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28 August 2019 | Story Zama Feni | Photo Charl Devenish
3MT
From the left: University of the Free State (UFS) students, Chantelle van der Bijl (Master’s Category) and Keafon Jumbam (PhD Category) emerged victorious at the annual institutional Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition held on Friday, 23 August 2019.
Two University of the Free State (UFS) students, Keafon Jumbam (PhD) and Chantelle van der Bijl (master’s), emerged victorious at the annual institutional Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition held on the Bloemfontein Campus on Friday, 23 August 2019.

The 3MT is a research-communication competition which was developed by the University of Queensland (UQ), whereby PhD students are given three minutes to present a compelling oration on their thesis and its significance. 

Winning students

Jumbam, who is a student in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, cleaned the table in the PhD category, which had six contestants from various faculties. She walked away with a cash prize of R14 000.
She presented a thesis titled: Social, ecological and personality factors influencing bat-eared fox foraging behaviour.
Asked about the secret to her victory, Jumbam said: “You must ensure that you publish your work, because that gives a person a competitive edge, globally.”
In the Master’s Category, Chantelle van der Bijl grabbed the first spot, beating four other contestants in this category, winning an amount of R10 000.  Her thesis title was: Doctor Mothers: Infant feeding intentions and behaviours.
“I am excited to have won this. I am very grateful for the support I got from my family and faculty staff,” said Van der Bijl.

Idea behind the 3MT

The 3MT challenges students to consolidate their ideas and research discoveries in order to be presented concisely to a non-specialist audience. The 3MT was designed to develop skills that will give students an important career advantage once they complete their studies. 
The competition was originally reserved for PhD students, but the UFS Postgraduate School decided to include master’s students so as to prepare them in case they wanted to do their PhDs after their studies. 
The UFS winner in the Master’s Category (Van der Bijl) will not represent the university in the national final 3MT competition on 25 October 2019, but the 1st runner-up in the PhD category (Lourens Strauss) – as per the rules of the competition.

Nothing but research for better future
Giving a word of encouragement to the contestants on the importance of research, the Senior Director for Research Development, Dr Glen Taylor, said: “When our generation of practitioners and leaders (students) engage in research with its deliberate process and requirements for critical thinking skills, they become better students and are best prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the future. Research is an opportunity to make a difference; it is open to everyone and thrives on a diversity of approaches and perspectives.”

Taylor said universities have to be vital sources of new knowledge and innovative thinking, providers of skilled personnel, attractors of international talent and business investment into a region, agents of social justice and mobility, and contributors to social and cultural vitality.


News Archive

Help to rural women to become entrepreneurs
2006-10-24

Some of the guests who attended the ceremony were, from the left: Mr Donray Malabie (Head of the Alexander Forbes Community Trust), Ms Jemina Mokgosi (one of the ladies from Tabane Village who is participating in the Women in Agriculture project), Dr Limakatso Moorosi (Head: Veterinary Services, Free State Department of Agriculture), Prof Johan Greyling (Head: UFS Department of Animal and Wildlife and Grassland Sciences) and Ms Khoboso Lehloenya (coordinator of the project from UFS Department of Animal and Wildlife and Grassland Sciences). Photo: Leonie Bolleurs\

Alexander Forbes and UFS help rural women to become entrepreneurs
 
Today, the Alexander Forbes Community Trust and the University of the Free State (UFS) joined forces to create an enabling environment for rural women to become players in the private sector.

Three years ago the UFS set up a unique small-scale household egg production project called Women in Agriculture in Thaba ‘Nchu as a pilot project. The project was officially launched today by Mr Donray Malabie, Head of the Alexander Forbes Community Trust.

The aim of the Women in Agriculture Project is to create jobs, provide food security and to help develop rural women into entrepreneurs. A total of 25 women based in Tabane Village in Thaba ‘Nchu are the beneficiaries of the project.

“This is the first project in the Free State the Alexander Forbes Community Trust is involved with.  The project would help rural women acquire the skills they need to run their own egg-production business from their homes,” said Mr Malabie. 

“The ongoing debate on the shortage of skills ignores the fact that people with little or no education at all also need training. This project is special to the Trust as it provides for the creation of sustainable jobs, food security and the transfer of much needed skills all at once, particularly at this level,” he said.

Every woman in the group started with two small mobile cages that housed 12 hens each. The units are low in cost, and made of commercially available welded mesh and a metal frame. Now, each woman has four cages with 48 hens. The group manages to collectively produce 750 eggs daily.

The eggs are currently sold to local businesses, including spaza shops and the women are using the income generated to look after their families and to further develop their business.

The Department of Animal and Wildlife and Grassland Sciences at the UFS identified the project and did the initial research into the feasibility of setting up such a project.

“A demonstration and training unit has been established at the Lengau Agricultural Development Centre and the women attended a short practical training course. Subsidies are provided for feeding, together with all the material and the lay hens necessary for the start of the business,” said Ms Khoboso Lehloenya, coordinator of the project from the Department of Animal and Wildlife and Grassland Sciences at the UFS. 

“The advantage in using lay hens is that they are resistant to diseases and the women will not need electric heating systems for the egg production,” said Ms Lehloenya. 

According to Ms Lehloenya, the women are already benefiting from their egg production businesses.  “Some of them have used the profit to buy school uniforms and tracksuits for their children and others are now able to make a monthly contribution to their household expenses,” said Ms Lehloenya. 
“In South Africa, possibly due to cultural reasons and circumstances, most black people prefer to eat older and tougher chickens, compared to younger soft commercially available broiler chickens. This preference creates a further advantage for the women. At the end of their production cycle, old hens can be sold for a higher price than point-of-lay or young hens. This brings in further money to pay for more hens,” said Ms Lehloenya.

The Alexander Forbes Trust contributed R191 000 towards the project aimed at expanding it to benefit 15 more women.

“We are in the process of recruiting an additional 15 women in Thaba ‘Nchu who will be trained by the Lengau Agricultural Development Centre in order to replicate the model and extend its reach”, said Ms Lehloenya.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl@mail.uovs.ac.za
20 October 2006

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