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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.

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British Columbia University staff visit the UFS
2010-02-09

Standing, from the left, are: Dr Dewald Steyn (Internal Medicine), Lyndsay O'Hara (UBC), Justin Lo Chang (UBC), Prof. Christo Heunis (Acting Director: Centre for Health Systems Research and Development), Prof. Lucius Botes (Dean: Faculty of Humanities), Dr Katinka de Wet (CHSR&D) and Dr Annie de la Querra (Registrar: Community Medicine).
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe


Representatives from the Centre for International Health at the University of British Columbia (UBC) recently visited the Centre for Health Systems Research and Development (CHSR&D) in the Faculty of the Humanities. The University of the Free State and the UBC are working together on two research projects. The first project, for which funding has been approved, will measure a new Health Information System that is used in hospitals. The Department of Computer Science and Informatics is also part of this project. The second project will be aimed at capacity building in the Free State health-care sector around issues of occupational health. For this project the CHSR&D will work in close cooperation with the Faculty of Medicine, the Department of Computer Science and Informatics, the Free State Department of Health, and various hospitals. Pictured seated, from the left, are: Prof. Jerry Spiegel (Director: Centre for International Health, UBC), Lucky Nophale (Provincial Occupational Health Unit), Dr Kerry Uebel (Free State Department of Health) and Prof. Annalee Yassi (UBC). Standing, from the left, are: Dr Dewald Steyn (Internal Medicine), Lyndsay O'Hara (UBC), Justin Lo Chang (UBC), Prof. Christo Heunis (Acting Director: Centre for Health Systems Research and Development), Prof. Lucius Botes (Dean: Faculty of Humanities), Dr Katinka de Wet (CHSR&D) and Dr Annie de la Querra (Registrar: Community Medicine).
 

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