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23 August 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied
Thandokuhle Gama, Dr Glen Tylor and Anele Mthembu
Winners: Thandokuhle Gama (left) and Anele Mthembu (right), who were honoured with the DSI-Esther Mahlangu Master's Fellowship at the 2024 SAWiSA, with Dr Glen Taylor, Senior Director: Directorate Research Development (DRD), UFS.

Two postgraduate students from the University of the Free State (UFS) were honoured at this year’s Women in Science Awards (SAWiSA) hosted by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI).

Thandokuhle Gama, a Master of Medical Science student with specialisation in Pharmacology, and Anele Mthembu, who is working on her master’s degree in Disaster Management in the Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa (DIMTEC), are both recipients of the DSI-Esther Mahlangu Master's Fellowships.

This fellowship is awarded to women scientists and researchers who are pursuing their master’s or doctoral studies and already hold scholarships from the National Research Foundation or other DSI agencies. The fellowships for Gama and Mthembu are worth R75 000 each and can be used towards their tuition fees or to enhance academic programmes by covering the costs of attending conferences or specialised research materials and equipment required to complete their degrees.

Honouring Dr Esther Mahlangu

The prestigious 2024 SAWiSA, which honour the exceptional contributions of women to science, technology, engineering, mathematics and innovation (STEMI) in South Africa, took place on 15 August 2024 in Mbombela. The theme was “Transition towards an Innovation Economy: The Role of Women Leaders in STEM”.

This year, the awards honoured world-renowned artist, Dr Esther Mahlangu, by renaming this year's master's and doctoral fellowships the DSI-Esther Mahlangu Fellowships.

“I feel honoured and grateful for the recognition, although it's been difficult to process what it actually means. It has been an overwhelming experience. It came as a surprise, because when I applied, I was not sure what to expect because these are national awards with many other applicants,” says Gama.

She was nominated by Innocensia Mangoato, lecturer in the UFS Department of Pharmacology and a previous winner at the awards. Gama is doing research on medicinal plants that are used in traditional medicine to treat diabetes.

“Winning this award means that my work thus far is being recognised. It is all through God’s grace. I'm also grateful to everyone who has contributed towards my journey: my family, teachers, mentors and sponsors, and everyone else. It will allow me to continue to advance research in the field of diabetes treatment using traditional medicines or medicinal plants.”

Bettering lives

Mthembu, who was nominated by her mentor, Dr Tlou Daisy Raphela-Masuku, a lecturer at DIMTEC, says it is a fantastic feeling winning this award. “Before the awards, Dr Raphela-Masuku and I dreamt I could win the SAWiSA. But before then, I was surprised and grateful for being acknowledged by DSI as a finalist; I focused on being a DSI finalist, and that winning would be a bonus,” she says.

She continues: “It means a lot to me to win the DSI Master’s Fellowship, as it is a testimony of God’s grace in my life. It is the destiny for helpers God has placed in my life, including my mentor, supervisor, and the DIMTEC postgraduate school. We all won!”

Mthembu is working her master’s thesis on the integration of risk-informed development (RID) and nature-based solutions (NbS) into sustainable human settlements in eThekwini Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal.

“The overarching aim is to evaluate the integration of both these concepts into human settlements’ strategic planning to offer eThekwini Municipality innovative and ecosystem-based approaches to achieving sustainable and resilient human settlements and achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 on building resilient cities.

“I hope to publish my findings and contextualise the enabling environments for RID (EE4RID) Framework in eThekwini Municipality so they can make risk-informed decisions on development and human settlements to achieve SDG 11,” explains Mthembu.

Gama says the aim with her research is to determine if these medicinal plants can treat diabetes by stimulating stem cells to differentiate and become insulin-producing cells. She hopes that through this research diabetes treatment can advance from a level where it is being continuously managed, to a level where we can cure the disease.

News Archive

New student leaders for UFS
2013-08-29

 

Rudi Buys, Dean of Student Affairs (centre), with newly elected president of the Bloemfontein Campus SRC, Phiwe Mathe (left) and Matlogelwa Moema, president of the Qwaqwa Campus SRC.
Photo: Sonia Small
29 August 2013

  Photo Gallery
2013/14 Student Representative Councils: YouTube video

Phiwe Mathe and Matlogelwa Moema, both third year students, have been elected as presidents of the 2013/14 Student Representative Councils (SRC) of the University of the Free State’s Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses respectively. They now also serve as the presidency of the Central SRC and will take up their seats as voting members of the UFS council in September 2013. Thirty-eight candidates contested the 19 elective seats of the campus SRCs, for which 83 nominations were received.

