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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.
UFS appoints new head for Research Commercialisation and Business Development
2009-02-27
The University of the Free State (UFS) has appointed Dr Glen Taylor (pictured) as the new head of the Office for Research Commercialisation and Business Development.
The purpose of this new office is to optimize the commercialization of innovation and intellectual property at the UFS.
According to Dr Taylor, the core function of this office is to establish a sustainable third stream of income from intellectual property in order to diversify the funding base of the University. In essence, the office is responsible for the facilitation of technology transfer.
Aside from the normal aspects associated with technology transfer, such as innovation disclosure, intellectual property protection (patenting) and licensing, a rather broader approach of transferring knowledge to a user in society will also be sought.
“It is evident that the funding environment has changed significantly due to a shift in priorities from public funded agencies, which have impacted hugely on tertiary education,” said Dr Taylor. “Furthermore, due to the changes in the state funding of universities, there is more pressure on these institutions to become financially self-sufficient.”
“So in the light of these challenges, universities as generators of knowledge have a fundamental role to play in the knowledge society, and through the process of innovation and intellectual property development there must be value to the institutions and the individuals.”
Dr Taylor is the former Head of the Department of Agricultural Management and manager of research, technology and innovation activities on the George Campus of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
The Office for Research Commercialisation and Business Development was established at the beginning of 2009.
26 February 2009