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06 January 2020 | Story Igno van Niekerk | Photo Igno van Niekerk
Success is tied to the company you keep
Prof Brownhilder Neneh believes failure is part of success – it teaches you to be persistent and resilient.

As a young girl growing up in the Cameroon, her dad told her that once she had completed her first degree, she could choose where in the world she wanted to study. Her first choice was the United States; she applied and was admitted.

So, how did she come to complete her postgraduate studies and then became a professor and Head of the UFS Department of Business Management?


A matter of timing

Prof Brownhilder Neneh, Associate Professor in the Department of Business Management, tells the story. “It was a matter of timing. The new intake in the US took place in June; I started looking around and saw that there was an opportunity to come to the UFS. I did not want to waste six months; so, I came here, did my honours degree, and within one year and five months, I completed my master’s degree (Cum Laude), and then went home. I thought of doing my PhD in Germany but realised that the language might be a challenge; I came back and within a year and a few months, I completed my PhD.”

Listening to Prof Neneh relate the story, one might think she does nothing but study; although her academic workload is high, she finds the time to play with her 14-month-old baby every day. “When I arrive home and she sees me – that’s when my energy soars – and we start playing. Where possible, I take her to conferences with me. As a working mother, I understand the challenge of finding the balance, and my husband is great in supporting me.”


Finding the balance

Having risen to the position of professor, being happily married, and apparently having found the balance which many people seems to strive for their entire lives, I ask Prof Neneh what her recipe for success is. She doesn’t hesitate: “Success is tied to who you marry (if you get married), the company you keep, hard work, consistency, and always trying to be the best at what you do – and, oh yes, failure is part of success; it teaches you to be persistent and resilient. I also believe that God’s grace and favour has added to my success.” At a conference in September 2019, Prof Neneh once again talked about her favourite topic – women entrepreneurs and the challenges they face. She believes that there is a lot to be done to lessen the load of entrepreneurial women. And as I get ready to leave, I ask for her definition of success. She doesn’t hesitate: “Seeing students fly above you – and shining. Yes, to see them shine.”

News Archive

First M degree in Sport Medicine commences at the UFS
2006-02-03

Some of the guests that attended the launch of the M degree in Sport Medicine were from the left Dr Derik Coetzee (senior lecturer at the UFS Department of Human Movement Science and one of the tutors of the programme); Dr Sorita Viljoen (a student from Bloemfontein); dr Stephan Pretorius (a student from Pretoria) ; Dr Louis Holtzhausen (Programme Director:  Sport Medicine at the UFS) and Prof Teuns Verschoor (Vice-Rector:  Academic Operations at the UFS).
Photo: Lacea Loader


First M degree in Sport Medicine commences at the UFS    

The classes of the first group of nine students registered for the M degree in Sport Medicine at the University of the Free State (UFS) commenced at the School of Medicine this week.

This is the first degree of its kind presented by the UFS.  Only two other universities in South Africa are presenting the course, namely the University of Cape Town and the University of Pretoria.

“It is an important new subject field for medicine in South Africa and is aimed at medical doctors,” said Dr Louis Holtzhausen, Programme Director of Sport Medicine in the School of Medicine and head of the UFS Sport and Exercise Medicine Clinic.

The course focuses on the wellness and healthy lifestyle of patients and also intercepts the growing need for a specialized medical service for sportsmen,” said Dr Holtzhausen.

Athletes’ needs for specialised medical care have increased dramatically during the past ten years.  “The primary health care practitioner has already surrendered a great deal of the athletics community to disciplines such as physiotherapy, bio kinetics, homeopathy, chirology and other alternative disciplines because of a lack to provide for these practitioners,” said Dr Holtzhausen.

“The course is especially in demand with general practitioners because they want to deliver a more specialized service to patients.  With this course a student can call him/herself a sport doctor and will then not only be able to present patients with scientifically funded exercise, food supplements and advice on their lifestyle, but will also be able to help with the rehabilitation of patients with chronic illnesses,” said Dr Holtzhausen.

“The greatest medical care expense in South African stems from lifestyle bound illnesses such as depression, strokes and obesesiveness.  The M degree in Sports Medicine at the UFS will intercept some of these problems,” said Dr Holtzhausen.

According to Dr Holtzhausen the duration of the degree is three years and it comprises of three legs.  In the first leg, attention is given to an athlete’s performance and how it can be improved with the correct methods and supplements.  In the second leg attention is given to the wellness of patients and the reversibility of the risk of illness and the exercise rehabilitation of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hart problems to assist patients to exercise in a scientific way in order for them to start living optimally again.  In the third leg attention is given to a healthier lifestyle as a precautionary measure. 

The course also includes a lecture part (four attendance sessions of seven days each) and a thesis.  

“The new course is important for the UFS as the whole tendency in medicine is to move into a direction of a more affordable precaution.  There is no other qualification or programme with as much detail as this course,” he said.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
3 February 2006

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