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13 December 2024
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Story Anthony Mthembu
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Photo Charl Devenish
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.
Prof. Driekie Hay appointed as SANPAD Facilitator
2009-06-26
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| Photo: Supplied |
Prof. Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the University of the Free State (UFS), has been appointed as SANPAD facilitator for its Research Capacity Building Initiative (RCI). SANPAD (South Africa-Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development) is a unique collaborative research programme that has been financed by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1997, says Prof. Frans Swanepoel, Director: Research Development at the UFS.
SANPAD funds high quality, collaborative research by South African researchers in association with Dutch researchers.
SANPAD has established a capacity development programme, the RCI, to build the knowledge of research methodology of a selection of junior researchers.
The RCI is aimed at producing reflective academics
• who have a broad insight into theories, ideas, methods and practices in research in the social sciences,
• who are capable of making informed choices among these, and of further developing their knowledge and expertise in their chosen fields,
• who are capable of bringing a research project to a successful conclusion within a specified time frame and budget,
• who are capable of writing up their results as academic articles worthy of publication in reputable journals, and
• who are capable also of disseminating their results less conventionally among those who can best make practical use of them.