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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.
In search of the new Kovsie CyberSta: The Top Five
2017-05-02
Reuben Davids, outgoing #FaceOfFacebook ambassador
for UFS digital channels
Photo: Rulanzen Martin
Do you want to have a say in who becomes the next #KovsieCyberSta? This newly facelifted competition provides the opportunity for not one, but two Kovsie students to live out their dreams in front of the camera. The two winning candidates, as voted by you, our discerning viewers, will be used on all UFS digital channels.
Our top five contestants have been selected, and you can now vote for them on Instagram. The two videos with the most likes on the UFS Instagram page will be declared the winners. Terms and conditions apply.
The top five are (in the order in which their videos were submitted):
- Tammy-Jane Fray: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTgh-A2hwrS
- Ay-muu Mathebula: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTgiV1KBKwJ
- Lindelani Jones Nomnganga: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTkzs51BfeA
- Thulaganyo (Thuli) Molebalwa: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTk0GaNhmJg
- Georgina Phumeza Mhlahlo: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTk0aQghiSe
The fine print
- The finalists’ videos have been reposted on the @ufsuv Instagram account
- Vote for your favourite candidate by liking their post on this account. Only likes on the @ufsuv Instagram timeline will be used to determine the winners
- Each like will count as a vote, and the person with the most votes at the closing time will be declared the winner
- You will need to be a registered Instagram user to vote
- We have a panel of four judges who will also select their favourite two entries. Their votes will be added to the total likes on the closing day
- The deadline for voting is 12 May 2017 at 12:00
- The two winners will be announced on the afternoon of 12 May 2017, and they will feature in their first video during the Bloemfontein Campus Open Day on 13 May 2017