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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

Strong support for march against gender violence
2013-02-27

 

A huge group of students, led by the Student Representative Council, took part in the "Enough is Enough: Are you man Enough?" march on the Bloemfontein Campus.
Photo: Johan Roux
25 February 2013

   YouTube Video: "Enough is Enough" Harlem shake

   YouTube Video: "Enough is Enough" protest

Enough is enough. The UFS took a vocal and visual stand against gender violence and rape with a march joining the national protest movement. With banners reading: ‘No to rape,’ ‘Stop sexual terrorism’ and ‘Enough is enough’, hundreds of Kovsie men and women took part in the Enough is Enough: Are you man Enough march held on the Bloemfontein Campus. Led by Mr Rudi Buys, Dean of Student Affairs, staff and students, mostly men, told the world what they think about the scourge of violence and rape in the country.

Addressing protestors, Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, highlighted shocking rape statistics, saying that it is dangerous to be a woman these days with a woman raped every minute somewhere in the country. “Women can hardly breathe without being worried.Culture has deceived our young men. The country is experiencing a tragic time. We need to raise our children, mostly boys, to respect women from an early age. They must also learn how to deal with their emotions – boys must learn how to cry.”

Joining Prof Jansen on stage was the Student Representative Council (SRC) presidents of three universities in South Africa – William Clayton from the UFS, Horne Hallendorff from the University of Cape Town and Clinton du Preez from Stellenbosch University. “Enough is indeed enough and men should take their role seriously to ensure that we say NO to gender violence and rape against women,” Clinton told protestors.

At the request of the Dean of Student Affairs, all the men that were present kneeled as a sign of apology of the selfish acts of men against women.

The university will continue the fight against gender violence with a series of dialogues creating awareness, but also facilitating broader understanding of gender violence.

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