Latest News Archive

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

Tinovimba Semu, top undergraduate student in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences

20 May 2022 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo Supplied

Tinovimba Semu is the proud recipient of the Dean’s Medal for best results with respect to an undergraduate degree in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS), which was awarded during the recent April graduation ceremonies. Semu achieved a distinction in her Bachelor of Commerce degree with specialisation in Economics. Currently completing a BCom Honours degree specialising in Economics, Semu indicated that she did not understand the value of education, nor did she push herself to study until she arrived at university.

“Education is not just about getting the highest marks so that you can get a job. To me, education is about gaining knowledge, challenging yourself, and applying that knowledge to improve a process in the world, no matter how small that improvement may seem,” says Semu.

Semu’s parents, both Math and Science educators, are her fiercest protectors and cheerleaders who have instilled the value of education in her and allowed her the freedom to choose her education and career path. “I am not only under pressure to succeed in my academics, but with work as well, and I know that I have my parent’s support in everything that I do.”

“I now know the value of working hard and working smart. I know the value of goal setting and have learnt to set goals for myself and to work towards achieving those goals,” says Semu.

News Archive

Arts and Science collaborate in creating sustainable futures

2016-03-16

Creating a future where living green is the status quo: Dr Keith Armstrong
Photo: Lihlumelo Toyana

In creating partnerships across disciplines, mankind gains a deeper understanding of how to create the future. This is the premise upon which Dr Keith Armstrong bases his research and experimental art. Dr Armstrong is an Australian Hybrid Media artist and a Senior Research Fellow at Queensland University of Technology in Australia.

Artists that make things happen

“My journey has shifted from an artist that makes things to an artist that makes things happen,” he said at the New Futures: Innovations in Arts and Science public talk recently at Oliewenhuis Art Museum. The talk, organised by the Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery, was part of a series of artistic projects presented by the Programme for Innovation in Arts and Development (PIAD). This initiative is spearheaded by the UFS and Vrystaat Arts Festival, kindly supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Dr Angus Hervey – an Australian writer, technologist and science communicator– was also a speaker at the event. Dr Hervey is a co-founder of Future Crunch, a platform for intelligent, optimistic thinking about the future. He strongly shares Dr Armstrong’s passion and viewpoints.

Dr Armstrong’s work is motivated by social and ecological justice. His non-traditional research and more than 60 artworks serve to evoke audiences to create sustainable futures.

Building the future

Dr Armstrong is in the process of making “things happen” in informal settlements across the Free State by means of his Re-Future project. The project brings together sustainability, community development, and creative action. It moves away from conventional art practices and instead offer a platform to rethink and therefore re-future our practices of sustainability.

The Re-Future project has been initiated through a collaboration between the Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery, the UFS Centre for Development Support (CDS) and Qala Phelang Tala (QPT) and the Vrystaat Art Festival.

According to Anita Venter, a lecturer at CDS and founder of QPT, empowerment is at the centre of the artist-initiated, yet community-controlled project. “It gives a new direction and new hope to the community,” she said.

For more information
Angela de Jesus, dejesusav@ufs.ac.za or +27(0)51 401 2706

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