Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

Student-turned-lecturer among the many new master’s graduates

24 February 2021 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo Supplied

LEBOm_web read more — Business Management Lecturer, Lebohang Masoabi, who received her MA in Business Management at the February virtual graduation ceremony.

Student-turned-lecturer at the University of Free State (UFS), Lebohang Masoabi, has experienced the best of both worlds. Masoabi, a Business Management Lecturer on the Qwaqwa Campus, received her MA degree with specialisation in Business Management during the ceremony for master’s and doctoral degrees on 24 February 2021.

She obtained both her BA Corporate Marketing and Communication and BAHons in Business Management degrees from the UFS.

I found my passion and remembered why I started

Masoabi knows a little about delays not being denials, because what was initially supposed to be a two-year qualification took her five years to complete. “It’s been a long journey, and I really have been through a lot to get to this point. Along the way, I lost hope and was ready to give up, but I remembered why I started. Being an academic has always been a dream of mine, and I want to be the best at that, so I remembered that this was my dream, something that I love.”

“Passing on the knowledge that I have learned from this very university is incredible. I think we are one of the most awesome institutions, and I say this with confidence – having been a student myself, and now as an employee of this institution. At one point I was on the receiving end and knowledge was transferred to me, and now I am on the other side transferring that very same knowledge. Now that I am here, I want more. I see myself becoming Professor Lebohang Masoabi one day,” she said.

Entrepreneurship education necessary for students

Masoabi’s study focused on the role of entrepreneurship education on the attitudes and intentions of university students. She said when she came up with the topic of the study, one of her concerns was that many students studying entrepreneurship did not know what to do with their degrees beyond university, while students in other streams who went on to start businesses after getting their qualifications, lacked the skill and know-how. Her study found that entrepreneurship education had a positive influence on the intentions of students who had entrepreneurship background.

“Entrepreneurship teaches you to cultivate unique skills and to think out of the box. It creates opportunities, which is necessary in a country like ours. If students are given the skills and background of entrepreneurship – with the right opportunities and confidence they get from us as lecturers – they are able to influence their surroundings,” she said.

Master’s degree a message of hope

Masoabi is currently pursuing her PhD in social entrepreneurship, and said her focus was on becoming an expert in the field. “Part of why I started this journey was because of the hope that was given to me as a student at the UFS, the hope that I can be whatever I want to be. This master’s degree is my message of hope to someone looking at my life.”

News Archive

B. Iur. programme in Occupational Risk Law first of its kind in the country

2010-11-26

The University of the Free State (UFS) will offer a B.Iur. degree programme in Occupational Risk Law from 2011.

This programme of the Faculty of Law is the first of its kind to be offered in South Africa and positions the UFS in the forefront of this field of study.

The programme is designed to develop and qualify professionals, knowledgeable in the field of occupational risk law as prescribed by South African legislation and international best practices. It further offers a qualification based on a well-researched basis of applicable legal principles, combined with safety, health, environmental and quality risk management principles applicable to employers and employees in a specialised industry.

The B.Iur. (Occupational Risk Law) has been developed by experts within the parameters of international comparability, according to research-based identification of career demands and requirements in the fields mentioned.

By introducing this programmesignificant progress will be made towards achieving the nationally stated objective of legal safety, health and environmental quality assurance in the workplace and within the broader community. The programme will also encompass the values and standards prescribed by the Institute of Safety Managers. This will provide them with a further step towards the regulation of the professional en ethical standards in the field of legal safety, health and environmental quality assurance.

With the programme, the UFS not only creates a unique opportunity for stakeholders and learners to add meaningful value to their careers, but also exerts a meaningful influence on the industry and society in terms of the acquisition of a most appropriate type of qualification. The B.Iur. (Occupational Risk Law)degree therefore offers a meaningful contribution towards the industry through addressing the increasing demand for career opportunities in the field of legal safety, health and environmental quality compliance.

The new programme is the result of an agreement between the faculty and its partner, IRCA Global. The university officially launched its partnership with IRCA Global, an international supplier of risk management solutions pertaining to safety, health, the environment and quality in 2008. As part of the agreement, the UFS will offer short learning programme, a diploma and a degree in Risk Management.

IRCA Global is a South African company in the international risk control and SHEQ environments with filials in Africa, Australia, India, Eastern Europe, and South America.

In the interim IRCA Global has continued with the marketing of the programme, with the result that hundreds of potential students are waiting for the launching of the programme. The faculty is geared towards offering the programme in e-learning. New modules will also be offered with the help of IRCA’s trained and skilled facilitators. The faculty also utilises the partnerships entered into with IRCA to appoint practising specialists as part-time lecturers for the occupational risk law component of the programme as well as to develop a new specialist component amongst the permanent staff.

The programme is already active and students can register for the first semester 2011 (study code 3324, programme code M3000). Direct your enquiries to Cora-Mari de Vos at 051 401 3532 or devosc@ufs.ac.za.

The programme consists of fundamental modules of the LL.B. and B.Iur., as well as short learning programmes in the Faculty of Law and specially developed core modules in occupational risk law. The B.Iur.in Occupational Risk Law enables successful candidates to enrol for applicable Post Graduate Diplomas or a cognate Honours Degree. Obtaining one of these qualifications provides the platform to articulate to Magister degrees. Horizontal articulation possibilities exist with the accredited Baccalaureus of Law (LL.B.) which is presented by several institutions in the country.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
26 November 2010

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept