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08 February 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah
Gateway 2019
From the left: Mookgo Mofokeng, Lethukuthula Nsibande, Siyalungelwa Ntombela, and Chulumanco Mazwi.
The two-week Gateway Orientation programme to introduce first-year students to campus and faculty life on the Qwaqwa Campus,  has been a resounding success – if the first-years’ comments are anything to go by.

“Amazing Race was for me the pinnacle of this programme, as it enabled me to get to know the campus much better. It was such a refreshing experience, despite my sore thighs that are still hurting. I also loved the Step Up for success initiative,” said Chulumanco Mazwi from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. Chulumanco has enrolled for a BAdmin degree, which will “enable me to interact with people, particularly in the corporate world”.

From Paballong Village in Qwaqwa came a budding scientist, Mookgo Mofokeng. “The programme has afforded me the opportunity to interact with a number of students from different places such as KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Gauteng,” she said. “I have also learnt about the history of the campus that is very close to my heart,” said Mookgo. “This is the campus where I won the prize for my Eskom Expo for Young Scientists project, with my partner and I displaying our water-extracting project as learners from the Beacon Secondary School here in Qwaqwa. For more on this, please watch the environmental television programme 50/50 on SABC 2 on 17 February 2019.”

Coming from Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal is ‘the future businessman in the computing sector’, Lethukuthula Nsibande. “The Gateway orientation programme was so much fun, as it enabled me to see teamwork as an integral part of our development as first-years. Considering that I want to pursue business in the interesting world of computers, I have seen that interacting with others is crucial,” said Lethukuthula, a BSc IT (Computer Science and Management) student.

From Johannesburg, Gauteng, comes Siyalungelwa Ntombela, a BEd (Intermediate Phase – Life Sills and Social Sciences) student who believes her studies will enable her to give back to her community. “I want to educate our future generations and make a difference. I found Gateway to be educational and entertaining. We have learnt a lot about university life and the campus in general. I now know about the services offered by the clinic, where the Mandela Hall is, and so on. Interacting and learning from our mentors was also one of the highlights,” she added.

News Archive

‘Global financial crisis is far from over’
2012-09-09

At the lecture were, from the left: Dr Arno van Niekerk (Department of Economy), Dr Francois Strydom (Centre for Teaching and Learning), Dr Mallory du Plooy (UFS101), Ms Gill Marcus, Governor of the Reserve Bank, and Lauren Hing and Louise Strydom of the UFS101 office.
Photo: Leatitia Pienaar.
6 September 2012

The global financial crisis the world has been experiencing since 2008 is far from over. In fact, Gill Marcus, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, expects it to last for the next five years. “It is the longest financial crisis in history,” she said.

Ms Marcus lectured in the new UFS101 course of the university. The course was implemented at the beginning of the year and is aimed at broadening the world for new first-year students. About 2 000 students are taking the course.

Ms Marcus brought globalisation home and explained how activities in the international area impact on the lives of South Africans. She said South Africa was not excluded from the effect of global crises. Ms Marcus also said that South Africa was one of only a few countries in the world not experiencing a banking crisis due to strict controls in place, but more could be done.

“The big question is how to make sure that the South African banking system stays sound,” she said.

On a question about the debt of South Africans, she said it was important for South Africans to live within their means. “If we want to afford our new development, we need a savings percentage of 25 percent.” South Africa needs foreign capital investment to supplement the low local savings.

“It is difficult to resist all aspects of globalisation. Some can be to our advantage, but the others pose tremendous challenges.”

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