Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
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

Researchers receive study grant for research into Congo Fever
2015-03-10

UFS researchers will be contributing significantly to the search for a vaccine against the deadly tick-borne disease known as Congo Fever.

Prof Felicity Burt from the Department of Medical Microbiology and Virology was recently awarded a research grant by the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) to study candidate vaccines for Crimean-Congo heamorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus and other arboviruses.

Arboviruses are viruses transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks, or other arthropods.

Prof Burt is an internationally-recognised expert on the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF). The Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus is a tick-borne virus that is associated with severe haemorrhagic disease in South Africa and other parts of Africa, Asia, and eastern Europe. Her interests focus on medically significant viruses that are transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes. Her research group is involved in determining the immune responses that are induced by different viral proteins.

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus, a tick- borne virus found in Africa, Asia, the Balkans, and eastern Europe, causes severe viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks.

Although a number of tick species are capable of becoming infected with CCHF virus, ticks of the genus Hyalomma, commonly referred to in SA as the “bont-legged ticks”, are the principal vector. The ticks have distinctive brown and white bands on their legs.

In February 1981, the first case of CCHF was recognised in South Africa (SA). To date, there have been nearly 200 cases of CCHF infection in SA with a 20% fatality rate. The majority of cases occurring in SA were in patients from the Northern Cape and Free State provinces.

“The funding that has been awarded will be used to profile immune responses against CCHF viral proteins, and investigate mechanisms and strategies to enhance these immune responses. We hope that the study will contribute knowledge towards the development of a vaccine against this medically significant virus.”

For more information or enquiries contact news@ufs.ac.za.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept