Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
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

New building on UFS Qwaqwa Campus makes provision for research on environmental problems
2015-12-11

The new Geography and Physics Building on the Qwaqwa Campus

Student numbers in Geography and Physics on the Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State have escalated over the past five years. This has resulted in a need for more space for these two departments.

The acute and persistent shortage of lecturing space has been a major stumbling block on the campus, with only four of the Natural Sciences departments - Chemistry, Physics, Plant Sciences, and Zoology and Entomology – able to fit into the Natural Sciences building. To solve the problem, a separate facility for both the Geography and the Physics departments was built.

The new complex, which includes lecture rooms, laboratories, and offices, places the Department of Physics on the ground floor because the weight of some of the laboratory equipment. The Department of Geography is on the first floor.

The Department of Geography places strong emphasis on montane research. Research is being conducted on environmental problems in the Maluti-a-Phofung area. This research encompass in situ and ex situ conservation of paleontological resources, with the aim of setting up a GIS-based environmental management system, as well as the role of local cultures in promoting regional tourism.

The Department of Physics places emphasis on changing and improving community perceptions of electricity and electronics. The major part of the research has been in the field of solid-state physics, and, more specifically, on nanophosphors and other luminescent nanoparticles.

The building is in the north-eastern corner of the campus, opposite the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences.

The project was completed in 2015.

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