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#YouthMonth: Celebrating youth empowerment (Refiloe Shedile)

29 June 2023 | Story Refiloe Shedile | Photo Supplied

The University of the Free State (UFS) is celebrating Youth Month by showcasing the positive influence of the institution on career development. As part of this initiative, we are sharing the stories of UFS alumni who are now working at the university.

Refiloe Shedile, Online Assessment Coordinator in the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), shares her UFS journey:

Q: Year of graduation from the UFS:

A: I completed my undergraduate degree in 2015, followed by my honours degree in 2016.

Q: Qualification obtained from the UFS:

A: My first qualification was a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. After that, I pursued a Bachelor of Commerce Honours qualification with specialisation in Industrial Psychology.

Q: Date of joining the UFS as a staff member:

A: I started my journey as a staff member at the UFS through an internship programme in the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) on 1 June 2017.

Q: Initial job title and current job title:

A: My internship focused on technology in teaching and learning, specifically working with assessments on the Questionmark platform. After the internship, I was appointed as an assistant officer in CTL’s Writing Centre (Unit for Language Development); however, I only held this position for four months before there was an opportunity to move back to the division in which I completed my internship. In October 2018, I rejoined the online assessment team as the Questionmark Coordinator and have been working in this role ever since.

Q: How did the UFS prepare you for the professional world?

A: There are numerous initiatives offered by the university that prepared me for the world of work, i.e. the onboarding and new staff orientation sessions conducted by HR; my department also gave me a clear understanding of my individual and team responsibilities, the divisional procedures and culture, and how our work contributed to the larger institutional mission and vision. I was well supported in the team and provided with the necessary resources to excel in my role. Moreover, CTL’s environment enabled me to build strong social connections that continue to be invaluable.

Q: What are your thoughts on transitioning from a UFS alumnus to a staff member?

A: Transitioning from being a UFS alumnus to a staff member was an exciting experience. There was an initial adjustment period to adapt to a nine to five routine; however, I was fortunate enough to join an amazing team led by an inspiring mentor/ line manager. As a Kovsie, you get to develop valuable skills such as optimism, hard work, and resilience; these skills were essential to thrive within the university’s fast-paced environment. Additionally, I believe that being familiar with the UFS environment and culture made it easy for me to better understand and cater for the needs of the students, drawing on my own experiences as a former student. This enabled me to perform my job diligently and effectively.

Q: Any additional comments about your experience?

A: One of my favourite moments about becoming a UFS staff member was the opportunity to work with some of my former lecturers. It was an intriguing experience, being on the other side now, shifting my perspective and seeing them as colleagues rather than just lecturers. This shift in dynamics added a special aspect to my overall experience at the university.

News Archive

UFS council elects Nwaila and Hancke

2005-03-15

Dr Charles Nwaila, Superintendent-General of Education in the Free State, was elected Vice-chairperson of the UFS Council and Judge Faan Hancke was re-elected as Chairperson today.

According to the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie, the election of Dr Nwaila is an important achievement for the UFS as Dr Nwaila is a well known leader in education in the Free State.

Dr Nwaila pledged to work constructively with the UFS council and management to ensure that the UFS benefits all people of the province and the country.

The appointments are valid for a term of three years from 1 June 2005 to 31 May 2008.

The elections took place at the quarterly meeting of the UFS Council where a number of other key transformation steps were approved.

The Council approved a Strategic Plan for the UFS which reflects a renewed focus on transformation of the institution, calling it an important roadmap for the future of the UFS.

According to Prof Fourie, the Strategic Plan tried strike a balance between continuity and change, addressing the need to remain an excellent university in an ever-changing context and environment.

Prof Fourie said transformation had many aspects and dimensions and could not be reduced to an issue of numbers.

The Strategic Plan identifies five strategic priorities and corresponding challenges in the next phase of transformation.

The priorities are:

quality and excellence
equity, diversity and redress
financial sustainability
regional co-operation and engagement.
outward thrust

Prof Fourie said that besides the five strategic priorities the plan also reflected concrete actions and interventions to address them.

He said the renewed focus on transformation is embedded in the priorities and specific actions that are identified.

The Council congratulated the management for the roadmap and for the achievements that have already been achieved in terms of transformation.

In order to draft a comprehensive Transformation Plan that will give substance to certain aspects of the UFS Strategic plan – or roadmap – the Council approved the establishment of a Transformation Plan Team.

The team will consist of about 16 people, which includes the two coordinators, Prof Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector: Academic Operations, and Dr Ezekiel Moraka, Vice-Rector: Student Affairs.

According to Prof Verschoor, the team was chosen and approved by the Executive Management earlier for the individual contributions that they could make.

While the individuals do not represent particular constituencies on campus they are a very diverse group of persons in terms of race, gender and various sections of the campus and the satellite campuses.

Prof Fourie, said there was an urgency and importance attached to the work of the Transformation Plan Team.

He said that while the team must produce a plan within a tight deadline, the task must be carried out very well, which could mean different stages in the work of the team.

According to the Rector, the UFS must take the lead in best practice transformation, while not underestimating the complexity of the issues facing the UFS.

The full list of names will be finalized soon.

MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by: Mnr Anton Fisher
Director: Strategic Communication
Cel: 072 207 8334
Tel: (051) 401-2749
11 Maart 2005

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