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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.
Pat Fahrenfort throws a spanner in the works
2013-08-24
23 August 2013
Pat Fahrenfort had the audience in stiches while discussing her book, Spanner in the Work: One Woman’s Journey from Factory Floor to Corridors of Power. In addition to her wit being razor-sharp, so was her insight.
The author narrated her winding journey from cold factory floors to the passages of parliament during an event hosted by Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, at the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice. Fahrenfort left school at the age of 15 and started her employment as a factory worker in Cape Town. Through sheer strength of will, she completed a university degree later in her life and went on to work alongside some of our leading political figures and as part of South Africa’s Constitutional Assembly.
Fahrenfort imparted her struggles in the workplace for democracy, justice and equality. Against this background, though, she expressed her disillusionment regarding some aspects of the current political environment in South Africa.
She also regaled the crowd with her ‘stalking’ tactics – back when she was still a fledgling writer – to grab the attention of author Antjie Krog. Fahrenfort attended quite a few functions where the famous author appeared – seemingly by chance – until she got her opportunity.The end result? Krog assisted Fahrenfort to write her own book. And the rest, as they say, is history.