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UFS secures Top 3 position at GradStar Awards with 53 students recognised

12 September 2025 | Story Lilitha Dingwayo | Photo Lunga Luthuli

The University of the Free State (UFS) has once again demonstrated its commitment to academic excellence and student success by securing a place in the top three universities nationally at the 2025 GradStar Awards. An impressive 53 UFS students were recognised among the prestigious Top 500 list announced on 24 August.

The GradStar Awards, now in their 10th year, highlight students across South African universities who demonstrate the employability skills, leadership qualities, and potential to make a meaningful impact in the workplace. More than 700 students entered the initial assessment phase this year, which focused on how they perceive themselves as future change-makers.

Assistant Director for the Division of Student Affairs, Belinda Janeke, emphasised the importance of this achievement:

“This recognition speaks to both our students and our staff. The UFS places a high premium on employability, and both academic and support staff play a vital role in equipping our students with the skills to succeed. I like to use the analogy of a car: academics teach you to build the car and understand all its parts, whereas employability equips you to drive the car.”

According to the organisers, the 500 students selected will now proceed to the next stage of a three-phase assessment process, with the goal of reaching the GradStar Top 100.

For final-year BSc Actuarial Science student and two-time Golden Key recipient, Talha Suleman, the journey has only just begun:

“Reaching the Top 100 would open doors to connect with South Africa’s brightest future leaders and industry pioneers. My goal is to use the platform to expand my network, share insights from Actuarial Science, and learn from diverse perspectives. More importantly, I see it as a responsibility to represent UFS and inspire other students by showing that challenges can be turned into stepping stones.”

Janeke encouraged aspiring students to take advantage of the resources available to them, noting the success of UFS’s student-centred initiatives such as the newly launched series of ‘shoe camps’, designed to strengthen employability.

The UFS celebrates this milestone as part of its broader mission to shape graduates who are not only academically excellent but also highly employable and ready to make an impact.

UFS students in the GradStar Top 500:

Thelby Tshiuda - Bachelor of Laws

Tlotlisang Mhlambiso - Bachelor of Education Honours (Professional): Curriculum Studies

Samkelo Majola - NULL

Sindisiwe Thwala - Bachelor of Laws

Lefu Matsikitlane - Bachelor of Science Honours

Nomkhosi Mbutu - Master of Sustainable Agriculture

Talha Suleman – BSc in Actuarial Science

Selewe Thokoza - Bachelor of Public Administration: Human Resource Management

Rambuti Mohale - Postgraduate Diploma in Public Administration

Thabang Thulare - Advanced Certificate in Education (Further Education Biology Education)

Okuhle Tobho - Bachelor of Social Sciences

Kamohelo Moeti - Bachelor of Accounting

Sisipho Ndamase - Bachelor of Management Leadership

Ignecias Phathutshedzo - Bachelor of Public Administration: Human Resource Management

Kgagamatso Moticoe - Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting

Siyabonga Mahlalela - Bachelor of Computer Information Systems

Zozibini Jojo Bachelor - Public Administration: General Management

Kabelo Mahlaba - Master of Science: Clinical Psychology

Neo Victor Hlongwane - Master of Science in Agriculture

Bongumusa Mabika - Master of Education

Ontiretse Ngakantsi - Bachelor of Science Honours

Nelisiwe Mkhomazi - Bachelor of Social Sciences

Amanda Mashinini - Bachelor of Arts: Education

Jessica Dlamini - Master of Social Science

Jabu Hlongwane - Bachelor of Computer Information Systems

Pulane Portia Pudumo - Master of Arts: Environmental Management and Planning

Nosipho Koloi - Bachelor of Psychology

Shivani Krishnasammy - Bachelor of Law

Ayanda Mhlauli - Bachelor of Commerce

Nosipho Ngqasa - Bachelor of Science

Kefiloe Khaole - Master of Education

Makwena Semenya - Bachelor of Arts: Education

Phindile Nyila - Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Management Accounting

Luyanda Sphesihle Khumalo - Master of Arts in Governance and Political Transformation

