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UFS Qwaqwa NAS faculty soars with exceptional achievements in 2024

16 April 2025 | Story Precious Shamase | Photo Supplied

Qwaqwa NAS Achievements — From left to right Prof Richard Ocaya is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics, Dr Tebogo Motsei and Dr Kamohelo Tshabalala

The Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (NAS) at the University of the Free State (UFS) Qwaqwa Campus is celebrating a year of remarkable achievements, showcasing the dedication and brilliance of its students and faculty. The 2024 academic year has been marked by outstanding academic performance, prestigious awards, and groundbreaking research, solidifying the faculty's commitment to excellence.

Academic excellence shines bright

The faculty's commitment to rigorous academic standards has yielded impressive results. This year, four doctoral candidates successfully obtained their PhDs, contributing valuable research to their respective fields. Furthermore, the dedication of the honours and master’s students was evident in their exceptional performance. Out of 25 honours students, an impressive 11 achieved distinctions, demonstrating their mastery of their subjects. Similarly, 5 out of 10 master’s students passed with distinctions, a testament to their advanced research capabilities and academic prowess.

Dr Tebogo Motsei: A beacon of innovation and excellence

Among the faculty's many successes, the achievement of Dr Tebogo Motsei stands out as a testament to the calibre of talent being nurtured on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus. Dr Motsei, who recently graduated from the campus, was awarded the prestigious CV Raman Scholarship by the Government of the Republic of India – a recognition bestowed upon only the most promising postgraduate students.

This highly competitive scholarship, named after the Nobel prize-winning physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, provided recipients with a six-month research opportunity in India. Dr Motsei conducted her research at the esteemed Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI), under the guidance of Prof Arul Manuel Stephan and Prof Sabu Thomas, Vice-Chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi University. CECRI – one of the most difficult Indian institutes to get admitted into – is part of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Dr Motsei’s research focused on sodium-ion batteries and supercapacitors with lithium-sulphur integration, resulting in significant advancements in energy storage devices. Her innovative work has the potential to revolutionise the field, contributing to more efficient and sustainable energy solutions.

Adding to her achievements, Dr Motsei also established Lesedi Innovations Pty, a company dedicated to the manufacturing of button batteries and cells of the CR2032 and 18650 form factors. This entrepreneurial endeavour highlights her commitment to translating research into practical applications that benefit society.

For her PhD studies, she was supervised by Prof Richard Ocaya in the Department of Physics, and co-supervised by Dr Kamohelo Tshabalala, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics. Prof Ocaya, proud of Motsei’s achievements, believes that this fellowship not only serves as a great motivation for students – especially on the Qwaqwa Campus – but also highlights the global relevance of the UFS, particularly the Department of Physics.

A message of pride and congratulations

Prof Aliza le Roux, Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, expressed her immense pride in the students and staff. "I would like to congratulate the NAS students and staff members on this fantastic achievement – it’s a sign of people going out of their way to do their best and make their research work despite any obstacles thrown in their way. These distinctions show that we have smart, dedicated, creative people in NAS, and I’m very proud of all of them. For students, this means great opportunities ahead, and for staff, it is a sure sign that they did something right in their mentorship and teaching. Thank you to this wonderful team," concluded Prof Le Roux.

The UFS Qwaqwa Campus congratulates all the graduates, distinguished students, and dedicated staff of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. Their accomplishments are a testament to the university's commitment to fostering academic excellence and innovation. The faculty continues to fly the UFS flag high, inspiring future generations of scientists and researchers.

News Archive

JN Boshoff Memorial Lecture: Dr Charles Nwaila

2005-09-13

Dr Charles Nwaila, Director-General of the Free State Provincial Government and Vice-Chairperson of the University of the Free State's (UFS) Council, recently discussed the repositioning of the Free State Provincial Government to respond to the 21st century demands during the JN Boshoff Memorial Lecture at the UFS.

From left: Dr Nwaila; Prof Tienie Crous, Dean: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences; Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor and Dr Moses Sindane, Departmental Chairperson: Department of Public Management at the UFS.

A summary of the lecture.

Free State government to focus on training of public servants

The Free State provincial government in collaboration with higher education institutions in the province is to establish the Free State Association of Public Administration to get public servants to work effectively towards the growth and development of the province.
This was announced by the Director-General of the Free State provincial government, Dr Charles Nwaila, during a lecture he delivered at the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein this evening (Thursday 8 September 2005).

Delivering the annual JN Boshoff Memorial Lecture at the UFS, Dr Nwaila called on higher education institutions to play a critical and leading role in the re-engineering of the existing Provincial Training and Development Institute housed at the Vista campus of the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein.

Dr Nwaila was formerly the Superintendent-General (head) of the Free State Department of Education and currently serves as the Deputy Chairperson of the Council of the University of the Free State.
He said the proposed Free State Association of Public Administration is a joint initiative with the National Academy of Public Administration based in Washington DC.

“We take this opportunity to invite the University of the Free State and other knowledge based institutions to join the Provincial Government in fostering a collaborative network to help us develop our public servants,” Dr Nwaila said.
He said there were accelerating demands and a lot of pressure on limited resources, with Free Staters expecting more from their government than ever before.

“Civil servants in a developmental state are servants of the people, champions of the poor and the downtrodden and not self-serving individuals that seek only advancement on the career ladder,” Dr Nwaila said.
According to Dr Nwaila, the Free State Growth and Development Strategy has identified 11 areas that need to be addressed by the year 2014, including:

• To reduce unemployment from 38% to 20%
• To improve the functional literacy rate from 69,2% to 85%
• To stabilize the prevalence rate of HIV and AIDS and reverse the spread of the disease
• To provide a free basic service to all households
• To provide adequate infrastructure for economic growth and development

Dr Nwaila said that the Free State government will continue to follow a people-centred approach towards these development objectives with a keen sense of unity and unwavering determination to create the best of times for the Free State and all its people.

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