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New Era dawns on Qwaqwa Campus

05 September 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah

New Era Editorial Team — New Era editorial team comprising the Editor-in-Chief, Prudence Mkhari, flanked by editors, Mosia Rasekwane (left) and Monti Mosebi (right).

Qwaqwa Campus has a new student newsletter. According to the Editor-in-Chief, Prudence Mkhari, New Era aims to project content that is written from a student’s perspective.

“We want students to easily relate to the content as opposed to being written by a staff member. It focuses on student-life events and the university as a whole. The content ranges from student life to university events and milestones. In essence, it is the voice of the students and the watchdog of the campus,” says Prudence.

She says response to the newspaper has been good, considering that they have had only two issues plus an SRC election special that carried candidates’ manifestos. “We are constantly being asked when the next issue is coming out. A lot of students have even come forth with stories that they would like us to cover in the next issue,” she added.

Some of the comments about the very first edition includes this one by Rosie Senoko, final-year BA student: “Congratulations on your publication. One would swear that you have written many pieces, not aware it was your first! All the best to you and your team.” A BSocSci final-year student, Sibonginkosi Ngcongwane, wrote: “Great job! Well done!”
It has not been an entirely smooth sailing process for the paper. “There is still room for improvement in terms of writing and editing, because almost no-one on the team has writing experience. So, additional training is still required. Meeting deadlines is also another area that needs major improvement,” says Prudence.

The team comprises 14 students who write a variety of pieces, from news to sports and from opinion to lifestyle, while some provide technical support such as editing and photography.

Going forward, the plan is to digitise the newspaper and make it accessible to a broader online market. To advertise, send an email to newera@ufs4life.ac.za

News Archive

Students attend prestigious National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme

2014-08-22

From the left are: Thokozane Ngcongwane with Mbali Xaba and Thabo Kumalo (both third-year Physics and Chemistry students).

Three students from our Qwaqwa Campus – Thokozane Ngcongwane, Mbali Xaba and Thabo Kumalo – were recently selected to attend the prestigious National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme (NASSP). The programme – in partnership with the National Research Foundation (NRF) – ran for two weeks at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Cape Town.

The project targets students from formerly disadvantaged institutions of higher learning, where astronomy and astrophysics are not offered.

Students are invited to apply for the programme, with emphasis placed on students majoring in mathematics and physics. Students from other fields are also invited to apply, though. The programme allows for the development of black astronomers and astrophysicists, which are in demand in the ever-growing environment of astronomy in South Africa.

“Topics such as gravitational lenses, black holes, stellar evolution and the mysteries of cosmology were presented and students were invited to engage with the speakers during and after the presentations,” said Ngcongwane, a third-year Zoology and Entomology student.

The programme challenged them to work on basic astrophysical concepts in groups while individual written assignments were part of the learning process as well.

“Given the lack of information about the complexities of astronomy the students had, this was the most ideal time to learn about all matters astronomy and astrophysics as lectures offered a lot to young and excited minds,” Ngcongwane said.

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