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07 March 2024
Photo Lunga Luthuli
Prof Francois Strydom, Senior Director at the Centre for Teaching and Learning and Simphiwe Kunene, the first African DREAM scholar and a master’s student from the Faculty of Education.
The University of the Free State (UFS) received recognition for its commitment to student success at the 2024 Achieving the Dream (ATD) conference which celebrated its 20-year anniversary. Simphiwe Kunene, an Education master's student originally from the Qwaqwa campus, was selected to represent South Africa as the first DREAM scholar from Africa as part of the conference.
The Achieving the Dream network of over 300 institutions, which is one of the largest movements in US higher education aims to transform colleges and universities so that students of colour and a lower socio-economic status are supported to earn a degree. The UFS is a leading partner in the Siyaphumelela Network, which has been working for 10 years with ATD to enhance the success of students in South Africa. Prof Francois Strydom, Senior Director at the Centre of Teaching and Learning (CTL), accepted the award on behalf of the institution.
Prof Strydom said that collaboration with the ATD and Siyaphumelela institutions has helped the UFS to develop cutting-edge approaches to “level the playing field” and support Kovsies to earn their undergraduate degrees.
The first African DREAM scholar
Kunene was selected as the first African DREAM scholar from the Siyaphumelela network. To select the DREAM scholar, each Siyaphumelela partner institution nominated one student as a preferred candidate. From the proposed candidates, the DREAM scholar was selected by the South African Institute for Distance Education (Saide) based on the following: demonstrating resilience, academic excellence, and a deep commitment to making a positive difference in universities and personal communities.
He addressed the conference of over 2 000 delegates and shared with them his hopes and dreams. Many members of the South African delegation said Simphiwe did his country proud. He had the following to say about his opportunity to be a DREAM scholar: “Being a DREAM scholar was life changing for me, exposing me to an array of opportunities I never knew were possible and available for me. It was as if, for a moment, the world had stopped to just listen to what I had to say."
The way forward
The UFS will continue its work as a partner of the Siyaphumelela network for the 2024-2026 cycle. The multi-stakeholder project team is focused on enhancing undergraduate students’ time, and to position the UFS as a thought and research leader in the area of student success as part of Vision 130.
UFS joined EduRoam project
2011-03-13
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Photo: Gerda-Marié Viviers
The ICT Services of the UFS presented the recent conference of the Association of South African University Directors of Information Technology (ASAUDIT) on home turf. Here from the left are: Prof. Janse Tolmie, senior director of the UFS’s ICT Services, Mr Sakkie Janse van Rensburg, executive director of the University of Cape Town’s ICT services, Mr Louis Marais, deputy director of the UFS’s ICT services and Mr Christiaan Kühn of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
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Travelling academics should soon gain access to free internet more easily. This is after three South African universities, of which the University of the Free State (UFS) is one, joined the EduRoam project. Several academics were briefed on this concept at the last conference of ASAUDIT (Association of South African University Directors of Information Technology) which was held in the CR Swart Auditorium on the Main Campus of the UFS. EduRoam, which is available worldwide at participating universities and airports, enables users to gain access to the internet via their home universities. Prof. Janse Tolmie, senior director of the UFS’s ICT services explains that, should a colleague sign in at an “EduRoam university” the staff member’s information would be verified at the UFS’s IT systems in order to determine the legitimacy of the EduRoam user. After this internet access would be granted. The UFS, University of Cape Town and Rhodes University are the first three universities that have taken on the EduRoam project. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) also plays a central role in the project in South Africa. More information regarding the UFS’s utilisation of EduRoam will soon be announced.