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21 June 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Ernst & Young
UFS Accounting Students win EY Project Alpha
At the Ernst & Young Project Alpha 2019 Awards, some of the members of the winning team, from left: Kyle du Bruyn, Luke Rhode, Janri du Toit, Nicolaas van Zyl, Mojalefa Mosala (Business Ethics Lecturer), Bianca Malan, Lorandi Koegelenberg and Frans Benecke.
A few years ago the news was saturated with Volkswagen’s (VW) fuel emission scandal. “Dieselgate”. Investigations in the US found the German automaker guilty of programming computers in their diesel cars to alter its engine operations to seemingly meet legal emission standards.

A question of ethics

A notice of violation of the Clean Air Act issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency had dire consequences for the automobile company, but positive implications for the economy and the environment. As part of a lawsuit settlement, vehicles were recalled, fines were paid, and approximately 21 million affected vehicles with VW diesel engines were refitted by September 2015.

Project Alpha tackles ethical issues

A group of eight students from the University of the Free State (UFS) presented their case study of “Dieselgate” to a panel of judges in this year’s Ernst & Young Project Alpha competition. They emerged as the ultimate winners.

The “Hoaxwagen” group’s 10-minute video demonstrated “a critical assessment of a multidimensional matter”   captivating the judges. “I was impressed, because their presentation addressed other skills such as the ability to present, communicate, come out of their comfort zone and be innovative, while at the same time addressing an ethical issue,” said Mojalefa Mosala, a judge and Business Ethics lecturer at the UFS.

Centred on critical thinking

The UFS is the first university outside of Johannesburg that participated in the Project Alpha contest. Ernst & Young and the UFS have forged a strong relationship over the past few years, giving students a glimpse into the corporate world of accounting. 

“Project Alpha encourages critical thinking and not taking things at face value, by looking a bit deeper, spending time to understand the pros and cons of any situation in order to make an informed decision,” said Frans Benecke, member. of the winning team that prevailed over 82 others. Benecke’s team walked away with R2000 shopping vouchers and a life-long learning experience.

Engaging in global conversations 

Participation in the competition gave students the opportunity to be exposed to contemporary global thinking, which is strongly advocated in the UFS’s Integrated Transformation Plan.


UFS Accounting students win 2019 Ernst & Young Project Alpha competition from University of the Free State on Vimeo.

News Archive

UFS takes the lead in solar heating in the Free State
2010-06-03

In the “engine room” of the solar heating system of the Vergeet-my-nie Residence with the big hot water tanks in the background. From the left are Mr Anton Calitz, Electrical Engineer of the UFS, and Mr Nico Janse van Renburg, Manager: Physical Planning at the UFS.
Photo: Leatitia Pienaar


The University of the Free State (UFS) took a further step in reducing its carbon footprint and its dependency on coal fired electricity with the installation of a solar heating system at one of its residences. The contractor handed the system over to the UFS on Wednesday, 2 June 2010.

The system installed at the Vergeet-my-nie Residence is the first commercial solar water heating project in both Bloemfontein and at the UFS. It is estimated that it will provide in 70% of the residence’s energy needs and save approximately R101 000 per annum in electricity cost. The project was completed at a cost of R2,4 million.

More residences at the UFS will be refurbished with solar systems as the existing heating systems in the rest of the twenty residences are due for replacement.

The energy crisis of 2008, and the challenges and necessity to reduce the use of electricity, sparked the initiative around the installation of solar heating systems at the UFS. The UFS is the second largest energy user in Bloemfontein.

Mr Nico Janse van Rensburg, Manager: Physical Planning at the UFS, says the management of the UFS saw an opportunity in the crisis and pro-actively embarked to become a market leader. Solar heating would not only alleviate the electricity problem of South Africa, but will impact the ever increasing electricity bill of the UFS.

“Protecting the environment and being on the cutting edge of technology are core issues to the UFS,” says Janse van Rensburg. “We are an educational institution and take pride in practicing what we preach.”

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (acting)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za  
3 June 2010
 

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