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30 November 2020 | Story Nonsidiso Qwabe | Photo Supplied
Acclaimed South African writer, author, and UFS research fellow Zubeida Jaffer was honoured with a lifetime achievement award for her career in journalism during the Standard Bank Sivukile Awards ceremony. 

Passion for journalism spans decades
During the award ceremony on 15 October 2020, Jaffer received the prestigious Allan Kirkland Soga Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognises a sustained and extraordinary contribution to journalism. Jaffer said she never chose journalism, but journalism chose her. She said when she first stepped into a newsroom looking for a holiday job in the 1970s, she did not know she had stepped into her future in news reporting. Since then, Jaffer has earned many accolades in the journalism industry as well as in academia. She also became an acclaimed author, and wrote her third book, Beauty of the Heart: The Life and Times of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke, during her time as a writer-in-residence at the UFS. While at the UFS, she founded the online media platform, The Journalist, a platform that provides history and context for key issues facing South African journalists. This portal also links students with academics across the country and will soon be extended to the African continent and the diaspora.

Jaffer said she felt blessed to be recognised among the many journalism pioneers in South Africa. 

“It’s extremely wonderful because it came so out of the blue. This year, with COVID-19, I was digging deep, and trying my best to keep focus. I’m very thankful. It’s made me pause, reflect, and realise that a lot of things I’ve done have been of value. When living your life, it’s not that you’re aware of that all the time. There are many people doing great things who don’t always get this kind of recognition,” Jaffer said.

Still a great need for journalists in South Africa 

Talking about journalism today, Jaffer said: “I am often overwhelmed to witness the enthusiasm and determination of young journalists across the country who come from humble backgrounds and inspire those around them. Our country is gripped in a bipolar condition. It is not clear how the healing will come, but it will. The challenge is to keep our minds in balance so that we can be strong enough to root out corruption and gender-based violence, while at the same time fully understanding our blessings as a people.”

UFS alumna Rising Star in Journalism 

In another accolade for the UFS, the Upcoming/Rising Star of the Year award went to former UFS Journalism student Brümilda Swartbooi for her article titled ‘Sy het hard vir ons gewerk’. The article highlighted the senseless killing of a woman outside her workplace, minutes after her husband dropped her off.

Brümilda Swartbooi. Photo: Supplied

News Archive

Postgraduates’ new Kovsies home
2013-05-10

 
Some of the guests attending the launch, included from left: Prof Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector: Academic, Dr Henriette van den Berg, Director: Postgraduate School and Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research.
10 May 2013
Photo: Johan Roux

Postgraduate students and their academic 'parents' at the University of the Free State (UFS) now have a dedicated physical, emotional and electronic space to provide for their specialised needs in order to further promote research excellence at the UFS.

The university's Postgraduate School was launched in May 2011, but ventured further in the quest to fulfil and expand its mandate with new initiatives. These different aspects of the school were launched on Wednesday 8 May 2013 in the CR Swart Auditorium on the Bloemfontein Campus. The postgraduate strategy, postgraduate prospectus, the website and the headquarters of the Postgraduate School in the Johannes Brill Building were all unveiled and launched.

Prof Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector: Academic, who was a major driving force behind the formation of the Postgraduate School, during her address at the opening emphasised the multifaceted and unique relationships which often exist between students and supervisors.

Prof Hay, who has a distinguished academic background in postgraduate teaching, made plain her expectations for the Postgraduate School. She said it aims to "create an intellectual space for postgraduate students and supervisors" in order to produce world-class intellectuals at this university.

She said the school will empower both students who often don't know what to expect from supervision, as well as supervisors who often lack supervision skills. Through this it will be possible to create healthy, productive relationships between the distinct pairs in often misunderstood, unbalanced and intricate interactions.

Dr Henriette van den Berg, Director of the Postgraduate School, introduced the strategic plan of the school and emphasised the great strides that have already been made and what still needs to be done at the UFS in terms of postgraduate teaching. According to her, the Postgraduate School aims towards "holistic development of postgraduate students with transferable skills," through a multi-level and institution-wide approach at the university.

"Our aim is to develop a one-step service for postgraduate students, involving all the different stakeholders," she said.

The new Postgraduate School website was also showcased during the event. Reachable through a number of avenues on the main website, the site offers a digital version of the Johannes Brill Building. Brimming with features catering specifically for local, international, current and prospective students, the website provides crucial information.

The Johannes Brill Building's refurbished interior, with staff offices, seminar rooms and social spaces, were also showcased to UFS' staff and students. The initial phase of the Supervisors' Wall of Fame was also unveiled. According to Dr van den Berg , the wall will after completion bestow much-deserved praise on a hand-picked group of 60 supervisors who have respectively been responsible for more than 300 and more than 500 successful PhD and master's candidates over the past decade.

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