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07 November 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Johan Roux
Qwaqwa Campus top academic achiever, Selloane Mile, with Campus Principal, Dr Martin Mandew.
Qwaqwa Campus top academic achiever, Selloane Mile, with Campus Principal, Dr Martin Mandew.
Bosso ke mang? So goes a popular township saying derived from the late Hip Hop Pantsula’s (HHP) hit track, Bosso. Literally, it means ‘who is the boss?’

Selloane Mile, the 2018/2019 SRC Secretary General for the Qwaqwa Campus, was a tutor in the Faculties of Education and the Humanities from 2017 to 2019, and is also an aspiring poet and author. She is now the Qwaqwa Campus Dux Student for 2019, with an average of 84, 3%.

“I am very honoured and humbled to have been bestowed the award as the best academic student on the Qwaqwa Campus at the recent Student Excellence Awards ceremony. The experience certainly feels unreal and I am yet to come to terms with the magnitude of this accolade,” said Selloane, a final-year Bachelor of Education (Senior Phase and FET) student. 

The secret is, there is no secret

When asked what her secret was, she said: “I do not think there is any secret or technique that I can attribute my academic achievements to. However, I think setting a standard for yourself and being consistent in whatever we do to realise those standards we have set for ourselves, is the key to success. Also important is flexibility. One has to give yourself the chance to explore and tap into different horizons.” 

Cognitive growth

“You cannot grow cognitively if you do not challenge yourself. For instance, reading a book outside the scope of your discipline can prove beneficial, because you get to be more knowledgeable. The advice I would give is that you must constantly remind yourself why you are here and let that be the driving force, even when things are gloomy, to let that motivate you. If you want to achieve certain things, you have to compromise and deprive yourself of other things; so, priorities should be the order of the day,” said the future Biology and English educator.

Looking back

Selloane is a proud product of Qwabi, Molibeli, and Reabetswe primary schools in Qwaqwa.

“I was born and bred here at Mandela Park in Qwaqwa. I did my Grades 10-12 at Moteka Secondary School, and that is why I would like to go back and teach at a public school – to bring about change in my community.”

Other awards Selloane received, were the Faculty of Education Overall Best Performer, and the Top Academic Achiever in the 2018/2019 SRC. Clearly, bosso ke Selloane!

Some of the recipients on the day were:
Dineo Tsotetsi (81,5%) – Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences Overall Best Achiever
Katleho Motloung (78, 3%) – Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences Overall Best Achiever
Tina Magaqa (74%) – Faculty of the Humanities Overall Best Achiever
Pakiso Mthembu – Sportsman of the Year
Sandakahle Msamariya Khumalo – Sportswoman of the Year
Thabo Mdletshe – UFS101 Teaching Assistant of the Year
Charlotte Maxeke Residence – The Cleanest Residence on Campus
Siphamandla Shabangu – Selfless Volunteer and Gateway Mentor
UFS Qwaqwa Campus Chorale – Outstanding Performing Arts and Cultural Society 

News Archive

UFS academics serve high in ranks of Cereal Science institutions
2017-10-10

Description: Cereal Science Tags: Cereal Science

Dr Angie van Biljon, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), was elected as president of Cereal Science and Technology South Africa (CST-SA) at their bi-annual general meeting, in Pretoria.

Prof Maryke Labuschagne, Professor in Plant Breeding at the UFS and official representative of South Africa in the American Association for Cereal Chemists International from 2007, was re-elected as the South African representative to the American Association for Cereal Chemists. She attends the annual conference in the US as well as the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (the European counterpart of AACC) regularly. “I use these conferences to report on the research done by the research team at the UFS on gluten protein, baking quality and nutritional value of cereals,” she said.

Prof. Labuschagne was also involved in a training course for the baking industry. 

Both Dr Van Biljon and Prof Labuschagne are involved in research on wheat gluten proteins, which is critical to the baking industry. CST-SA is a platform to disseminate this and other research, not only locally but also internationally. The aim of this society is to advance cereal science and technology both in the public sector and in the industry of Southern Africa.

CST-SA creates an opportunity for staff and
students working on cereals to interact
with the industry. This prevents research
from being just academic and creates
an opportunity to bring the research and the
industry together.

Wheat research not just academic
According to Prof Labuschagne CST-SA creates an opportunity for staff and students working on cereals to interact with the industry. This prevents research from being just academic and creates an opportunity to bring the research and the industry together. This has been very useful for students at the university working on cereals, as they have made presentations at the “New Voices” symposium, a forum for postgraduate students to present their research.

“Through CST-SA we have also, through the years, presented our research on an international level at the annual meetings of the American Association for Cereal Chemists and the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology,,” said Prof Labuschagne.

The science of cereals
CST-SA is an association of organisations and individuals, from both the private and public sectors, who are actively involved in the science and technology of cereals. Its aim is to promote the dissemination of knowledge and information on cereal science and technology through meetings, publications, workshops and other means. CST-SA also organises training courses for the industry. In the past years there was a course for the baking industry and one for the milling industry and also the “New Voices” symposium”.

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