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06 November 2019 | Story Legopheng Maphile | Photo Legopheng Maphile
Best assigment winners
At the prize-giving were from the left, front: Christoffel de Lange and Ms Nombulelo Shange (who accepted the prize won by De Haan). Back row, from the left: Prof Neil Heideman, Professor in the Department of Zoology and Entomology; and Betsy Eister, UFS LIS Director.

The University of the Free State Library and Information Services (UFS LIS) is partnering with faculties in acknowledging top-performing students at the university. Together with the Faculties of the Humanities and Natural and Agricultural Sciences, the Best Assignment project was launched – meant to inspire, motivate, and encourage students to put extra effort into producing assignments of high quality.

Legopheng Maphile, Assistant Director: Library Marketing and Community Engagement at UFS LIS, says the project is meant to harness and nurture undergraduate research in line with the university’s research-led vision. 

“There are requirements as to how assignments should be presented. This demonstrates the level of knowledge acquisition and academic writing skills. The library contributes to this activity by training students in library research skills to access scholarly, academic, specialist, and expert information resources to support academic excellence. This is a collaborative practice between the library and academics.

“In 2019, only third-year assignments were considered in a pilot project, and at this stage, students are expected to understand what is required for writing assignments.”

Recognising the effort that students put into their assignments, the UFS LIS, in collaboration with the Departments of Sociology and Zoology and Entomology, recently handed out prizes of R2 500 to deserving students. 

Johandré J de Haan and Christoffel de Lange each received gift vouchers to the value of R1 250, courtesy of Van Schaik and Sherwood Books, in collaboration with Juta and Oxford University Press. De Haan was recognised for his assignment titled Marx and the impact of his theoretical concepts in the South African context and its relevancy and De Lange received a nod for his Differences in Heat Uptake Rate between White and Black Sand-filled Cans of Similar Size. 

Legopheng says going forward, the best undergraduate research assignments will be considered for publication in the Kovsie Undergraduate Research Journal, the library’s open-access journal that is being developed. 


News Archive

SA one of the leading countries for female researchers
2014-10-28

South Africa is one of the leading countries for female researchers, with women constituting about 40% of the research field, says Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor.

The Minister made these comments during the Public Lecture of the Faculty of Education on our Bloemfontein Campus on Friday evening 24 October 2014. Minister Pandor urged female students to seize the opportunities in science and technology that has been made available to them since 1994.

"Forty percent of South Africa's researchers are women. Of the 40 000 researchers in universities, science councils and business shown by our latest research and development survey records, nearly half are women. That makes South Africa one of the leading countries for female researchers," said the Minister.

Minister Pandor said that the rights and status of women in South Africa had been greatly advanced since South Africa became a constitutional democracy. "It is well known that better educated women are better for a country's social and economic development," she added.

Minister Pandor pointed out that research skills were some of the most sought-after skills in the world, and encouraged women graduates to start dominating in the research and laboratory fields, where men continue to reign supreme.

"Knowledge and innovation, rather than capital and labour, are the drivers of economic growth in all countries. The current affluence of high-income countries has been massively increased by their investment in science and new technologies."


Full lecture

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