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UFS Matriculant of the Year - 40 years of excellence

06 May 2021 | Story Linda Greyling

Matriculant of the year_web read more — Matric achievers from across the country can now enter for the 40th Matriculant of the Year competition, hosted by the University of the Free State (UFS), Netwerk24, and Volksblad. From the left is Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Pieter Hoogenboezem, 2019 winner, and Gert Coetzee, Editor of Volksblad.

Pieter Hoogenboezem describes his first year as a student at the University of the Free State (UFS) as a roller-coaster ride. “I didn’t know what to expect, but I was also looking forward to it.”

The medical student and 39th winner of the Matriculant of the Year competition for 2019 says last year was an uphill struggle due to COVID-19, but when he was eventually able to return to campus in August, it was nice to experience a bit of student life.

No one could have foreseen what would happen in the world in 2020. COVID-19 has changed everything and this popular annual competition, which has been presented ever since 1981, also had to be cancelled last year.

However, this could not get the better of a competition rooted so deeply in the school community, and matric learners from across the country can now enter for the 40th Matriculant of the Year competition hosted by the UFS, Netwerk24, and Volksblad.

Well-rounded matriculants – learners who not only excel academically, but who are also involved in culture, sport, and leadership at their schools – who intend to study full-time at the UFS in 2022 – can enter. Community service and community engagement are also taken into account during the judging process. Matriculants can enter themselves or they can be entered by their schools. However, the signature of the principal as well as the school’s stamp must appear on the form.

All entries are judged according to fixed criteria, and 25 semi-finalists are selected. A total of 14 finalists chosen from this 25 will take part in the Matriculant of the Year finals in Bloemfontein from 5 to 7 October. During the finals, interviews will be conducted with the finalists; they will participate in team sessions, after which the winner will be announced.

The winner and 13 finalists will receive prize money from the sponsors – Kovsie Alumni Trust, Mazars, Absa, and Pick n Pay Preller Walk, as well as bursaries from UFS Student Recruitment Services, the final gala event in Bloemfontein, and gifts to the value of R10 000.

The other 11 semi-finalists will receive prize money from Kovsie Alumni Trust and bursaries from UFS Student Recruitment Services.

Two special prizes of R5 000 each are sponsored by the Kovsie Alumni Trust and will be awarded for outstanding achievement in the field of leadership, academy, sport, or culture.

The bursaries and prize money will be paid as soon as the student has registered at the UFS. Entries must reach the UFS on or before 6 August 2021.

For entry forms or for more information, email Linda Greyling at greylinl@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

International ties for OSM

2013-08-21

Prof Nicol Viljoen in the historic Teatr Zdrojowy in Walbrzych, Poland
20 August 2013

Profs Nicol and Martina Viljoen from the Odeion School of Music (OSM) recently undertook a very successful trip to Europe where Prof Nicol Viljoen rendered two solo piano recitals in Poland. They also delivered a joint paper at a congress in Budapest.

The first of the two recitals were held in Crakow at the famed Zespol Panstwowych School of Music. At this event, Prof Viljoen essentially recited Chopin Mazurkas and was invited to repeat this performance in Poland in the future.

The second piano recital was in the historicTeatr Zdrojowy im. Henryka Wieniawskiego in Walbrzych. This concert included Preludes, Mazurkas, as well as the Ballad in G minor by Chopin. After the Mazurkas, the audience rewarded Prof Viljoen with a standing ovasion – and again at the end of the concert. As a result of this, the chief organiser of the event, Jerzy Kosek, who is also the conductor of the Filharmonia Sudecka, invited Prof Viljoen to perform as soloist with his orchestra next year.

Kosek also invited Conducting students at the OSM to work with the Filharmonia under his leadership on an exchange basis. He indicated that he would like to strengthen the ties with the University of the Free State and the Odeion School of Music. Two members of the Filharmonia Sudecka are currently doctoral students in Performing Arts at the OSM, namely Karol Legierski (concertmaster) and Marianne Cilliers (first violin), while the co-concertmaster, Dorota Graca, is in the process of registering for doctoral studies at the OSM.

The paper delivered by Profs Viljoen in Budapest, formed part of the interdisciplinary congress, ‘The Arts in Society,’ where more than twenty countries were represented. Their paper dealt with the post-apartheid oeuvre of the South African composer, Hans Huyssen. Charla Schutte, another doctoral student at the OSM, delivered a paper on an interpretation of indoctrination songs on the basis of an analytical model by the philosopher Johann Visagie.

During the trip, Prof Martina Viljoen also had a productive meeting with the executive manager of Common Ground Publishers, an academic publisher based in the USA, with a view to publish work from the OSM.

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