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29 June 2020 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Pixabay
Should the anxiety burden be too heavy to bear, contact the Student Counselling and Development office.
Do you need help with sharpening your coping skills to alleviate exam anxiety? Look no further; Dr Neo Pule, counselling psychologist at the UFS Student Counselling and Development Office, has tips for you on how to manage stress.

Stress comes with the territory of exam preparation. “The quality of a person’s performance is hampered when the level of stress is either too low or two high,” says Dr Pule. In order to strike a balance between the two states, you need to treat your emotions as information and apply coping skills when necessary.

How you think can have a profound effect on your emotional and physical well-being. Some social strategies of coping with stress include social support, humour, self-nurturing, and healthy distractions. Take care of your mental health this exam period by following these simple tips from Dr Pule:

Before the examination:
1. Allow yourself enough time to study
2. Ask your lecturer what the format of the exam will be
3. List the chapters you need to prepare for
4. Write down key facts
5. Make flash cards, drawings or notes
Important: Focus on areas your lecturer spent a lot of time on.

During the examination:
1. Pace yourself and budget your time accordingly
2. If you blank on a question, skip it, and move on
3. Don’t panic if others are handing in their papers
4. Apply yourself and try your best
5. Breathe!

After the examination:
1. Let go!
2. Don’t compare your answers with peers
3. Reflect on the good and the bad in a healthy manner
4. Relax
5. Treat yourself

Bloemfontein Campus and South Campus
Student Counselling and Development: +27 51 401 2853 or herbstp@ufs.ac.za

Qwaqwa Campus
Student Counselling and Development: +27 58 718 5033 or +27 58 718 5033 or +27 58 718 5032

News Archive

Quantity Surveying celebrates many firsts
2014-10-20

 

From the left are: Pierre Oosthuizen, Prof Kajimo-Shakantu and Dr Stephan Ramabodu
Photo: Ifa Tshishonge



The Department of Quantity Surveying at the University of the Free State (UFS) has much to be proud of. With Prof Kahilu Kajimo-Shakantu as Head of the Department of Quantity Surveying, the department is celebrating several firsts.

For the first time, the department has four academics with PhDs. This includes Prof Kajimo-Shakantu, Dr Stephan Ramabodu, Dr Timothy Froise and Dr Benita Zulch. It is also the first time that this department is managed by a woman.

Furthermore, the Department of Quantity Surveying has performed very well at this year’s national Quantity Surveying Conference held in Pretoria, where they walked away with four of the seven awards.

The awards were:

•    Best presenter: Pierre Oosthuizen (lecturer)
•    Most innovative presenter: Pierre Oosthuizen (lecturer)
•    Best paper on engineering projects: Prof Kahilu Kajimo-Shakantu
•    Best academic paper: T Monyane (postgraduate student) and Dr Stephan Ramabodu (lecturer)

The South African Council for the Quantity Surveying Profession (SACQSP) also presented two prestigious life achievement awards. One of these were bestowed upon Prof Basie Verster from the UFS for his contribution to quantity surveying since the 1970s.

The university is especially proud of Dr Stephen Ramabodu, lecturer in the Department of Quantity Surveying, who completed his PhD this year. This makes of him the highest qualified quantity surveyor in the department and one of only a few holders of a quantity surveying PhD in the country. Dr Ramabodu is also registered with the South African Council for Quantity Surveying Professionals.

Prof Kajimo-Shakantu said the following of Dr Ramabodu. “Since 2002, Stephan was appointed as a lecturer in a programme called Grow Your Own Timber at the UFS. Later on, he went to Cape Town to gain some commercial experience, where he worked for Davis Langdon in 2005. In 2008, he returned to the Free State, where he established Ramabodu & Associates. Later on in the same year, he returned to the UFS as a lecturer to complete all the remaining milestones of the Grow Your Own Timber programme.

“The university looks forward to Stephen’s increased responsibilities and contributions, not only in teaching and learning, but also in research, mentoring and community engagement.”


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