is important as this will enable me to improve my performance in my work.”

A further 29 staff members are enrolled for the Amended Senior Certificate (ASC). Since its introduction at UFS late last year, the most popular subject stream in the certificate is Business Studies. According to Juanita Burjins, Head: Leadership & Development Division (HR), this “prepares learners to think like business and management-oriented individuals”.

All lessons are conducted online in a computer lab on the Bloemfontein Campus. Plans are under way to roll out these programmes to the South and Qwaqwa campuses. The Leadership and Development Division helps learners to register with the Independent Exam Board (IEB) and uMalusi.

Enhancing livelihoods

The Integrated Transformation Plan (ITP) speaks to a staff culture punctuated with high performance and impartiality across the board. According to the ITP, “the future will be “one of excellence and diversity”.

Burjins’s team envisions “maximising the potential of the staff through the acquisition of knowledge and skills, therefore encouraging them to work productively and competitively in order to achieve an improving quality of life”.

Building bridges and breaking barriers

The online adult learning programme provides staff members with the opportunity to enter higher education institutions and become gainfully employed in the world of work.

Nelson Mandela once said: “No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.” Echoing this sentiment, Kovsies is making strides towards developing the country, one citizen at a time.

News Archive

Registrar takes leadership role at Golden Key International

2012-03-08

Dr Derek Swemmer
8 March 2012

The world’s premier academic honour society, the Golden Key International Honour Society, has recognised academic excellence at our university by appointing Dr Derek Swemmer, Registrar of the UFS, as chairperson of its international board of directors.

Dr Swemmer is the first South African to serve as Chairperson of the governing body of the society. He will take up office in July 2012. Dr Swemmer, who has served as a board member for two terms, was appointed at a recent board meeting of the society in Georgia, Atlanta in the United States.

Dr Swemmer's role as Chairperson of the board is to ensure that the society’s values of academic excellence, leadership and service are followed in the more than 375 chapters worldwide. He will serve a three-year term on the board, which oversees the awarding of scholarships worth $1 million to its members annually.

Dr Swemmer says he is honoured to serve the UFS and South Africa in this capacity. “The appointment is humbling when you know you have hundreds of volunteers that could have been asked to serve.”

Dr Swemmer, who is co-advisor of the UFS Golden Key chapter, says he hopes to help the society to expand its service activities in order to provide an excellent example to the world of how highly skilled academic students render meaningful service to their communities, both at university and to the broader community.

He says the Golden Key International Honour Society is a very important part of the UFS’s Academic and Human project.

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