Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

UFS Department of Student Affairs honours student leaders

10 December 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Supplied

Student Awards — The UFS rewarded student leaders for their hard work through the Division of Student Affairs (DSA) Student Leadership Awards (SALA).

The University of the Free State (UFS) Division of Student Affairs has recognised and awarded a number of student leaders in the areas of student life, arts and governance through the 2019 Student Affairs Leadership and Achievement Awards (SALA).

Through SALA, the DSA aims to recognise and promote outstanding student leadership, thereby alleviating the threat of financial exclusion, which has been identified as a major challenge that students are currently facing. “With these awards, the department is making a small contribution towards mitigating such a challenge, especially for those students who are always at the forefront of student life, serving others while they themselves face similar challenges and contradictions,” explained Dean of Student Affairs, Pura Mgolombane.

The SALA committee convenes to select the student leaders to be awarded according to a definite rubric, which also determines the amount to be allocated. This year, the basic amount allocated was R6 000, whereas the highest amount was R25 000. The financial aspect of SALA is meant to assist students to pay for their tuition fees, with the money being paid directly into the student accounts.

The rewards honour and incentivise students who have held leadership offices and impacted either the UFS Bloemfontein, South or Qwaqwa campuses and/or the student community of the university in a generally positive manner.

According to Mgolombane, the founder of the UFS Next Chapter organisation, Tshepang Mahlatsi, was one of the student leaders who was recognised as a leader deserving of an award amounting to R25 000 for his participation as a leader in various aspects of student life, from leading within UFS residences, to the Faculty of Law, and as an avid mental-health advocate.

A total of 31 student leaders from the Bloemfontein Campus, 11 from the South Campus, 18 from the Qwaqwa Campus, and nine other students from all three campuses who outshone their peers, were SALA recipients in 2019.

News Archive

Splendid Summer Graduation concludes 2014 ceremonies

2014-12-11

Photo Gallery Afternoon session; Morning session
YouTube

On Thursday 11 December 2014, the university awarded a total of 392 qualifications during our Summer Graduation Ceremony in the Callie Human Centre on the Bloemfontein Campus. Of these, 225 were awarded to graduates from the Faculty of Health Sciences, while 134 master’s degrees and 33 PhDs were awarded in the other six faculties. Another 74 diplomas and 56 certificates were also awarded in the School for Open Learning.

Well-known radio personality, Redi Thlabi, and acclaimed cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr Susan Vosloo, encouraged and inspired the graduates during the two ceremonies on the day.

During the morning session, Thlabi imparted some of the valuable lessons she learned in her personal life as well as in her career. She encouraged graduates to change the script of our country for future generations, to be mindful of others and to find meaning in whatever you do.

“Those who have a platform, a voice and an education have the power to help others further on their journey,” Thlabi said. “I believe we are living in an exciting time – a time to leave a legacy behind, a time to make a mark in this world.”

Graduates from the Faculty of Health Sciences and the School for Open Learning were addressed by Dr Vosloo during the second ceremony.

Dr Vosloo often referred to the success of transformation at our university and added that few successes are achieved without adversity. She encouraged the afternoon’s graduates to become professionals with a high sense of dignity, accountability and transparency in their workplace.

“Remember that you and you alone are able to decide what your approach will be in anything in life from here on forward,” she said.

Dr Vosloo, a Kovsie alumnus, graduated in 1980. Shortly after this, she became the first female heart surgeon in South Africa. She is currently in independent private practice at Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital, having also worked from 1998 untill 2012 at the Vincent Pallotti Hospital in Cape Town.

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

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