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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

Wayde nominated with SA’s best
2015-11-04

      
Wayde van Niekerk sweating on
Pellies Park at the University of the Free State
Bloemfontein Campus.
Photo: Charl Devenish

The Kovsie athlete Wayde van Niekerk’s dream year is not over yet.

The University of the Free State’s golden boy was nominated in two categories of the SA Sports Awards in Johannesburg on 3 November 2015 . The winners of the tenth SA Sports Awards will be crowned in Van Niekerk’s home town, Bloemfontein, on 22 November 2015.
  
For the awards, sports stars are being judged on their achievements between 1 September 2014 and 30 September 2015.

The 23-year-old Van Niekerk was nominated as Sportsman of the Year and in the People’s Choice category.

One of three with two nominations

Van Niekerk is one of three sports stars nominated for two awards. The other two are the swimmer, Chad le Clos (Sportsman of the Year and People’s Choice), and the cyclist, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (Sportswoman of the Year and People’s Choice).

In the category Sportsman of the Year, Van Niekerk was nominated with Le Clos, and the mountain biker, Greg Minnaar.

He will compete against the Protea cricket player AB de Villiers, Moolman-Pasio, Le Clos, and the wheelchair tennis player, Lucas Sithole, for the People’s Choice Award.

After enjoying a dream year, Van Niekerk was named on 21 October 2015 as KovsieSport’s Sportsman of the Year for a third consecutive year.

In August, he won the 400 m at the World Championships in Beijing in a time of 43.48 s. His winning time was the sixth fastest in history, with only three athletes achieving better times.

NBC Olympics, a division of the American broadcasting network NBC, recently filmed a special insert on him at the UFS Bloemfontein Campus. The insert will be screened in the build-up to, and during, the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Vote for Wayde


Supporters have until 21:00 on 22 November 2015 to vote for their favourite sports stars, by sending an SMS at the cost of R1,50 to 45210.

To vote for Van Niekerk in the category People’s Choice, send an SMS with the letter E to 45210.

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