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24 April 2019 | Story Moeketsi Mogotsi | Photo Barend Nagel
KovsieCyberSta
2018/2019 #KovsieCyberStas Georgina Mhlahlo and Karabo Lekomanyane are about to make way for two new cool kids on the block.

The search for the next #KovsieCyberSta is on. The UFS is looking for two cool new kids on the block to take over the reins from Georgina and Karabo as the official UFS Social Media ambassadors.
 
The two individuals will hold the title of #KovsieCyberSta for a period of 12 months. As #KovsieCyberStas, they will cover events on and around campus, while filming and presenting short video clips to give fellow Kovsies some insight into these events across the UFS’s digital platforms.

The #KovsieCyberSta search will follow the following simple steps: 

1. Upload a 45-60-second audition video on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and tag the UFS while using #KovsieCyberSta. In your video, tell us why you should be the next #KovsieCyberSta.
2. You can also send your audition videos to socialmedia@ufs.ac.za
3. The 10 most impressive auditions will be shortlisted and posted on the UFS pages for public voting on 3 May 2019.
4. The Kovsie community will then decide who gets to win, and the winners will be announced on 8 May 2019.

The deadline for submitting video auditions is 1 May 2019 at midnight.

At the end of their term, #KovsieCyberStas will receive a letter of recommendation and a portfolio of their work to add to their showreel.

Please note that students must return to the UFS for the first semester in 2020. 
No team submissions are allowed. (only one person per audition video)

News Archive

Music lecturer’s innovative app is a first in South Africa
2014-07-24

Dr Frelét de Villiers, lecturer at the Odeion School of Music (OSM) at the University of the Free State (UFS), is in the process of developing an innovative interactive mobile music application – Notes&Fun.

Notes&Fun is being designed to assist aspirant pianists. It will support beginners with notation and rhythmic patterns.

The app will display single notes, phrases or rhythmical patterns on the phone or tablet and then apply the built-in microphone to measure the frequency of the notes played on the piano itself. It will indicate whether you’ve played correctly, or if you have made a mistake, the correct note will be displayed. Notes&Fun consists of multiple levels, each with a practise and test mode that gradually increases in difficulty and complexity. As opposed to existing apps, Notes&Fun is conceptualised with immediate pitch detection and is applied with a real (acoustic) piano.

For the pilot phase of this initiative, the developing company Maxxor in Cape Town will create a demo app which can be downloaded for testing purposes and general feedback. Once the developing company and innovator are satisfied with the first phase, the product will be marketed vigorously on social media. The initial app will be free, but subsequent levels will need to be purchased. The developers will start a Facebook page where users of the app can add their latest scores and compete with other users. Initially the app will only be available on the Google Play Store due to the fact that more people own Android devices than Apple products. Once the product has proven to be financially viable, the developers will adapt it for the Mac App Store as well.

“The beauty of this app is that music has a universal language, so it can be marketed internationally and I am privileged to have the institutional support from the UFS Technology Unit regarding the judicial process and developing process of the product,” Dr De Villiers said.

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