The Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) congratulates Professor Solomon Oupa Makola, Director: Institutional Renewal and Transformation in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, on being named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Free Staters of 2026. The recognition was announced at an event held at the Bloemfontein Civic Theatre on 25 October 2026, celebrating individuals whose contributions have made a meaningful impact in the Free State.

The recognition honours individuals who drive positive change, inspire others, and contribute to the province’s growth and development across various fields, including social media, radio broadcasting, entrepreneurship, public service, higher education, academia, politics, and agriculture, among others.

Prof. Makola exemplifies this through his multidisciplinary work as a counselling psychologist, child psychologist, psychometrist, academic, researcher, author, and public educator. He holds a master's degree in counselling psychology from the University of the Witwatersrand and a doctorate in Child Psychology from the University of the Free State.

His academic and professional journey reflects a longstanding commitment to meaning-centred psychology, human flourishing, resilience, forgiveness, and personal transformation, drawing particularly on the logotherapy philosophy of Viktor Frankl. He is a lifetime member of the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy.

He is the author of Find Meaning, Stop Wondering (2016), Pimp the Pain: Purpose Inspired Dialogues (2017), and Seventy Women and One Man: Meetings with Remarkable Women (2021). His recent scholarship also introduces the Divine Narrative Mentoring (DiNaMe) framework, an integrative approach to healing, identity development, resilience, and purpose.

Beyond academia and clinical practice, he has delivered more than 1,000 psychoeducational broadcasts on South African national radio, extending the reach of psychological knowledge to diverse communities. He also engages audiences through social media, with more than 100,000 TikTok followers, making him an accessible voice in conversations about meaning, personal growth, and human potential.

His leadership in Institutional Renewal and Transformation contributes to the university's commitment to advancing an inclusive, values-driven, and accountable institutional culture.