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UFS December graduations: reflecting on the cheers and pride

13 December 2024 | Story Anthony Mthembu | 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.

News Archive

Financial planners graduate

2011-06-10

Adv. Wessel Oosthuizen, Director of the CFPL, and Gerhard Meyer, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa.
Photo: Stephen Collett

At this year’s graduation ceremony, the Centre for Financial Planning Law (CFPL) at our university awarded 377 diplomas (305 to students in the Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning, and 72 to students in the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning).

Three students in the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma passed the diploma with distinction. They are David Grant, Stephen Grizic and Yashika Rambujan. Ruan Schroder, Daniel Venter and Adri Viljoen passed the Postgraduate Diploma with distinction. Adri Viljoen is also the overall top student in the Postgraduate Diploma, while David Grant is the overall top student in the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma.

During another highlight at this event, Adv. Wessel Oosthuizen, Director of the UFS’s CFPL, was awarded the Chairman's Award for outstanding lifetime contribution to the Financial Planning Industry. This award is made by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa to a person who has made a significant and extraordinary contribution to the financial planning industry. As this is only the second year that the award is being made, it is an exceptional honour.

For five years, the UFS was the only institution to offer a full qualification in order to become a Certified Financial Planning Professional. The university is still the largest institution in this regard. The Centre for Financial Planning Law (CFPL) at the UFS is also the only institution in South Africa to offer the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning Law, which is a purely specialisation diploma.

To date, the CFPL at our universityhas awarded 3 657 Postgraduate Diplomas and 659 Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning.

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