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08 April 2020 | Story Nonsindiso Qwabe | Photo Supplied
Career development read more
Nonhlanhla Moleleki.

Many students arriving at institutions of higher learning for the first time are often overwhelmed by the vast number of academic programmes available to them. They either end up going for study choices without much thought, or out of desperation. 

Seeing the gap between self-awareness and how it impacts career choices, the UFS introduced the Career Development Programme to teach students more about their chosen careers from the onset.  It was first introduced to first-year students on the Qwaqwa Campus in 2017. 

Project leader and registered counsellor in Student Counselling and Development on the Qwaqwa Campus, Nonhlanhla Moleleki, said the programme was implemented to assist students in better understanding their study choices and the career they have selected, and to better equip them with the relevant knowledge and skills. 

This annual project is once again available to students, and this year it has been extended to the South Campus to assist students enrolled for the University Preparation Programme to choose a study field that fits them best. 

Students are uncertain about their study choices
She said many students often settle for study options without aligning these choices with their interests, personalities, and capabilities, which frustrate them in the long run. 

“Students are often unsure about the career stream they are in and whether it suits them best, leading to poor academic performance. We’ve started receiving bookings from students on the different campuses, which shows that there is a need for the project to be implemented across all campuses. If students choose the right career path and go for options that best suit them, they have a better chance of excelling,” she said. 

Career programme carries long-term benefits for students
The programme runs for eight weeks annually through two-hour sessions per week. Moleleki said during these sessions, students are completing activities on career awareness, understanding individual abilities, and personality styles. The Student Counselling and Development team is also able to connect students with resources related to the industries that interest them.

“We also equip them with coping skills, as well as decision-making processes, in order to choose a career path that is well suited to their own interests, values, and personality styles,” she said.

She said assessments are done in the following areas: self-information, career information, integration of self-information with career knowledge, and career planning.
Moleleki said students who participated in the programme showed an increase in self-awareness and were able to better integrate this into their career choices. “In addition, they are also registered on the national Department of Labour’s database. This connects them with other graduates and potential employers.”

“This programme helps students align themselves with relevant skills and knowledge about the careers that best fit them. It also prepares them for the world of work. It’s not always about the jobs in demand, but it’s about students having a career that they will be happy with.”

News Archive

Faculty of Law establishes unique panel of advisors
2005-11-11

Photo: Stephen Collett

Some of the panel members who attended the Collegium Iurisprudentium of the Faculty of Law at the UFS were from the left His Honorable Judge of Appeal Lex Mpati (Vice-President of the Supreme Court of Appeal), His Honorable Judge of Appeal Joos Hefer (former Chief Justice of South Africa), His Honorable Judge of Appeal Frits Brand (Supreme Court of Appeal) and Mrs Alet Ellis (lecturer at the UFS Faculty of Law).

At the back from left were Prof Johan Henning (Dean: Faculty of Law at the UFS), His Honorable Judge Faan Hancke (High Court of the Free State and chairperson of the UFS Council) and Adv Jannie Lubbe Sc.

The Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) has established a panel of advisors comprising of all the honorary and extraordinary professors of the faculty.

“The faculty has been known for its excellent practice-orientated training as well as the involvement of law practitioners in the training of LL B-students,” said Prof Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the UFS.

“The faculty was greatly dependent on the services of advocate lecturers, full-time members of the Bar and Side Bar who lectured on a part-time basis at the faculty.  For this reason lecturing in the faculty was mainly done after-hours to part-time students,” said Prof Henning. 

With the shift in emphasis to full-time lecturing and the appointment of full-time lecturers, especially because of the increasing student numbers, the full-time LL B-programme and the increasing pressure on students for quality research inputs, a greater need for meaningful contributions of judges and senior law practitioners to the faculty was experienced.

“To comply with this urgent need, three honorary professors and nine extraordinary professors were appointed.  This group of experts deliver an indispensable contribution to the practice orientation of the faculty by means of formal lectures, public inaugural lectures and guest lectures, direct lectures to graduate and post-graduate students, participation in research projects and the  constant evaluation of lecturers, modules and the content of modules and learning material. The international exposure of students and lecturers is also promoted by their contribution,” said Prof Henning.
“A need to have the involvement of this special class of professors structured in a more organised way was identified and a decision was made to establish an advisory panel called Collegium Iurisprudentium.  It is a privilege to us that all the honorary and extraordinary professors accepted the invitation,” said Prof  Henning. 

The panel will provide the faculty with continuous, distinguished, practice- orientated capability and capacity as well as international expertise, not only for direct inputs to students but also to advise lecturers about the curriculum, the compilation of the content of the LL B and M module, learning material and others, as well as to strengthen the research capacity of the faculty.

“The panel will also deliver a decisive contribution to the faculty’s preparation for the constitutional audit of the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) of the Council for Higher Education (CHE) that will take place in October 2006,” said Prof Henning. 

The Collegium Iurisprudentium, which has been formally constituted, comprises of:

Appeal Court Judge J J F Hefer,
Appeal Court Judge L Mpati
Appeal Court Judge F D J Brand
Appeal Court Judge I G Farlam
Prof B A K Rider
Judge S P B Hancke
Judge A Kruger
Judge D H van Zyl
Adv S J Naudé
Adv J Lubbe Sc
Prof M M Katz
Prof R J Cook
Mr S van de Merwe
Mr W van der Westhuizen
Mr D C M Gihwala

Media release
Issued by:Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:  (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
11 November 2005

 

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