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21 August 2019
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Story Thabo Kessah
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Photo Thabo Kessah
Keafon Jumbam is gearing herself for the institutional Three Minute Thesis competition.
Keafon Jumbam is a PhD candidate whose research on food and foxes has won her the first prize of R8 000 in the recent Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences’ Postgraduate Flash Fact Competition. Her brief in the competition was to
summarise her research in three minutes, using only one static slide.“The competition started at departmental level on both campuses. The idea was that the best student in each department is then selected to go for the faculty-level competition on the Bloemfontein Campus. Summarising the entire research into three minutes is no easy feat, but a great way to gauge how well one has mastered your work,” she said.
Far-reaching research
“Thought-provoking presentations on research, ranging from technology to track academic progress, traditional medicine as alternatives to expensive prescriptions, and suggesting insects as food alternatives to curb hunger in this era of severe droughts and food shortages. The competition was tough, but it highlighted the level of research competitiveness on the Qwaqwa Campus. I hope that more students will join in such opportunities to build themselves up and to showcase our research output as Qwaqwa students,” added Jumbam from the
Department of Zoology and Entomology.
Institutional finals
Her next challenge is the institutional competition to be held on 23 August 2019, which could qualify her for the national competition.
OSM Camerata among final six in international online competition
2017-08-28
The Odeion School of Music Camerata at the University of
the Free State celebrated its fifth birthday in May 2017.
Photo: Supplied
One of six – and the only contender from outside the United States of America. This is the extent of the achievement by the Odeion School of Music Camerata (OSMC) – one of six finalists in the 2017 International Ictus Music Competition.
The OSMC at the University of the Free State reached the final round of the competition, of which the winners will be announced on 1 September 2017. The competition is an innovative new online competition for ensembles, orchestras, and band/wind ensembles (middle school, high school, youth ensemble, community ensemble, and college/conservatory/university) that compete through video submission.
Odeion concert recorded as entry
The OSMC celebrated its fifth birthday on 31 May 2017, hosting a concert as part of the first round of the competition in the Odeion on the Bloemfontein Campus. The concert, which also served as a fundraising opportunity, consisted of a carefully curated concert programme which was recorded and submitted to the Ictus panel.
The repertoire for the concert, supported by a Concerts SA grant from the Samro Music Foundation, was commissioned from South African composers. Maestri Xavier Cloete and Gerhard de Jager served as conductors.
Substantial money prizes can be won, and ensembles will receive written feedback from a jury consisting of renowned maestri including Stilian Kirov, who was awarded 1st Prize in the Debut Berlin Competition on 18 May 2017. Top prize-winners will be interviewed and interviews will be broadcasted internationally.
Five years of many highlights
The OSMC was strategically founded in 2012 by Marius Coetzee as the OSM’s flagship chamber ensemble, with the main objective of creating a catalyst for excellence.
Over the past five years, the OSMC has premiered 15 new works by South African composers specially commissioned for them. A highlight remains its participation in the 13th International Conservatory Festival in St Petersburg Russia, where the ensemble received a standing ovation during a gala concert in the Glazunov Concert Hall.