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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

Most read articles in international journal authored by UFS academics
2011-10-06

 

Prof. James du Preez, Senior Professor and Head of the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, and Prof. Lodewyk Kock, Outstanding Professor in the same department.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

FEMS Yeast Research, the top international journal in this field of research, recently announced their three "most read articles" of 2011, based on the number of downloads from their website. Of these three published papers, two are from the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the University of the Free State (UFS). They are:

The article with the title, The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae – the main character in beer brewing, was authored by Prof. Bettie Lodolo and Mr Martin Brooks (Brewing Consultant and Chief Brewer of the SAB Ltd. Brewing Centre of Excellence in Alrode, Johannesburg, respectively), Prof. Lodewyk Kock (Outstanding Professor in the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology) and Prof. Barry Axcell (Global Chief Brewer, SABMiller, Sandton). Prof. Lodolo is also an Affiliated Professor in the UFS’s Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology,

The authors of the second paper entitled The alcohol dehydrogenases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: a comprehensive review, are Dr Olga de Smidt (Researcher at the Central University of Technology and a former Ph.D. student of the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology); Prof. Koos Albertyn from the above department, and Prof. James du Preez Senior Professor and Head of this department.

The article by Lodolo et al. was also listed as one of the three most cited articles of 2010 published in this journal.

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