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Well done to Kovsies GradStar top 11!

08 October 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Charl Devenish

Gradstar UFS — The 2019 GradStar programme is all about producing well-rounded students and providing them with opportunities in the world of work, explained Head of UFS Career Services, Belinda Janeke.

Congratulations to the Kovsies top-11 students who made it into the GradStar top-100 programme for 2019!

Each year, 100 South African students are selected through a rigorous four-phase judging process to become part of the GradStar programme. The programme is designed to offer opportunities for employment to previously unrecognised students.

What makes the top 11?

According to the UFS Head of Career Services, Belinda Janeke, the GradStar programme is all about producing a well-rounded student. Approximately 6 000 applications were received from Kovsies, of which 500 were selected based on a personality test. Another test was given to the 500 students who passed the personality test, after which interviews were conducted to determine the top 100 from the UFS.

The students who were selected to represent the UFS exhibited the most potential as future leaders in their respective fields. Apart from academic achievement, contestants were evaluated according to their individual soft skills such as motivation, discipline, altruism, and attitude. This combination promised to deliver top candidates for future employers.

2019 GradStar programme experiences

Throughout the competition, Kovsie contestants were exposed to new people and opportunities to network with various companies in their preferred career fields, where they had the opportunity to share their CVs with potential employers. Contestants were also afforded the opportunity to develop critical problem-solving skills in the world of work. The GradStar top-100 students also have a WhatsApp group where jobs are advertised.

The programme was valuable for the Kovsies; not only did it prepare them for employment, but also provided them with an opportunity for learning and recognising their own strengths and weaknesses as individuals in the working world.

Congratulations to the Kovsies who made it into the GradStar top 100:

Mariné du Toit: Bachelor of Social Work
Nyiko Maluleka: Bachelor of Arts, Corporate and Marketing Communication
Bianca Malan: Bachelor of Accounting, Financial Accounting
Boitumelo Mancoe: Master of Business Administration
Kabelo Mashego: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB)
Kananelo Moletsane: Bachelor of Agriculture
Mudzunga Mukwevho: Bachelor of Accounting, Financial Accounting
Neo Roberts: Bachelor of Science, Information Technology
Refilwe Maimane: Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting
Themba Makhoba: Bachelor of Public Administration
Mpolokeng Mmutle: Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting

News Archive

Meet our Council: A teacher with a passion for changing lives

2016-12-19

Henry Dumisani Madlala

William Arthur Ward once said: “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

However, a teacher can only be great and inspire when teaching is a passion and a calling.

This is exactly the case with Henry Dumisani Madlala, Councillor of the University of the Free State. Mr Madlala is the principal of New Horizon College, a private school in Harrismith.

High educational standards and quality teaching
“New Horizon College is an independent, non-racial educational institution striving to maintain high educational standards and making quality education accessible to all. We have attained a 100% matric pass rate each year in the past six years since I became headmaster."

"My recipe is simple: teachers must teach and learners must learn.”

Mr Madlala was born and bred in KwaZulu-Natal and matriculated from Amazulu High School. Afterwards, he completed a BSc degree in Mathematics and Physics at the University of the North’s Qwaqwa Campus.

Delegate, govern, and trust
He says: “There are three key management principles which I follow as principal: delegate, govern, and trust. I give responsibilities to people, I make sure that they know what is expected of them, and in the end I trust them to carry out their responsibilities.”

His career as teacher and principal has been full of highlights on which he looks back with satisfaction.

Proud to plough back into the university
Madlala has been serving on the UFS Council since 2010 and has been part of Kovsie Alumni’s executive management since 2011. He is proud to plough back into the university in this manner.

“To me, being a Kovsie alumnus means pride, respect, discipline, and loyalty. Once a Kovsie, always a Kovsie!”

For this reason, Madlala believes that the UFS will play a major role in the country and in higher education for a long time to come.

“The UFS has been in existence for more than a hundred years and will no doubt survive for another hundred years or longer. We are indeed one of the leading universities in the country when it comes to transformation and academic excellence. The survival of the UFS is not a dream, but a reality.”

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