Rudi Buys, Dean of Student Affairs, announced the completion of the elections at the two campuses as successful.Buys deemed the elections highly significant, considering it is the third year of peaceful elections since students adopted changes in student governance in 2011. These changes included, among others, the introduction of independent candidacy for elective portfolios and organisational candidacy in SRC sub-councils that hold ex-officio seats on the campus SRC. Changes also included the establishment of student representative seats in faculty forums and the adoption of reviewed SRC constitutions, Buys said.

The SRC elections at the Qwaqwa Campus were completed on 23 August 2013, while the elections at the Bloemfontein Campus took place on 26 and 27 August 2013. Elections at the Qwaqwa Campus showed a voter turnout of 44% and at the Bloemfontein Campus a turnout of 31.5%, which is among the highest in the country.

Both campuses reached the required quorums and the campus elections bodies, the IEA (Bloemfontein Campus) and IEC (Qwaqwa Campus), declared the elections free and fair and announced the results as a true reflection of the will of the student bodies at the campuses.

This year also saw the piloting of a central SRC elections oversight committee (CEC) to strengthen independent oversight of all elections. The CEC monitors the elections as free, fair and democratic and consists of senior academics and former student leaders of the Student Elders Council. Prof Loot Pretorius, inaugural chair of the CEC, announced the CECs confirmation of the SRC elections across campuses as free, fair and democratic.

Celebrations marked a mass meeting on the Bloemfontein Campus where the new student leaders were announced on Thursday 29 August 2013. There were cheers and singing as Quintin Koetaan, Head of the Bloemfontein IEA, on behalf of the two elections bodies, read the names of the newly-elected student leaders of both campuses. Delivering his victory speech, Phiwe thanked competitors for running a good debate, saying it was not about characters or personalities, but rather the ideas that would best serve a Kovsie. “Students will remain central and the ‘R’ is back in SRC,” he told the resounding crowd. Matlogelwa reiterated this message and said, "the SRC is for students and will serve all students equally."

Following on the heels of the SRC elections, voting for residence committees will take place next week with 618 candidates contesting 231 available positions. The elections of association executive committees will also take place in September.

The new SRC members of the Bloemfontein Campus are:

President: Phiwe Mathe
Vice-President: Tshepo Moloi
Secretary: Masiteng Paul Matlanyane
Treasurer: Willem du Plooy
Arts andCulture:Hlonipa Matshamba
Accessibility and Student Support:Anastasia Sehlabo
First Generation Students: Nthabiseng Malete
Legal and Constitutional Affairs: Mosa Leteane
Media, Marketing and Liaison: Callie Hendricks
Sport: Laurika Hugo
Student Development and Environmental Affairs: Bataung Qhotsokoane
Transformation: Christopher Rawson
Assosiations Council and Ex officio:Ntakuseni Razwiedani
Academics Affairs Council and Ex officio: TBC
Residence Council and Ex officio: Andricia Hinckermann
Commuter Council and Ex officio:Clarise Haasbroek
Postgraduate Council and Ex officio: Oluwatoba Fadeyi
International Council and Ex officio: Brian Hlongwane
Student Media Council and Ex officio: Keabetswe Magano
RAG Fundraising Council and Ex officio: Jaco Faul
Rag Service Council and Ex officio: Suzanne Maree


The new SRC members of the Qwaqwa Campu are:

President: MP Moema
Deputy-President: NT Mndebele
Secretary General: JC Mosiea
Treasurer General: NT Zuma
Politics and Transformation: IT Dube
Media and Publicity: ZF Madlala
Student Development and Environmental Affairs:SS Mtetwa
Off-Campus Students: TSJ Sithole
Arts and Culture: S Mabele
Academic Affairs: NE Litabo
Sport Affairs: TSG Mohlakoana
Religious Affairs:TW Mofokeng
Residence and Catering Affairs: A Ndabankulu
RAG Community Service and Dialogue: S Yende

Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication

Telephone: +27(0)51 401 2584
Cellphone: +27 (0) 83 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za

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