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02 July 2019
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Story Eloise Calitz
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Photo Keagan Nkwaira
Audience members listening attentively to the presentations at the Entrepreneurship Inter-varsity on the Bloemfontein Campus.
The UFS continuously creates opportunities for students to develop and explore platforms where they can showcase their talents and share their innovative concepts. In the light of this, it is important for the institution to become a preferred academic knowledge partner that can conceptualise, develop, and successfully commercialise research activities, and through this foster an innovative and entrepreneurial culture that aligns to its Integrated Transformation Plan.
This is why opportunities such as the Entrepreneurship Intervarsity Competition are so important, since it encourages students to demonstrate their entrepreneurial talent, and through this connect with investors and industry leaders to start up a business.
The competition
Student entrepreneurs across the 26 public universities in South Africa were invited to submit their innovative ideas as part of a competition supported by Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE), in collaboration with the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation. The opportunities created through this initiative are twofold:
1. For student entrepreneurs to present their innovative ideas and businesses.
2. For universities to demonstrate their entrepreneurial talent and the ways in which they support and grow the next generation of business leaders.
The competition takes place in five stages. The process started with each student submitting their short videos and applications on the official competition site. Each institution also had the opportunity to select student entrepreneurs to take part in the competition. Fifteen students pitched their ideas during internal rounds at the UFS on 30 May 2019. Of these students, four were selected to represent the UFS at the regional rounds of the Entrepreneurship Intervarsity, where the finalists will be chosen.
The students were judged in four categories:
• Category 1: Innovative Ideas
• Category 2: Tech Businesses (existing businesses, formal or informal, undergrad or postgrad)
• Category 3: Social Impact Businesses (existing businesses, formal or informal, undergrad or postgrad)
• Category 4: General (existing businesses, formal or informal, undergrad or postgrad)
The following UFS entrants were selected to take part in the regional finals:
• Christopher Rothman for his liquid yeast culture that can be used in the fermentation of beer.
• Driaan-Lou Kemp for his patented water-saving device.
• Grace Mthembu for her electricity-saving system.
• Martin Clarke for his idea to use drone technology for the mining industry
Qwaqwa Campus Open Day a big success
2013-08-12
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12 August 2013
Photo: RooistoelTV |
Thousands of learners in their colourful uniforms descended on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus to attend Open Day 2013.
This annual event enables learners and community members to know more about the study programmes that the campus offers as well as information regarding financial aid opportunities, sports and culture, health and wellness, residence life, amongst others.
During the formal welcome session, the learners were given a better understanding of what the university is all about.
Campus Principal Prof Prakash Naidoo gave the learners what he referred to as the top reasons why all the students in attendance would find it attractive to enrol with the Qwaqwa Campus in 2014.
“We have a diverse culture where everybody feels welcomed. We are also the fastest transforming university in the world. Our unique UFS101 learning programme teaches you about life in general. There’s no doubt that we have the best Vice Chancellor and Rector in Prof Jonathan Jansen,” Prof Naidoo said.
In encouraging learners to work harder in order to achieve the goals that they had set for themselves, Dr Elsa Crause, Campus Vice Principal: Academic and Research, emphasised on the importance of reading. “Reading and studying hard are important if you are to succeed in life. For you to achieve the best and to make your student life interesting, you must read as much as you write,” she said.
After the formal welcome session that included entertainment by students, the learners were ushered to various faculties and departments to give them first-hand experience of what it feels like to be a Kovsie.