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08 June 2023 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Stephen Collett
Dr Karen Booysen, Acting Director: Centre for Graduate Support; Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation; and Dr Nthabeleng Rammile, Senior Officer: Company Relations in Career Services
Dr Karen Booysen, Former Acting Director: Centre for Graduate Support; Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation; and Dr Nthabeleng Rammile, Senior Officer: Company Relations in Career Services – the main speakers at the 2023 Postgraduate Konnect – highlighted the importance of having degrees with positive impact on the society.

“You are the future of this country. It is encouraging to see that we have this pool of talent. Pursuing a postgraduate qualification gives you an opportunity to become more of an expert in your chosen field,” said Dr Nthabeleng Rammile, Senior Officer: Company Relations in Career Services, at the 2023 Postgraduate Konnect. 

Hosting the Postgraduate Konnect event, the Centre for Graduate Support provides an opportunity for new and returning postgraduate students ‘to connect with the University of the Free State (UFS), as well as to the resources, and to assist them in successfully navigating their postgraduate studies journey.’ 

Foundation laid for students to thrive

Speaking at the 2023 event held virtually and face to face in the Equitas Auditorium on the Bloemfontein Campus on Friday 2 June 2023, Dr Rammile said: “I know people say that experience is a teacher; this is true to a certain extent. However, relying on experience alone is a limitation. But your intellect sharpens in a way that you cannot on any other platform, except when you get your qualification. With your qualification, you become attractive to industries.”

Dr Karen Booysen, Former Acting Director: Centre for Graduate Support, reminded students to ‘keep in mind that they are part of a larger community.’ “Many have faced adversities and emerged stronger and wiser. The UFS has developed a network of support structures designed to provide assistance and resources to encourage you to thrive academically and professionally,” added Dr Booysen.

The UFS currently has two sources of funding for students pursuing postgraduate studies – The National Research Foundation (NRF) and the University of the Free State Tuition Bursary. To qualify for NRF funding, students must have 65% average for the honours degree to pursue a master’s degree. For the UFS Tuition Bursary, students applying for honours degrees must have 65% for all modules completed at undergraduate level. 

Remembering the roots to building a strong future

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation, said embarking on postgraduate studies is a “journey to be inspired by many who came before you and those who will come after you”. Prof Reddy said: “We must remember our heritage, our roots, and the people who put us there – the families, mothers, and grandmothers.”

“This is not only about accomplishing a degree and a qualification. The University of the Free State is very focused on the kind of individual you will become, because you will be brand ambassadors of the university with your qualification. We want our students to become future leaders with attributes that develop entrepreneurial spirit, think ahead about the uses of my degree, civic engagement – recognising that you are there because of the community, ethical reasoning,” said Prof Reddy.

Jeremiah Hlahla, PhD student in Plant Sciences who arrived at the UFS in 2022, said the event helps with ‘navigating the institution, helps to know where I can get support’. “The event also helped me to understand the available funding models. I really need the financial support, and I am hoping that the planned seminars and conferences will be relevant to our studies,” said Hlahla.  

Pursuing his studies, Hlahla said it would also be important to ‘prioritise mental health, as it does not help to leave without getting what one came for.’ “Your physical well-being contributes a lot to your mental health; the institution has training facilities, including outdoors, to help with putting the mind at ease regarding challenges we endure in our studies,” said Hlahla.

News Archive

UFS in forefront with ASGI-SA initiative
2006-05-10

At the conceptualisation colloquium and stakeholder dialogue were from the left Dr Aldo Stroebel (senior researcher at the UFS Research Development Directorate), Dr Edith Vries (acting Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Development Trust) and Prof Frans Swanepoel (Director: UFS Research Development Directorate).

UFS in forefront with ASGI-SA initiative

Two staff members of the University of the Free State (UFS) have been appointed as members of the advisory board of the national programme for the creation of small enterprises and jobs in the second economy.  This programme forms part of government’s Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (ASGI-SA).

Prof Frans Swanepoel, Director of the UFS Research Development Directorate and Dr Aldo Stroebel, senior researcher at the UFS Research Development Directorate, are working with a team of experts from the UFS on a draft implementation strategy for the national programme.  Both Prof Swanepoel and Dr Stroebel are also associated to the UFS Centre for Sustainable Agriculture.
 
“The strategy is being developed in collaboration with institutions like the Independent Development Trust, the Department of Agriculture, the National Development Agency and the Department of Trade and Industry,” says Prof  Swanepoel.  

The other team members of the UFS are Prof Basie Wessels, Director of the  Mangaung-University Community Partnership Programme (MUCPP) and Mr  Benedict Mokoena, project manager at the MUCPP.

Dr Stroebel was also member of the organising committee of a conceptualisation colloquium and stakeholder dialogue that was recently presented in Johannesburg.  The conference was attended by more than 400 delegates from government departments, higher-education institutions and civil society, including Dr Kobus Laubscher, member of the UFS Council.

The conference was facilitated by Ms Vuyo Mahlati, previously from the WK Kellogg Foundation’s Africa programme and opened by Ms Thoko Didiza, Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs.   

“The colloquium formed the basis of an induction workshop during which a group of 150 individuals (50 teams of three) from all nine provinces, identified to initiate the implementation of the national programme, was trained and orientated towards an induction manual in collaboration with Hand-in-Hand, an Indian counterpart,” says Prof Swanepoel.

Dr Stroebel and Mr Benedict Mokoena formed part of the team to conceptualise and finalise this training manual.  The induction training includes a case study of a successful community self-help partnership model, namely the MUCPP at the UFS. Prof Wessels and Mr Mokoena are both playing a leading role in the further development of subsequent training initiatives throughout South Africa, in partnership with the relevant provincial departments.

“The involvement of the UFS in the programme is a compliment to us.  It reflects the value government sees in the use of academics and experts in the management of the ASGI-SA initiative.  It is also an indication of one of the aims of the UFS to play a role in South Africa and Africa and in the transformation and change that is taking place in our country,” says Prof Swanepoel.  

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
10 May 2006

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