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23 January 2020 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa
Gateway
Ensure a vibrant Kovsie student life for yourself by actively participating in the exciting series of official Gateway activities and events.

Enrich your first University of the Free State (UFS) experiences with the annual Gateway first-year’s college. Form long-lasting friendships and memories with your fellow freshmen and gear up for a vibrant academic career at the UFS.

Gateway comprises an exciting series of student-life and learning experiences that are intended to introduce and acquaint students with their respective Kovsie campuses and overall UFS campus life. 

The 2020 Gateway programme inducts first-year students into academic faculty life in order to help them adjust and settle into the university environment. It also aims to instil effective skills in them to thrive academically, and to develop into well-rounded, globally competitive graduates.

Want to experience Gateway? Here’s how

The Gateway Orientation programme on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus is conducted according to student colleges. First-year students who do not belong to an on-campus or day residence on the Bfn Campus, are assigned to a college in Exam Room 3 during their registration. This enables them to follow and be part of the series of events according to the colleges they are assigned to.

Get to know your UFS campus

UFS Campus Tours no longer form part of the Gateway Programme; however, Gateway mentors assigned to specific colleges are available for students to get in touch with, in order to arrange tours of the Bloemfontein Campus. Day-residence students and students residing on campus are paired with P3 mentors, who have been placed in their respective residences to facilitate campus tours for them. 

KovsiesACTUP Performing Arts Competition

The UFS Arts, Culture and Dialogue office has partnered with the Kovsie ACT office for the 2020 Gateway programme, introducing the KovsiesACTUP Performing Arts Competition for all prospective and current students of the UFS. It is geared towards engaging students and enhancing the general social atmosphere on the Bloemfontein Campus during registration.

The competition comprises various categories, including dancing, singing, poetry, DJing, musical bands, and rap. The winner from each category will walk away with R1 500 in cash. The competition finale will be held at the RAG farm on 27 January 2020 at 14:00.
 
For more information on how to get involved with the Arts, Culture and Dialogue Office, students can visit the Callie Human Centre on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus. The office has set up a performance stage, where fellow Kovsies associated with the office are entertaining prospective students and parents who are waiting to register. 

For enquiries about Gateway on each campus, see the details below:

Bloemfontein Campus:  +27 51 401 9876 or email gateway@ufs.ac.za
Qwaqwa Campus: Dulcie Malimabe, +27 58 718 5041; malimabeDP@ufs.ac.za 
South Campus: Tshego Setilo, +27 51 505 1362; SetiloT@ufs.ac.za

Visit the UFS Gateway page for more information on the 2020 programme and how you can get involved.

News Archive

South Africans can be first movers
2014-04-29

 
Dr Liz Lange, Prof Hussein Solomon, Minister Naledi Pandor and Prof Nicky Morgan
Photo: Johan Roux
Minister of Home Affairs, Naledi Pandor, recently addressed staff, students and members of the community at the CR Swart Auditorium, UFS.

During a public lecture hosted by the Department of Political Studies and Governance, in collaboration with the Free State Legislature, Pandor spoke about The Role of Intellectuals and Academics in moving South Africa forward. She challenged young minds to become the innovative game changers of tomorrow and stressed the importance of tertiary education and its impact on national developments.

“Our country and the world need large quantities of undergraduate institutions,” said Pandor. “We need new innovative partnerships. Private sector research and public sector research need to be married. And we as government should promote private sector development.”

Referring to the breakthrough for South Africa on Africa Day 2012, Pandor made it clear that South Africans have the potential to be first movers, although it has not always been the case. It was announced on Africa Day 2012 that Africa had been named as the preferred site for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope (http://www.ska.ac.za/releases/20120525.php). This undertaking contributed immensely in fuelling the interest in science and technology among South Africans.

“We cannot rely on the same things always. We as South Africans are not usually the first movers. We tend to adopt innovations from elsewhere. But, we need to do more to initiate innovative start-ups … especially in the fields of IT and high-tech innovations.”

Conclusively, this leads to the question of whether we as South African are doing enough to further build a new generation of intellectuals?

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