{"id":493,"date":"2025-08-30T13:49:34","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T13:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/?p=493"},"modified":"2025-08-30T13:49:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T13:49:42","slug":"ufs-student-awarded-prestigious-stipendium-hungaricum-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/08\/30\/ufs-student-awarded-prestigious-stipendium-hungaricum-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"UFS student awarded prestigious Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The University of the Free State (UFS) is proud to celebrate a significant milestone in its internationalisation journey. Sambulo Maphumulo, a third-year BA\u00a0Integrated<\/a>\u00a0Organisational Communication student, has been awarded the prestigious Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship to pursue a new academic path in Europe.<\/p>\n

Maphumulo will soon be exchanging the lecture halls of the\u00a0Faculty of The Humanities<\/a>\u00a0for the laboratories and fields of\u00a0Sz\u00e9chenyi\u00a0<\/a>Istv\u00e1n University in Gy\u0151r<\/a>, Hungary, where he will embark on a BSc in Agricultural Engineering. His studies are set to commence on 8 September 2025.<\/p>\n

The Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship, a flagship initiative of the\u00a0Hungarian\u00a0<\/a>government<\/a>\u00a0in partnership with South Africa\u2019s\u00a0Department of Higher Education and Training<\/a>, provides full financial support for South Africans to study in Hungary.<\/p>\n

A journey of perseverance and opportunity<\/strong><\/h4>\n

For Maphumulo, this achievement represents not only an academic opportunity but also a deeply personal triumph.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/em>This opportunity affirms that God\u2019s timing is perfect. I applied before and was not selected, but here we are now, preparing to leave the country. Sending that application a second time didn\u2019t take anything away from me \u2013 rather, it gave me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>he said.<\/p>\n

Currently completing his final year in Integrated Organisational Communication, Sambulo describes himself as passionate about branding and storytelling \u2013 skills he now hopes to apply in the agricultural sector. He believes Hungary provides the perfect environment to realise this vision.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing at the centre of Europe means being at the centre of opportunity \u2013 exposure to advanced agricultural systems, access to international markets, and collaboration with people from across the continent. That\u2019s the kind of environment that pushes you to think bigger, innovate, and connect local ideas with global possibilities.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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Celebrating internationalisation at the UFS<\/strong><\/h4>\n

His lecturer,\u00a0Kgalalelo Mphephuka<\/a>\u00a0from the\u00a0Department of Communication Science<\/a>, praised Maphumulo\u2019s achievement as both a personal victory and a milestone for the faculty and institution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis opportunity puts the Faculty of The Humanities on the map. It highlights the support offered by the Department of Communication Science and showcases the role of the\u00a0Office for International Affairs<\/a>\u00a0in broadening opportunities for students. Their efforts empower the next generation of global leaders,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She added that scholarships of this nature reflect the university\u2019s commitment to internationalisation and societal development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis opportunity not only brings pride to the parents but also elevates the entire community that has raised these students. As Africans, we believe it takes a village to raise a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local talent, global impact<\/strong><\/h4>\n

As he prepares to begin this new journey, Maphumulo embodies the essence of internationalisation \u2013 transforming local talent into global impact. His success stands as a source of pride not only for the UFS community but also for the broader South African higher education sector.<\/p>\n

The University of the Free State congratulates Sambulo on this remarkable achievement and wishes him every success as he takes the next step in his academic and professional journey.<\/p>\n

For more information on study-abroad opportunities, contact the\u00a0Office for International Affairs<\/strong>:\u00a0studyabroad@ufs.ac.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The University of the Free State (UFS) is proud to celebrate a significant milestone in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":495,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493\/revisions\/495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}