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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

“Leisure can be of great geographical importance”
2013-09-26

 

Prof Gustav Etienne Visser
Photo: Supplied
26 September 2013
 

Prof Gustav Etienne Visser (43) is Professor in Human Geography at the University of the Free State. He has been with the university’s Geography Department since January 2002 and became a full professor in 2009.
Visser completed his MA in Geographical Research at the Stellenbosch University in 1996 and finished his PhD in Geography at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2000. His thesis was titled: Spatialities of social justice: reflections on South African Cities.

Visser was a Post-doctoral Fellow at the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand before his appointment at the UFS. He now teaches Urban Geography to third-year students and Tourism and Development to MA students.

His research interests so far have been Identity-based consumption and urban morphological change, Tourism and development nexus and Critical reflections on South African Geographical Research.

Visser’s publications summary is as follows:

- Four books – edited collections
- 28 book chapters
- 71 refereed articles
- Nine academic commentaries and research notes
- 14 research reports
- and 38 conference papers

His latest research on how people’s leisure time influences our urban spaces, is fundamentally relevant to everyday life.

“We tend to forget to think about it, but how people spend their leisure time is part of their lifestyle,” says Visser.“ And our urban surroundings are influenced by the lifestyles of its inhabitants.”

When asked about his own leisure time and activities, Visser humorously responds “There is no such thing.”

However, he is passionate about eating, cooking and wine.
“I must also watch a series every day – Dexter is definitely my favourite.
“Furthermore, I also travel abroad for about three months of the year, which is mainly for my research concerning urban spaces.”

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