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UFS celebrates student excellence at 2024 EDSA Prestige Awards ceremony

23 October 2024 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Kaleidoscope

EDSA Awards - 2024 — At the 2024 EDSA Prestige Awards (from left): Temba Hlasho, Executive Director of Student Affairs; Siphilangenkosi Dlamini, Student of the Year; and Prof Anthea Rhoda, acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

The 2024 Executive Director of Student Affairs (EDSA) Prestige Awards, hosted by the University of the Free State (UFS) on 12 October on South Campus, was a celebration of student excellence, leadership and holistic development. The third annual event recognised exceptional achievements across academia, sport, community engagement and innovative activities, aligning with the university’s broader Vision 130 strategy, which emphasises excellence, innovation and social impact.

Prof Anthea Rhoda, Acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UFS, highlighted how the awards reflect the university’s commitment to nurturing well-rounded students who are capable of excelling on the global stage. She emphasised that categories like ‘Most Innovative Fundraising Activity,’ ‘Best Undergraduate’ and ‘Best Sportsman’ embody the values of Vision 130.

“The awards encourage students to strive for excellence in several areas of their student experience, similarly to how UFS aspires to achieve excellence in various spheres where it is a role player,” she said.

The decision to host the ceremony on South Campus marked a significant step towards inclusivity across all UFS campuses. Prof Rhoda noted that this choice reiterated UFS’s identity as “one university with three campuses”. She expressed optimism for the future of South Campus, calling it a hub for academic and student activities, and signalling its potential to host even larger events in the future.

Through its Division of Student Affairs, UFS plays a pivotal role in supporting students in both academic and extracurricular pursuits. According to Prof Rhoda, the university has formulated a strategic framework that emphasises student success, well-being and development. She highlighted that students are given ample opportunities to excel, whether through academic support systems or through initiatives like entrepreneurial programmes and sports infrastructure. This well-rounded support system equips UFS students with the tools to compete globally, both academically and in extracurricular endeavours.

Among the many students honoured was Mthi Mthimkhulu, a first-year who is studying towards a Bachelor of Arts degree specialising in Language Practice. The rising 400-metre sprint star participated at the South African Under-23 Championships in Pretoria earlier this year, finishing with a time of 46 seconds, as well as in the African Athletics Championships in Douala, Cameroon, logging a time of 46.50.

On the night of the EDSA Prestige Awards, Mthimkhulu walked away with three gongs: the Club Sports Star of the Year, Kovsie National Sports Representative of the Year, and Sportsman of the Year.

The big winner on the night was Siphilangenkosi Dlamini, who took home the Student of the Year award. Dlamini, a student and research assistant at the Centre for Teaching and Learning, is also the Provincial Chairperson of the BRICS Student Commission in the Free State. Along with being named Student of the Year, he also took home a cash prize of R1 500.

“Winning the Student of the Year award is an incredible honour, both personally and professionally,” Dlamini said. “It represents the culmination of years of dedication to leadership, academic excellence and social impact.”

His leadership extends beyond UFS, with initiatives focused on decolonising education and youth entrepreneurship. Dlamini also leads the Initiative for Creative African Narratives (iCAN) project, which empowers African youth to reclaim their narratives by writing in their own languages. This initiative, which now includes 10 South African languages, exemplifies his dedication to fostering innovation and cultural pride among African youth.

The 2024 EDSA Prestige Awards not only celebrated excellence but also reinforced UFS's dedication to creating a vibrant student life that enhances leadership, personal growth and community engagement, in line with Vision 130.

Click to view document Click here for the list of all the categories and the winners.

News Archive

Hearing loss a silent public health crisis in South Africa

2017-03-27

Dr Magteld Smith engages on the topic of hearing loss
and how it coincides with the commemoration of
World Hearing awareness during the month of March.
Photo: Oteng Mpete

Communication is a principal challenge for people with hearing loss. It can be difficult to negotiate everyday interactions, whether in the workplace, on the street, in classrooms, courts, during consultations with health professionals, or even when contacting the police. The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) World Hearing Day is an annual advocacy event held each year on 3 March to raise awareness and promote ear and hearing care across the world. In many countries this awareness campaign usually starts on 3 March but many continue to create awareness for the full month of March.

Hearing loss is a global reality
According to Dr Magteld Smith, a researcher at the University of the Free State (UFS) School of Medicine’s Department of Otorhinolaryngology, unaddressed hearing loss poses a high cost for the economy globally and has a significant impact on the lives of those affected. Interventions to address hearing loss are available in South Africa but are not accessible or affordable for most citizens. This is partly because not only persons with hearing loss but also people with disabilities experience barriers in accessing services that many of us take for granted, including health, education, employment, and transport as well as information. These difficulties are exacerbated in less-advantaged communities.

“WHO estimates that there are more than 360 million persons with hearing loss globally. The statistics in South Africa are unreliable due to the different definitions used by Statistics South Africa and the absence of training of the officials who conduct and collect statistics concerning hearing loss in South Africa,” says Dr Smith.

According to Dr Smith, analysis from retrospective studies reflects that about 17 out of 1 000 infants are born daily in South Africa with severe to profound hearing loss. However, Dr Smith states that the number could be higher because of late diagnosis, high levels of undiagnosed and untreated hearing loss. This excludes young adults, adults and the elderly as well as children with acquired (become deaf after birth) hearing loss.

Crisis that needs urgent intervention
Dr Smith says hearing loss is an emergency which the South African government fails to prioritise. She says that research published confirms that the risk compounding the projected increase in hearing loss that comes with an ageing population. This is a looming and silent public-health crisis.
She believes that the government should take urgent action to align research-spending with the current and projected size and impact of hearing loss. It should also collaborate across related conditions, such as vision, neurodegenerative diseases and neurological conditions. Furthermore, the government needs, and is obligated, to deliver more accessible and integrated services and develop quality standards that take account of the whole pathway – linking public health, clinical and social needs.

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