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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

Campus-wide poll to determine preferences among current staff and students for language models
2015-10-20

Language poll postponed until Thursday 22 October 2015

Due to the closing down of all UFS campuses on Wednesday 21 October 2015, the language poll has been postponed until Thursday 22 October 2015.

 

Invitation to take part in a campus-wide poll to determine preferences among current staff and students for language models.

As mandated by the Council on 5 June 2015, the senior leadership of the University of the Free State (UFS) has committed itself to a formal review process of the current language policy through a comprehensive process of consultation with all university stakeholders.

Since 19 August 2015, the following public sessions have taken place across all three campuses:

  • Public dialogue for staff and students, Qwaqwa Campus, 19 August 2015
  • Staff submissions, Bloemfontein Campus, 20 August 2015
  • External stakeholder submissions, Bloemfontein Campus, 24 August 2015
  • Public dialogue for staff and students, South Campus, 26 August 2015
  • Alumni submissions, Bloemfontein Campus, 27 August 2015
  • Expert panel discussion for staff and students with Q&A, Bloemfontein Campus, 31 August 2015
  • Staff, students, and external stakeholder submissions, Qwaqwa Campus, 9 September 2015
  • Panel discussion and public dialogue for students, Bloemfontein Campus, 10 September 2015
  • Expert panel discussion for staff and students with Q&A, Bloemfontein Campus, 11 September 2015
  • Student submissions, Bloemfontein Campus, 15 September 2015
  • Staff and student submissions, South Campus, 16 September 2015
  • Convocation submissions, Bloemfontein Campus, 30 September 2015

Further, written and online submissions from the entire university community were put forward until 18 September 2015, while the Convocation had until 30 September 2015 to submit. During the process, the Language Committee has met weekly and discussed the viability, benefits and challenges of various language model options, taking into account institutional, regional, national and global concerns, documents and information.

Following the university’s commitment to open, democratic practice, the UFS calls upon all its current staff and students to participate in a campus-wide poll in order to assist the Language Committee in determining possible preferences among current staff and students for language models. The possible models have emerged from the broad consultation process.

Please note that the campus-wide poll is NOT a formal voting process or referendum and will form only one part of many deciding factors that will be referred to the UFS Council on 20 November 2015 for their deliberations regarding the future of the language policy at the UFS. The poll, conducted by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), will be indicative of the preferences of staff and students for possible language model options, with specific focus on language of instruction. 

The poll will take place at the following venues from 21-28 October 2015, 08:00-16:30, including the weekend:

Bloemfontein Campus: Kestell Residence Gazellie

Qwaqwa Campus: VIP Lounge

South Campus: Conference Hall

To take part in the polling, a valid staff or student card must be produced. Polling will take place on the basis of one poll per current staff member/student.

We look forward to your participation in the poll and hereby thank the entire university community for their ongoing interest and responsible engagement with the review process.

 The UFS Language Committee

 

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