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01 February 2021 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo Supplied
Likeleli Monyamane.
In our first episode of the Voices of the Free State podcast series, Likeleli Monyamane takes us through her journey as a student at the UFS. Founder of Inspire Innovation Business Consultants, Likeleli is a chartered accountant based in Lesotho, with a deep passion for skills development and mentorship. ‘Build people, build the nation’ is the motto that Likeleli subscribes to. Losing her parents at a young age, Likeleli was raised by her grandmother and forged ahead despite the challenges she faced. Commitment to her vision and inspiration from her mum, which left an imprint on her, was what kept Likeleli grounded.

François van Schalkwyk and Keenan Carelse, UFS alumni leading the university’s United Kingdom Alumni Chapter, have put their voices together to produce and direct the podcast series. 

Intended to reconnect alumni with the university and their university experience, the podcasts will be featured on the first Monday of every month, ending in November 2021.  Our featured alumni share and reflect on their experiences at the UFS, how it has shaped their lives, and relate why their ongoing association with the UFS is still relevant and important.

The podcasts are authentic conversations – they provide an opportunity for the university to understand and learn about the experiences of its alumni and to celebrate the diversity and touchpoints that unite them. 

 
Our podcast guest

A chartered accountant by profession, Likeleli Monyamane is founder of Inspire Innovation Business Consultants and Head of Strategy, Projects and Innovation at Alliance Insurance. As a recipient of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Likeleli attended the Cambridge College in Massachusetts, USA.  She was also selected as one of the Top 35-under-35 chartered accountants by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. 

Stay tuned for episode two to be released on 1 March 2021, featuring Bertus Jacobs, Chief Technology Officer of IoT.nxt. 

For further information regarding the podcast series, or to propose other alumni guests, please email us at alumnipodcast@ufs.ac.za 

Listen to the Podcast here:

News Archive

"We cannot train for unemployment"
2009-11-16

The prestige forum was attended by, from the left: Prof. Dirk van Damme, Head of the Centre for Education research and innovation at OECD in Paris, France; Dr Saretha Brüssow of the Planning Unit: Teaching and Learning; Mr Francois Marais, Director of CHESD; Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor; Prof. Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector Academic Planning and the guest speaker; and Prof. Magda Fourie of the University of Stellenbosch.
Photo: Gerhard Louw
“We cannot train for unemployment. We must continuously look at what employers and the world want, and update,” Prof. Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector: Teaching and Learning at the University of Stellenbosch, recently said at a prestige forum for teaching and learning at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Prof. Fourie, former Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS delivered the second Magda Fourie Prestige Lecture at the forum. The forum was presented by the Centre for Higher Education Studies and Learning (CHESD) and the Planning Unit: Teaching and Learning. Various presentations were made on innovations in teaching and learning at the UFS.

Prof. Fourie said research has shown that the knowledge, skills, competencies and values of students are out of sync with the needs of the world out there. Higher Education must look at the context in which it operates and the relevance of its teaching and learning. “We are busy with the cultivation of humanity,” she said.

The UFS is doing excellent work with its bridging programmes and other universities will have to give attention to it. The UFS is also excellent in its extended programmes and have more women and foreign students than the national average. The UFS, however, has a lower percentage of black students than the national average.

The UFS is also excellent in terms of postgraduate students. The national average is 36%, with the UFS boasting 47%. Prof. Fourie expressed her concern for the low throughput in Business and Economics at the UFS where only 13% of those who enter the system graduate. “These are the people we need for this country’s economy.”

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