(Published - 10 April 2019)

The awards celebrate and recognise excellence and student success for the year. The office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, Professor Vivienne Lawack, who launched the initiative, is at the forefront of driving excellence in learning and teaching and an integrated approach to the scholarship of community engagement.

Professor Lawack said the Academic Achievers’ Awards is an occasion to recognise  and reward the outstanding achievements of staff and students - first-year students, undergraduates, honours and masters students, together with excellent lecturers and the excellence of staff members in community engagement.

This month the University is also celebrating its April 2019 Graduation, conferring approximately 3500 degrees, diplomas and certificates. These include 60 Doctoral degrees, 227 Masters degrees, 676 Honours degrees, 2,131 undergraduate degrees and 368 diplomas and certificates.

And the winners are:

Best First-Year-Student
Reynard Jacobs - BSc Complementary Medicine - Faculty of Community and Health Sciences (85.8%)

Best Final-Year Student
Saskia Spaltman - BSc Medical Bio-Sciences - Faculty of Natural Sciences (88.25%)

Best Honours Student
Hendrina Groenewald - Bcom (Hons) Information Systems - Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (84.25%)

Post graduate diploma
Nebojsa Duric - Post graduate diploma in Dentistry (82%) and
Carolina van den Berg - Post graduate diploma: Higher Education Studies (82%)

Institutional Awardee - Staff
Faculty Excellent Lecturer: Dr Koni Benson - Faculty of Arts

Institutional Engagement Awardees - Staff

Institutional Engagement Awardees - Individual
Dr Fanelwa Ngece - Faculty of Natural Sciences
Professor Robert Barrie - Faculty of Dentistry

Institutional Engagement Awardee - Team
Zenzeleni Team (Professor Bill Tucker and team)

Special Awardees

Dr Vanessa Brown - champion of “Operation Student Success”
Dr Subethra Pather - driver of the First Year Experience (FYE) Programme and Tutor enhancement programme
Dr Anita Maurtin - for devising and implementing the “Accelerated Excellence Programme” for high performing students
Turnaround Mathematics Team from the Mathematics department, led by Dr Deon Solomons and Dr Christina (Honji) Conana

Final-Year Awardees (Undergraduate)

Faculty of Arts
Harry Kapatika - Bachelors of Arts 80.92%

Faculty of Community and Health Sciences
Kenya Addison - Dietetics 81.89 %

Faculty of Dentistry
Micaela Pauls - BChd 78.61 %

Faculty of Education
Aashiq Parker - BEd 85.25%

Faculty of Economic and Management and Sciences
Keagan Barnes - BCom General 82 %

Faculty of Law
Chante Cockrill - LLB 4 Year Full-Time 88.25%

Faculty of Natural Sciences
Saskia Spaltman - BSc Medical Bioscience 88.25%

Honours Awardees

Faculty of Arts
Keshia Jansen - BA Honours 83.75%

Faculty of Community and Health Sciences
Charles Kibuuka - BSc Honours Physiotherapy 81.17%

Faculty of Education
Nomkhita Tsotetsi - BEd Honours 71 %

Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
Hendrina Groenewald - BCom Information Systems 84.25%

Faculty of Natural Sciences
Tawana Matsika - BSc Computer Science 82.50%

PG Certificate Awardees

Faculty of Dentistry
Nebojsa Duric - Postgraduate Diploma in Dentistry 82%

Faculty of Education
Carolina van den Berg - Postgraduate Diploma: H:E. Studies 82%

Faculty of Law
Regan Jacobs - Postgraduate Diploma in Labour Law 76.75%