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24 August 2020 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Supplied
Lebohang Masoabi believes she is a champion woman as she commits her time to nurture other champions.

Growing up with an inferiority complex has taught Lebohang Masoabi to flourish in her adult life. She credits former Vice-Chairperson of the University of the Free State’s Council, Dr Nthabeleng Rammile, as a woman who continues to inspire her. She recently won an Innovation in Learning and Teaching award during the Qwaqwa Campus Centre for Teaching and Learning’s Excellence in Learning and Teaching Awards. 

She has just completed her MCom degree in Business Management, focusing on the role of entrepreneurial education on attitudes and intentions of university students. 

Please tell us about yourself: Who you are and what you do? 

My name is Lebohang Masoabi. I am a Lecturer in the Department of Business Management at the University of the Free State Qwaqwa Campus. My areas of expertise include, but are not limited to, entrepreneurship and marketing.

Is there a woman who inspires you and who you would like to celebrate this Women’s Month, and why?

Dr Nthabeleng Rammile. She is intentional and unapologetic about pursuing her destiny. She is a great example of defying limitations. She constantly challenges her abilities. She oozes confidence. But above all, I love how she is passionate about the growth and development of other women, and how she has made it her life’s work to ensure that other women succeed in pursuit of their dreams. 

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in your life that have made you a better woman?

Self-esteem issues: I had to learn to love myself and believe in myself and when I overcame that, I was unstoppable.

Inferiority complex: I was always afraid to express my full potential, wondering if I am worth it compared to others in my professional and personal space. I then realised that I am not weak, I am not vulnerable, I am not a damsel in distress. The day I realised my full potential as a woman, I flourished.

 

I had to learn to love myself and believe in myself and when I overcame that, I was unstoppable.

What advice would you give to the 15-year-old you?

• You are worth more than you think.
• Not everyone is going to like you, and that is fine.
• Be brave and do what scares you.
• Be kind to yourself.
• Forgive quickly, move on quickly.
• The girls who did not like you then, want to be you now!
• Learn to breathe through the tough moments, it’s not the end of the world.

What would you say makes you a champion woman [of the UFS]?

For the past four years on our campus, I have committed my time and energy to mentor students who are in quest of their professional and personal development, some of whom have launched their careers and have become champions in their own spaces.

So, my answer to this question is that what makes me a champion woman of the UFS is the fact that I nurture other champions!

 


News Archive

Five mega projects to help reposition the UFS
2008-02-01

The University of the Free State (UFS) today announced that it will focus on five mega-projects to help reposition the UFS in the next five years as one of South Africa’s leading universities that is successfully managing excellence and diversity.

Speaking at the official opening of the university today, the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Frederick Fourie, identified the five mega projects as:

  • The successful implementation of strategic academic clusters to focus the teaching and research expertise of the UFS.
  • The development and implementation of new models of teaching and learning.
  • Finding new sources of income (including third-stream income) to minimise dependence on government subsidies and tuition fees.
  • Creating a new institutional culture for the university by finalising the Institutional Charter.
  • The ongoing transformation of the UFS in all its dimensions.

According to Prof. Fourie, the strategic clusters – initiated in 2006 – are a very important initiative which is aimed at making the UFS a world leader in six broad areas. The focus of the six clusters has now been determined. These clusters are not just research based, but will include postgraduate programmes and filter down to undergraduate learning programmes and curricula.

He also indicated that other research at the UFS will continue to be supported and funded as before.

The second project, to establish a new teaching and learning model, is meant to address current success rates which indicate the need for this issue to receive a high priority.

New income streams to enable higher levels of financial sustainability is the third project, especially in view of dwindling government subsidies and limits on student numbers. This is necessary to fund sustained higher levels of investment in the quality of academic activities and in the necessary capacity and facilities.

Prof. Fourie said the fourth project regarding institutional culture is an ongoing effort to create a sense of belonging for all staff and students at the UFS through the adoption of an Institutional Charter for the university.

“What the draft Charter does – in addition to describing overarching values espoused by the institution and its people – is to describe the outlines and constitutive principles of the ‘post-redress’ UFS,” said Prof. Fourie.

The Charter – initially launched in 2007 – is and remains a critical element of guiding transformation effectively and speedily towards a widely-accepted goal. It is a critical element of the “social sustainability and robustness” of a new UFS, especially in tumultuous political times.

The fifth project is the Transformation Plan, launched in 2007. “We simply must pursue this plan diligently, given our commitment to comprehensive and deep transformation, and to best practice transformation. All universities will have to face up to the challenge of transformation and the UFS can break new ground, as it did in the past by managing transformation innovatively and creating a campus where all can find their rightful place,” said Prof. Fourie.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
1 February 2008
 

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