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Alumna congratulates graduates

17 November 2022 | Story Kutlwano Moqholosane | Photo Supplied

Opinion article by Kutlwano Moqholosane, alumna, University of the Free State. Moqholosane obtained her Bachelor of Social Sciences (Human and Societal Dynamics) in April 2022.

To the graduating class of December 2022 – let me start by congratulating you on your hard work! Acceptance to study at university is no small feat and being able to come out on the other side of it is a huge accomplishment to be proud of.

I graduated in April 2022, but my journey with the UFS started back in 2015 when I first sent my application forms. Back then, I was a young girl of 17 with dreams way bigger than me. I felt I could achieve anything I set my mind to.

I was accepted to the university and started in 2016, with the hope to finish in record time and get all the way to master’s and be a practising psychologist by 2022. Life had funny plans, but I'm so grateful for the academic and support staff at the university; they walked me through my mental health struggles and held my hand as I tripped here and there. Without the sensitivity and empathy shown to me by everyone here, I don't think I would eventually have become an alumna of the University of the Free State (UFS).

I had to take a semester off in 2017 after some soul-crushing struggles with mental illness. At the time, I thought it was all over; I could not see a way out of the fog, and I didn’t fully trust myself and my abilities anymore. In January 2018, I made my way back to Bloemfontein to try again anyway.

Between then and now, I have been admitted to a wellness facility a few times. This is unfortunately the reality of living with a chronic mental illness. With each admission, I came back with new and better coping strategies to help me through academics and life in general.

I'm especially glad to have had lecturers like Lindie Coetzee, Kali Nena and Dr Florence Tadi, Dr Lindi Nel, and Dr Jacques Jordaan, who all understood the delicate nature of depression, anxiety, and growing pains, and gave me countless opportunities to write tests, exams, and submit assignments.

What am I doing now?

Well, I'm still a Kovsie through and through! I'm taking a short break from academics, but that does not mean I’m done! I'm sending job applications to the university for the vacancies I might be a good fit for, and I will be applying for admission to the Psychology Honours programme as soon as possible.

I've found a community with the UFS, and I'm very hopeful that I'll still be able to take part and call it home.

My parting message to all of you: stumbling and falling is a fact of life. Some falls will be worse than others, but the biggest thing is that you get up every single time. You are not defined by any of the ways in which you ‘mess up’; you will always have the opportunity to grow into a better person than before.

Once again, congratulations!

News Archive

Applications for the Vice-Chancellor's Prestige Programme for 2013/2014 now open

2012-12-06

This highly prestigious programme, led by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State, seeks to identify, develop and promote the next cohort of the most promising and talented UFS academic members of staff who obtained a doctoral degree within the last five years. These are young scholars who have chosen academic careers and who are focused and determined to become senior academics in their respective disciplines.

Once identified, these scholars will be put through an intensive programme of academic and scholarship support that includes an advanced residential programme, exposure to leading scholars, intensive reading and writing programmes, high-level seminar participation and presentation, nuanced publication schedules and personal mentoring and advice.

The selection process is highly competitive, and aimed at those young scholars with the potential to obtain upper-level ratings (Y1 and P). The selection criteria include the following:(1)

1. Recently obtained a PhD degree.

2. Evidence of an active publication record.
3. Early recognition of scholarly work, e.g. successful funding/grant applications and academic awards.
4. The early development of a post-doctoral intellectual project that shows evidence of scholarly “potential” (defined by the NRF Y-category).
5. Indication of the young scholar’s understanding of what their envisaged postdoctoral endeavours will contribute to the body of knowledge.

This period of support will run over a cycle of two years after which a new intake of next generation professors will be selected.

While this cohort will be selected for an intensive programme, ongoing development and support of all young scholars will continue. The selected scholars will reflect a balance of young academics from the humanities (broadly defined, including education, law, theology and the social sciences) and the natural sciences (broadly defined, including the agricultural and health sciences).

Call for Applications

This is a call for applications for the Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Programme for 2013/2014. Candidates are invited to submit applications. No nomination is required, but deans and heads of department will also be asked to invite young scholars to apply. Complete applications are due by Monday 21 January 2013. A full application will include the following documentation:

1. A complete curriculum vitae of the candidate.
2. A complete exercise of intent comprising the following:
2.1   Select two journal articles (copies of which to accompany the application) in the area you have identified for your intellectual focus post PhD. These articles have to be selected from journals of international standing in your field.
2.2   The articles need to be summarised (250 words each), and
2.3   Two questions have to be identified that you would want to pursue in relation to your intended project.
2.4   This is followed by a brief, critical summary of a hundred lines maximum to indicate how these articles inform, integrate or provoke your planned future research.

Submission and contact address

A paper copy of the application must be submitted to the Vice-Chancellor’s secretary, Ms Melissa Coetzee, in the Main Building by 16:00 on Monday 21 January 2013 and an electronic copy of your entire application to the administrative assistant, Mr Albert Nell:nella@ufs.ac.za. You will be contacted to acknowledge receipt. Candidates will be informed of the outcome in February. Further information on the Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Scholar Programme can be directed at any of the following co-directors (in alphabetical order):

Prof Jackie du Toit, Prof Neil Roos, Prof Aldo Stroebel or Prof Corli Witthuhn.

[1] The VC reserves the right to nominate young scholars to the programme and also to invite scholars to a panel interview to evaluate personal qualities, professional commitment and academic ambition.

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