Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

UFS Accounting students win Project Alpha competition

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

Childhood passion becomes a successful career

2016-12-19

Dr Makae took up his studies at the South Campus
of the UFS, and now serves as a community vet in Tshwane.
Photo: Anja Aucamp

Dr Thapelo Makae’s youthful passion has been a driving force in his chosen career. He says: “Like any veterinarian, my love for animals started from childhood. Growing up, I always asked myself why animals didn’t have doctors like we kids did, when our pets fell ill or died.” While veterinary services were unknown where he was raised in the Phelindaba location in Mangaung, Bloemfontein, Dr Makae started doing his own research as early as Standard 1 (Grade 3). He affirms, “I’ve always wanted to help these creatures that, it seemed, no one could help.”

Having started his academic journey on the South Campus in the CPP (as the University Preparation Programme was then known), Dr Makae obtained an undergraduate degree in Agriculture, later completing an honours degree in Agriculture. “It was at this stage,” he says, “that I was recruited by Prof Johan Greyling and the late Dr Luis Schwalbach. With their support, I completed my MSc Agric, besides having the opportunity to be a junior lecturer in Animal Physiology. Dr Schwalbach was my supervisor, my mentor, and a veterinarian himself, and I worked very closely with him. He encouraged me to pursue my passion and the dream to go ahead and study Veterinary Medicine.”

Realising that dream, Dr Makae is now employed at the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development as a community veterinarian. Among his many responsibilities, he is charged with serving the communities of the Tshwane Metro, where he visits farmers, assisting them with health and vaccination plans, and providing advice to help them develop their skills.

Dr Makae also seeks opportunities to pass on his dream. “What I am most passionate about is going to schools and giving talks to schoolchildren, especially those from previously disadvantaged communities, who might not know much about Veterinary Medicine,” he says.

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept