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09 April 2021 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo Supplied
Tiisetso Mokoena tops the UFS Management Development Programme class of 2020

A tough 2020 did not dampen the spirit of Tiisetso Mokoena. Determined and steadfast, she obtained the highest average (92%) to become the top student in the Management Development Programme (MDP) offered by the University of the Free State (UFS) Business School. Mokoena enrolled for the MDP after receiving a bursary from the Services SETA. This is a remarkable achievement, as not only did Mokoena have fierce competition from an exceptionally large group – COVID-19 presented its own challenges that Mokoena had to face. Mokoena transitioned seamlessly from traditional face-to-face to online learning and excelled at it.

“Ms Mokoena was a very enthusiastic and committed student. She worked extremely hard and was not deterred by the transition from face-to-face to online lectures. Her hard work paid off, with impressive results. We are very proud of her,” says Programme Coordinator, Jo’Anni Deacon.

Mokoena also adds: “It has been a great honour to be part of the Higher Certificate Management Development Programme (MDP), and I thank my employer, Services SETA, and the UFS Business School for making it all possible.”
“My overall experience of the programme was impressive. I came into it with an expectation to better myself in my career; I believe that I will achieve this, as I was presented with tools and techniques that will help me grow professionally. As I went through the programme, I developed a sense of ambition and my strategic thinking progressed. I learned a lot about the basics of an everyday business world as we went through different modules, and there were a lot of ‘aha’ moments,” Mokoena adds.

“The UFS Business School is phenomenal, the academic support we as students received throughout the programme was amazing – we were treated with such dignity. The staff took time and effort to assist us with the utmost care and professionalism,” says Mokoena about her experience in the UFS Business School. 

About the UFS Business School and the Higher Certificate in Management Development

The Business School within the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences has established itself as a leader in South Africa with the provision of the Higher Certificate in Management Development. A dynamic supplement to this spectrum of management programmes on offer is an excellent Higher Certificate in Management Development (MDP). The MDP emphasises leadership development, broadens insight through exposure to the most important management disciplines, and integrates it into a total management approach. This tailor-made qualification has been designed to assist institutions, managers, and managers-to-be in both the private and public sectors.

News Archive

Standing ovation for the UFS Camerata in St Petersburg, Russia
2013-11-26

 
Jan Moritz Onken conducting the Camerata during their performance at the 13th International Conservatoire in St Petersburg, Russia.

The OSM CAMERATA (OSMC), flagship ensemble of the University of the Free State’s Odeion School of Music, received a standing ovation during a gala concert at the 13th International Conservatoire Festival presented on 7 November 2013 in the Glazunov Hall under the baton of Maestro Jan Moritz Onken.

The International Conservatory Festival was founded in 2001 by the St Petersburg Rimsky Korsakov Conservatory and has since then become an annual highlight on the concert calendar of St Petersburg.

For the last thirteen years, the festival has developed as a centre of excellence for artists, lecturers, and music experts who represent higher institutions of music from almost every continent. This forum has introduced more than 200 conservatories internationally, and literally produced hundreds of concerts, master’s classes and lectures. Internationally-acclaimed musicians such as Yuri Temirkanov, Rodion Shchedrin, Saulius Sondeckis, Krzysztof Penderecki, Valery Gergiev, Vasily Sinaisky and Semyon Bychkov, as well as young talented performers on the brink of their international careers, have participated in the festival over the years.

The OSMC presented the artistic director of the festival, Prof Lydia Volcheck, with audio-visual material as an audition and received a formal invitation from Prof Mikhail Gantvarg, Rector of the St Petersburg Rimsky Korsakov Conservatoire, in May 2013. Jan Moritz Onken (who was appointed as the OSMC chief conductor and artistic director for 2012) prepared the ensemble with vigour and discipline. Experienced international OSM alumni and several young international professionals served as mentors throughout the year preceding the event.

The OSMC gave two recitals during the festival – a gala performance in the Glazunov Hall, as well as a concert in the St Petersburg White Hall. For the first concert on 7 November (entitled FOUR CONTINENTS FESTIVAL), the OSMC shared the stage with a piano duo from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music (Katowice, Poland), the String Quartet of the Colburn Conservatory of Music (Los Angeles, USA), as well as an ensemble of Japanese Traditional Instruments from the Tokyo University of the Arts (Japan).

After the last reverberating notes of the performance of the Phantom Waltz (a work commissioned by the OSM from the South African composer Hendrik Hofmeyr), a thunderous applause and shouts of bravo exploded! The OSMC responded spontaneously with a kwela improvisation as an encore.

Dagbreek broadcast: http://bit.ly/1evTgR3

 

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