Maile Edgar Ramoadi - Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting

Lebogang Thato Magodielo - Bachelor of Law

Pfarelo Maphangula - Bachelor of Education: Technology

Monthati Molale - Bachelor of Laws

Boitumelo Ngobeni - Bachelor of Social Sciences

Bontle Sello - Bachelor of Arts Honours in Communication Science

Richard Pakiso Mphuthi - Bachelor of Accounting

Sifiso Royal Hlanguza - Bachelor of Arts: Cultural and Social Systems

Sphesihle Manatha - Bachelor of Public Administration: Human Resource Management

Buhle Mahamba - Advanced Certificate in Education (Further Education Biology Education)

Justin Kruger - Postgraduate Diploma in Public Administration

Selloane Mpheme - Further Diploma: Education: Language Education

Lutricia Tyongwe - Bachelor of Public Administration: General Management

Ogechi Mokotedi - Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery

Kabelo Sherlyn - Mashabela Master of Science

Marcellah Nyaga - Master of Higher Education Studies

Thulani Mabaso - Bachelor of Arts: Languages

Mogudi Sello - Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting

Lefa Rabase - Bachelor of Science Honours (Zoology)

News Archive

Professor launches his book, opposition parties attend

2011-03-22

Prof. Hussein Solomon
Photo: Stephen Collett

“We are good in opposing people, but we’re less good in opposing ideas.” This was how Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State (UFS) introduced the book launch of Against all Odds: Opposition Politics in Southern Africa.

The event was hosted in collaboration with the publisher under the title: Are opposition parties in South Africa in a crisis? This formed part of a series of dialogue sessions, organised by the Centre for Africa Studies, in the run up to the local elections.

Amongst those interested who attended the evening in the Senate Hall of the CR Swart Building on the Main Campus were various politicians, students, staff en a panel consisting of academics and the respective provincial representatives of the ANC and DA.

Dr Mcebisi Ndletyana from the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), acted as arbiter.

Proff. Hussein Solomon, author of Against all Odds: Opposition Politics in Southern Africa, also lecturer at the UFS, as well as Dirk Kotzé, Head of the Department of Political Science at Unisa, delivered enriching lectures on the stance and positioning of opposition parties.

Prof. Hussein, who spoke first, circumscribed the context of the political climate in the country, based on his book. “The problem that political science encounters is that everybody becomes experts on the internet, while they have no experience of what is happening in South Africa.” He said that when political parties in the country are under discussion, voters often allow myths and/or stereotyping to influence their concept of it. ‘’If there are no opposition parties, there is no democracy and people are deprived of their vote.”

Prof. Kotzé stated in his speech that it was not only opposition parties who had to make the government watch its step, but also the status that the country acquired, amongst others, from its connections, i.e. collaborative agreements such as BRICSA and the country’s inclusion in the G20. He left the audience with a question about how they were going to become involved in politics, and with his rhetoric question referred to options like social networks and movements.

Mr Sibongile Besani, the ANC'S secretary in the Free State, said the DA grew due to it’s swallowing of other parties; something he claims is taking the country backwards. He also described the use of personalities by opposition parties as means of association a weakness. He added that voters will continue voting for the ANC because they can associate themselves with the party’s vision.

In contrast, Mr Roy Jankielsohn, provincial leader of the DA, said voters and parties unite under their core vision for the country as like in the case of the ANC during the liberation struggles.

During the question-and-answer session, which followed after Mr Jankielson’s speech, Prof. Kwandiwe Kondlo, upon completion and summary of the discussions, stated firmly that the opposition parties are in a crisis. “The start of the solution is to recognise the problem. That is why our democracy finds itself in the state in which it is; because the opposition does not fulfil the role that they are supposed to fulfil.“ Prof. Kondlo is the head of the Centre of Africa Studies at the UFS.

He concluded by stating that the economic basis in the country was not transformed. “We cannot say that people determine their futures if they posses nothing. Opposition parties must start to communicate at this level in order to table something new. Our democracy must become more inclusive at political and material level.”

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