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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

Three UFS researchers attend cactus pear congress

2017-05-05

Dr Maryna de Wit, one of the
UFS delegation team was appointed
coordinator for Agro-Processing
and Post-Harvest Technology during
the congress

Dr Alba du Toit, also one of the members
of the UFS delegation during the
congress at the University of Chile
in Santiago, Chile.
Photos: Supplied

Dr Alba du Toit, a junior lecturer in Consumer Science at the University of the Free State (UFS), presented her research at the recent IX International Congress on Cactus Pear and Cochineal at the University of Chile in Santiago, Chile. The congress was themed, “CAM Crops for a Hotter and Drier World”.

Dr Du Toit, Prof HO de Waal and Dr Maryna de Wit, from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at UFS, attended the five-day conference held between 26 and 30 March 2017.

Congress a platform for networking
The congress, held every three years since 1993, gathers cactus pear researchers, growers and processing managers from Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa to review current research trends by networking to form new collaborations that could lead to increased efficiency and shared knowledge. They also present new findings and plan for future research.

Great achievements for researchers
Dr Du Toit said: “My research on cactus pears focused on the utilisation of the slimy substance found in the cactus cladodes as a functional ingredient in innovative nutraceutical food products”. Functional foods are foods that promote health or prevent disease through adding or omitting specific ingredients. She also received the International Society of Horticultural Science award for best student oral presentation.

Dr De Wit also presented her research and was appointed coordinator for Agro-Processing and Post-Harvest Technology at the congress.

Dr Herman Fouché, Affiliated Researcher at the Department of Soil-, Crop- and Climate Sciences at UFS, developed “kuilmoes”, a type of silage from pulped cactus pear fruit, mixed with lucerne, in collaboration with Prof de Waal, which was also presented.at the congress.

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