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UFS shines at international student success conference

07 March 2024 Photo Lunga Luthuli

Simphiwe Kunene and Prof Francois Strydom — 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.

News Archive

Postgraduate School and Faculty of Law receive Rector during discussion with emerging researchers

2012-09-11

A session of the special programme for upcoming researchers was attended by, from the left: Denine Smit, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Prof. Voet du Plessis of the Department of Mercantile Law and Marda Horn; back: Glancina Mokone, Albert Nell, Pieter Brits, Prof. Neil Roos, Director of the UFS’s Postgraduate School and Jamie Faber.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs
11 September 2012

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the university, recently addressed six Ph.D. students and their supervisors in the Faculty of Law as part of a special programme of the Postgraduate School for emerging researchers. Prof. Jansen contextualised his lecture on the impact and significance of research, “How do you determine that the important and bigger questions in your research are addressed to ensure the impact thereof?” in his discussion with the researchers. Based on the model of international postgraduate seminars, the researchers set out their field of study to Prof. Jansen and the audience. Suggestions were then made on how to increase the intellectual impact and theoretical depth of academic argumentation.

According to Prof. Neil Roos, Director of the Postgraduate School, together with Prof. Jackie du Toit and Prof. Corli Witthuhn, Academic Coordinators for the Vice Chancellor’s Prestige Scholar Programme, the aim of the programme is to provide support to emerging researchers on postgraduate level similar to the Prestige Scholar Programme.

“The initiative is being rolled out in a faculty-specific way. In consultation with the deans, the specific needs in the faculty are determined, which in turn determines the approach,” says Prof. Roos.

The six students are all involved at the university in various capacities, and are studying towards a Ph.D. in Law. They are outstanding candidates who are being funded by the Postgraduate School in order to empower postgraduate students to greater reach, internationalisation and the establishment of long-term academic networks. The programme is coordinated in the Faculty of Law by Prof. Loot Pretorius.

Two upcoming researchers in the Faculty of Theology and one in Nursing joined the group for Prof. Jansen’s lecture on significant research.

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