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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

SA Academy for Science and Arts honours two from the UFS
2015-04-15

From the left are: Prof Johann du Preez (UFS),  Prof Barry Frey (retired Dean of the Faculty of Environmental and Health Sciences, CUT), Prof Nico Smit (NWU), Prof Leslie Brown (Unisa), Ms Alechea Engelbrecht (UFS), and Prof Jo van As (UFS).
Photo: Supplied

The SA Academy for Science and Arts has honoured Professors Jo van As and Johann du Preez from the University of the Free State, together with academics from two other universities, Prof Nico Smit (North-West University) and Prof Leslie Brown (Unisa).

The medal of honour from the SA Academy’s Faculty of Science and Technology has been awarded to the four researchers for their book, Die verhaal van lewe en die omgewing: 'n Afrika-perspektief.

In 2012, this book was published in English as The Story of Life and the Environment: an African Perspective. From the outset, the project was meant to be published also in Afrikaans, specifically to make ecology as discipline available to students and nature lovers in Afrikaans.

The book is in full colour and has over 750 colour photos and nearly 200 illustrations specially designed to explain processes and systems.

The medal is awarded for achievements in, and contributions to, the furthering and development of a particular area in the natural sciences.

The authors, who are established researchers in the natural and life sciences, make a valuable contribution in an accessible yet scientific manner. The book conveys previously difficult-to-understand concepts in an interesting way to the ordinary reader.

The award ceremony will take place on 24 June 2015 in Stellenbosch.

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