First-year Achievement Awards

First-year Achievement Awards / Eerstejaarsprestasietoekennings / Amabhaso eMpumelelo waBafundi boNyaka wokuQala

Read about the 2023 event here.

The First Year Achievement Awards aims to recognise lecturers who had a positive influence on the academic experience of first year students.
It also recognises top performing first-year students within each faculty.

These students are asked to nominate one lecturer, whom they consider to have had a positive influence on their academic experience during their first year.

Both the students and nominated lecturers are invited to attend a prestigious dinner.

The Vice-Rector (Teaching and Learning), a number of Faculty Deans and Vice-Deans (Teaching and Learning), amongst others, also attend this prestigious event.

Lecturers

Good teaching involves the ability to engage students in learning. It involves acknowledging the different social contexts students come from in order to meet them 'where they are' and taking them on a journey to 'where they need to be.' It also involves creating meaningful learning experiences for students to carry with them throughout their lives. At this function, lecturers who practice good teaching and therefore enable students to improve their academic performance will be honoured.

Students

Students might have faced challenges in order to improve their academic performance; they might have had to overcome obstacles to succeed against all odds: these students deserve to be recognised for their commitment and determination that resulted in academic improvement and achievements.