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2023 Ernst Mach Grant recipient from the UFS

16 August 2023 | Story Rorisang Ramorena | Photo Supplied

Michael Skosana, a student on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS), has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 Ernst Mach Grant scholarship exchange programme at the University of Applied Sciences in Austria.

Skosana, currently pursuing his honours in Financial Economics and Investment Management at the UFS, aspires to pursue not only his master's qualification but also his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) levels and regulatory exams and ultimately pass his board exams. Skosana is set to leave on 30 August to start the semester on 1 September 2023.

About the grant

The Ernst Mach Grant is a program aimed at students from non-European universities who wish to spend a semester or two at an Austrian University of applied sciences. The Austrian Ministry of Science and Research offers the Ernst Mach Grant to students with non-European citizenship who plan to take up exchanges at an Austrian university.

According to its 2023 – 2028 internationalisation strategy, the UFS aims to integrate international and intercultural dimensions into the university's being, including the formal and informal curriculum. The Office for International Affairs (OIA) enables such comprehensive internationalisation, and specifically its International Scholarships portfolio, under the leadership of Mbali Moiketsi, contributes by liaising with funding bodies for mobility, sharing information about possible opportunities, and supporting students through the process.

The responsibility of the OIA is to ensure that students and staff are exposed to intercultural opportunities as part of their learning curriculum through information sharing. The OIA partners and works with international funding agencies to bring the information to the students and staff and support them through the process.

Skosana's motivation to study abroad is to challenge himself on the spectrum of finance, to learn more about the Austrian and South African economies, and, hopefully, to work in Europe and gain insight before returning home to change the financial landscape of South Africa. He added that “the acquired skills will empower and develop the South African financial economy and educate South Africans on financial literacy, investments, and any financial goals they seek knowledge about.”

Furthermore, Skosana encourages students to be more open to knowledge and international experiences by participating in such opportunities. He emphasizes that “students should always want to broaden their intercultural and global competencies beyond academics.”

For more information related to scholarships and opportunities, contact Mbali Moiketsi at the following email moiketsimv@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

Largest group on African continent introduced to Sign Language

2016-07-05

Description: z UFS101 SASL Tags: z UFS101 SASL

The introduction of basic Sign Language
as part of the UFS101 course was a great
success. From left are Susan Lombaard,
Annemarie le Roux, Tshisikhawe Dzivhani
(all from the Department of South African
Sign Language), and Lauren Oosthuizen
(UFS101).
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

As a result of a new initiative at the University of the Free State (UFS), the largest group of students on the African continent took part in a first-year seminar which included Sign Language.

A total of 5400 students on the Bloemfontein Campus and 1000 on Qwaqwa Campus were taught basic Sign Language by Susan Lombaard, Acting Head of the Department of South African Sign Language, and her team members, Tshisikhawe Dzivhani, Annemarie le Roux, and Nicolene de Klerk.

It forms part of the UFS101 module presented to all first-year students. The initiative, begun in the first semester of 2016, will form part of UFS101 in future and was met with an overwhelmingly positive response.

Three segments of course

Sign Language was taught in three segments and positioned as large-class learning experiences in the Callie Human Centre (Bloemfontein Campus) and the Nelson Mandela Hall (Qwaqwa Campus). Students were taught about deaf culture, Sign Language theory, as well as how to sign their names, exchange pleasantries, and have a basic conversation.

A valuable skill to have

“It (the Sign Language experience) was very interesting and helpful,” said one of the students. “It is important to have the ability to communicate with all sorts of people, and to be able to help them in a crisis”. According to another, it sparked an interest in Sign Language. “It is a skill I will continue to use and try to learn more from it,” said a third.

Lombaard – in collaboration with the UFS101 team – will be presenting a paper related to this achievement at the DeafNet Africa Conference in Johannesburg, from 26 to 30 September 2016.

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