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26 February 2019
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Story Eugene Seegers
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Photo Eugene Seegers
Prof Francis Petersen, Prof Daniella Coetzee (Principal: South Campus), Tshegofatso Setilo (Head: Access Programmes), and Prof Prakash Naidoo (Vice-Rector: Operations) on the South Campus for the welcoming of first-years.
“Welcome to the South Campus of the University of the Free State!” Addressing a packed Madiba Arena, Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, said he was happy to see not only first-year students, but also parents and guardians, student leadership, and support staff from both the Bloemfontein and South Campuses.
“I would like to congratulate each of our first-year students for making the decision to come to Kovsies to further your studies here. But I would also like to thank you for making this choice,” he continued.
Prof Petersen further emphasised that the students’ experience and success as individuals are important to the UFS as an institution; therefore, academic and support staff are on hand to guide them through their journey to becoming well-rounded individuals. “We will surely take care of you,” said Prof Petersen. He also reassured parents and guardians that their loved ones would be well looked after.
The Rector also focused attention on the role of student-leadership structures, such as the newly-formed Institutional Student Representative Council (ISRC) and South Campus SRC, members of which were present in the audience. He thanked them for playing a key role in the student constituency, highlighting their support and guidance to help first-years cultivate a sense of belonging at the UFS.
Turning back to first-year students, Prof Petersen stated that they have the unique opportunity to study on a campus specifically focused on developing their full potential, a campus where they can realise their dreams. “Your arrival on the campus marks a new chapter in your life. This chapter is slightly different, as you are the author thereof. The previous chapters in your life were largely written by others—your parents, guardians, families, teachers, and others. You will now be the main author in the next chapter of your unique story.”
“At Kovsies, we believe in developing students in their totality as human beings, not just the academic side. May your time with us equip you to make a success of your life after university!”
Prof Petersen’s Message to First-year Students
- Take responsibility for your academic programme.
- Keep your focus. Study and study hard. You will reap the rewards and see the advantages of making success in your studies a top priority.
- Make sure that you have enough time for your studies; balance your social life and your time set aside to study.
- Realise and remember that you are not alone.
- If you find things difficult, seek help.
- Our Department of Student Counselling and Development has trained staff and tailor-made programmes that can assist you.
- Look after your mental health—and look after each other’s mental health.
- Make the most of your time at Kovsies.
- Join one or more of the student organisations; why not try something new?
- Embrace difference and diversity.
- Get to know students who are different from you.
- You will lose valuable opportunities to grow if you only associate with your own all the time. It is important to get to know students who are different from you. It could be someone from a different part of the country, or from another country, a different ethnicity, a different religion, someone who has different views from yours, or who has different interests and perspectives.
Moot Court competition bigger success than ever before
2009-10-27
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Here are the members of the winning team in the Afrikaanse section: André Stander and Wilmie Stander.
Photo: Stephen Collett
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The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Law of Procedure and Law of Evidence again presented the First-year Moot Court Competition this year. This interuniversity competition was presented for the fifth time this year. The Universities of the Free State, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Rhodes, North-West, Zululand and KwaZulu-Natal (both campuses), as well as an international institution, the Charlotte Law School in North Carolina in the USA also participated in the competition.
The last-mentioned participant was indeed a highlight for the Department of Law of Procedure and Law of Evidence. The students of the Charlotte School also initiated a community service project for a school in a disadvantaged community. According to Adv. Mariëtte Reyneke from the Department of Law of Procedure and Law of Evidence, the students of the UFS’s Faculty of Law will also participate in this project. The team’s participation is a result of negotiations to work together between Prof. Neels Swanepoel, departmental head, and the Charlotte School of Law early in 2009 as part of the university’s internationalisation priority.
“We are really excited about the growth of the competition that started out with three universities to where it is today. We believe that it is a cause for celebration,” said Adv. Reyneke.
Only first-year students may participate. The competition will take place in the High Court and the final rounds in the Court of Appeal. The judges are compiled from retired judges, practising judiciary, magistrates as well as retired lectures of law. Only a small number of law practitioners get the opportunity to appear in the Court of Appeal and to do this in your first year in front of a judge is an excellent exposure and career forming. This is also the only competition in the country where students can participate in either an English competition or an Afrikaans competition.
Sixteen English teams (9 universities) and 7 Afrikaans teams participated in this year’s competition.
At the prize giving function the UFS team was crowned overall winners of the Afrikaans section and a team from the University of Pretoria as overall winners of the English section of the competition. |