Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
![]()
RAG has a new
name and format:
ACT—
Active, Civic, Teaching.
The University of the Free State (UFS) is ready to kick off the new year with a bang. Get ready to celebrate the start of university with a cause. RAG, as you know it, has a new name and format: ACT—Active, Civic, Teaching.
You get further if you pull in the same direction, rather than various good-intentioned movements on different routes. In a collective effort, four exciting programmes will take flight, which are listed below:
- Schools project for first-year students: mentored by senior students, groups of first-year students will be assigned to, and participate in local school projects. Students will learn to solve problems and work together in small groups as they collaborate on a specific community project involving primary or secondary schools in the Mangaung region.
- Community gardens: This project will help individual student communities to begin and maintain their own vegetable gardens in order to address food insecurity within their own environment.
- Eco-vehicle project for senior students: The aim of the eco-vehicle project is to create an interdisciplinary experience. Undergraduate senior students from a Student Life College (SLC) can work together to build an eco-vehicle from waste material. The track day, along with creative pit stops, will take place on 16 February 2018, preceding the Community celebration of 17 February 2018.
- Community celebration: To foster good relationships between the UFS and the community, we aim to host an annual celebration that will be open to the broader Mangaung community. The celebrations will kick off on the morning of 17 February 2018 with a business relay and a showcase of the eco-vehicles. The festive day will conclude with an evening music concert.
Keep checking the UFS website for updates about more ACT activities during the month of February.
UFS hosts the 2017 SAIMS Conference
2017-09-21
The hosts of the 2017 SAIMS conference:
Dr Jacques Nel
(UFS:Business Management), Prof Francis Petersen
(UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor),
Dr Werner Vermeulen (HOD of UFS: Business Management),
Dr Habofanwe Koloba (UFS: Business Management),
and Prof Hendri Kroukamp
(UFS: Dean of Economic and Management Sciences).
Photo: Supplied
The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Business Management recently hosted the 29th South African Institute of Management Scientists (SAIMS) conference at Kopano Nokeng in Bloemfontein. This year’s theme, ‘Management Research: Science Serving Practice’ focused on the importance of sharing our results and making it relevant and usable to different communities.
Prof Petersen motivates researchers to become part of the business cycle
On the first day of the conference, the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Prof Francis Peterson, welcomed 148 delegates from 18 different institutions (academic and professional) to the City of Roses. He motivated them to keep on doing highly scholarly research by being part of the business cycles.
Prof Adré Schreuder, founder of Consulta (Pty) Ltd, was the keynote speaker of the conference. He highlighted four personas needed to further enhance and develop the science-practice alignment in market research and business. “The first skills persona is called a Social Media Maven, which is in line with the rapid growth of social media networks and the growing need for social media analytics. Then there is the Data Synthesiser that supports the growth trend in Big Data and Advanced analytics, which are both driven by technological innovation and the enormous volume of available data. The third one is Marketing Strategist, which has strong representation in brand and advertising research in our industry. Lastly, we have the ‘Business Consultant’ which aligns with the industry trends towards deeper insights and consultative skills required to move beyond mere reporting, but rather getting involved in the design and implementation of recommendations.”
Conference to collaborate academics and business
Dr Werner Vermeulen, SAIMS 2017 Conference Chair, says, “This conference will underpin the need for collaboration and cooperation of individuals from the academic environment and the business world itself.” He says the conference will also provide a wonderful forum to refresh knowledge and explore contemporary trends and future-based business research.
Delegates were also given the opportunity to dress up to the carnival theme and were entertained by a fire dancer and magician. They had the honour of indulging in two Kovsie-produced food products, the St Dairy organic cheese and exotic mushrooms by Mushroom House.