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Exceptional UFS lecturer finishes second in global Accounting exam

23 February 2023 | Story Kekeletso Takang | Photo Supplied

Michelle de Lange, accredited Accounting Lecturer in the School of Accountancy at the University of the Free State (UFS), finished second in the world at the recent Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) Board Examination. With only one point between De Lange and the first candidate, she aced the challenging exam.

Having obtained fourth position in the world for the 2019 CIMA Gateway exam, De Lange was determined to outdo herself.

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) is the world’s largest global professional management accounting body to offer training and qualification in management accountancy. As designation holders, members get to showcase their skills and experience to a global audience, while upholding professionalism and promoting continuous learning.

De Lange, who holds another professional accreditation from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), coordinates the BCom Honours in Management Accounting programme, which is CIMA-aligned for postgraduate students. For De Lange, the greatest reward is the realisation of the impact she is making on her students through strategic vision.

Having worked in the private sector and later joining the UFS as an Assistant Director at Finance back in 2016, De Lange believed that something was missing; that there was more to give. In 2018 she moved to the School of Accountancy, taking on her new role as Lecturer. “I wanted to make a difference and be significant. This motivated my move to lecturing,” she says.

Her passion for teaching extends beyond the lecture hall. De Lange pays it forward by supporting students through a hands-on approach and ensuring that assessments are CIMA-aligned.

The School of Accountancy in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences is proud of De Lange and her achievements.

Becoming a CGMA requires discipline. De Lange is grateful for the support she received in preparation for the board exam, in particular from her husband Francois, who was “always understanding and encouraging”.

News Archive

Prof Oriel Thekisoe receives prestigious TW Kambule NRF-NSTF Award

2014-07-07

Prof Oriel Thekisoe
Photo: Sonia Small

Prof Oriel Thekisoe from the UFS was named recipient of the prestigious TW Kambule NRF-NSTF Award. The announcement was made during the 16th Annual NSTF-BHP Billiton 2013/2014 Awards Gala Dinner held in Johannesburg on Thursday 3 July 2014.

Prof Thekisoe is an Associate Professor in the university's Department of Zoology and Entomology at the Qwaqwa Campus.

He has been recognised as an emerging researcher for his outstanding contribution to Science, Engineering and Technology (SET).

"It is a great honour for the university to learn that Prof Thekisoe has won the award of the National Science and Technology Forum. This is a very competitive award and speaks of the quality and depth of talent at the UFS as we prepare the next generation of scientists and scholars,” said Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, Prof Jonathan Jansen.

"I hope that the award will inspire our current science students to work harder in pursuing the discovery of new methods and techniques which will improve our livelihoods,” Prof Thekisoe said after receiving the award from the Minister of Science and Technology, Ms Naledi Pandor. “I am grateful to the Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Prof Neil Heideman, for believing in me. I am also grateful to my former lecturers, Profs Peter Mbati, who is now the Rector of the University of Venda, and Noboru Inoue, from Japan’s Obihiro University, for grooming and inspiring the scientist in me.”

"Prof Thekisoe is at the forefront of the research development activities at the Qwaqwa Campus,” said Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research at the UFS. “He serves as a mentor to many of the younger scholars on the campus. As one of the Vice-Chancellor's Prestige Scholars at the university, he has the potential to become one of the most prominent researchers in his field in the country."

The Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Programme (PSP) supports the accelerated scholarship of junior UFS researchers in the first five years after obtaining their PhDs. The prestige scholars participate in an intensive programme of support that includes international placement and intensive mentorship.

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