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13 December 2024 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Charl Devenish
Lieutenant Colonel Dr Rifa Tshivhase
Lieutenant Colonel Dr Rifa Tshivhase, Head of the Department of Surgery at 3 Military Hospital in Bloemfontein, addressed graduates within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State on 10 December 2024.

Momentous and joyous – these are some of the words used to describe the December 2024 graduations at the University of the Free State (UFS). In celebration of the academic achievements of its students, the UFS hosted graduation ceremonies at the Callie Human Centre on its Bloemfontein Campus from 9 to 10 December 2024.

Prof Anthea Rhoda, acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS, encouraged the graduates to always acknowledge and recognise the significance of this achievement as they transition from being UFS students to being UFS graduates.

Undergraduate and postgraduate achievements

At least 2000 undergraduate qualifications and postgraduate qualifications were conferred. As such, there were some standout academic achievements across the sessions. For instance, Itumeleng Pooe received his Advanced Diploma in Theology cum laude, making him the only graduate in the Faculty of Theology and Religion to receive his qualification with distinction during these graduations. In addition, Dr Bobuin Jr Valey Gemandze Oben – at just 28 years old – was the youngest PhD graduate from the Faculty of Law at the graduation ceremony, which took place on the morning of 9 December 2024.

Conferring Honorary Doctorates

Some highlights from these graduations were the recipients of honorary doctorates, as well as the keynote speakers. The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) at the UFS conferred an honorary degree on Prof Murray Leibbrandt, Research Chair in Poverty and Inequality Research in the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) at the University of Cape Town (UCT). In addition, the Faculty of The Humanities at the UFS conferred an honorary degree on HE Bineta Diop, Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace, and Security.

On the final day of the graduations, graduates within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the UFS were addressed by Lieutenant Colonel Dr Rifa Tshivhase, Head of the Department of Surgery at 3 Military Hospital in Bloemfontein. In her address, Lieutenant Colonel Dr Tshivhase encouraged and challenged the graduates to actively seek out good in the world.

As the December 2024 graduations concluded, several of the graduates within the Faculty of Health Sciences indicated that the most memorable moments in the session were the cheers and applause they received as they walked across the stage.

News Archive

Department of Architecture creates environment for winners
2017-08-29

  Description: Arch Gimp read more Tags: : Department of Architecture, Madeli Beyers, 10th Annual Carl & Emily Fuchs Foundation, Prestige Prize in Architecture

The three beneficiaries of the Carl and Emily Fuchs
Foundation’s Prestige Prize in Architecture were from
the left: Madeli Beyers (UFS), Diana Kuhn (UCT),
and Benjamin Kollenberg (Wits).
Each received a bursary of R50 000. 
Photo: Supplied


A feather in the cap for the Department of Architecture at the University of the Free State was when Madeli Beyers (BArchHons), was announced as one of three recipients of the 10th Annual Carl and Emily Fuchs Foundation Prestige Prize in Architecture. 

According to Jako Olivier, Programme Director of the Department of Architecture, the top graduate students of eight national Architectural Learning Sites are adjudicated on their undergraduate portfolios, their full academic record and a 24-hour En Loge project.

This year, the En Loge project was conceptualised by the department, and investigated the forgotten voices in science, and the magical realism stories of the Free State landscape and the cosmos. The project was presented at the Boyden Observatory and science education centre. 

The adjudicating panel was assembled from a list of 23 practitioners and academics proposed by the SA Institute of Architects. 

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