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04 October 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Barend Nagel
BCom degree
Prospective students are invited to apply for the new BCom Business and Financial Analytics 2020 intake.

A new qualification has recently been added to the University of the Free State (UFS) curriculum and 30 prospective students still have the opportunity to form part of the BCom with specialisation in Business and Financial Analytics intake for 2020. The deadline for applications has been extended to 31 October 2019. 

Committed to the 4th industrial revolution

This flagship degree has been designed for the 4th Industrial Revolution as it integrates quantitative analysis, computer science, statistics and business. This new qualification will equip graduates to become high-functioning executives in the modern global business world. 

“The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences identified the need for a BCom programme incorporating some of these skills in a more deliberate way, in order to prepare our graduates for a changing job market,” says Lizette Pretorius, Faculty Manager.

On par with global standards

International institutions such as Harvard Business School, Carnegie Mellon University, Duke University, and Columbia University have led the way by adopting this cohesive approach to business studies. These universities form part of a listing of the 25 top US schools offering Master’s in Business Analytics programmes. 

The UFS is following in these leading institutions as part of its Integrated Transformation Plan (ITP) to produce globally competitive graduates. According to the ITP: “The future state of engaged scholarship will be an important anchor in maintaining the relevance of the academic syllabus, and linking real local needs to the global knowledge project.”

 Click here to complete the application form. 

Please email the form and required documents to Lizette Pretorius at LPretorius@ufs.ac.za.

News Archive

Competition emphasises value of mother-tongue education
2017-11-02

Description: Public Speaking Competition  Tags: Public Speaking Competition  

At the recent Multilingual Debating Competition were, from the left: Anita Muller,
local facilitator; William Magwa, master of ceremonies; Dr Chrismi-Rinda Loth,
project coordinator in the Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment; and
Mabatho Ntsieng, project facilitator in Community Engagement.
Photo: Supplied

The Multilingual Public Speaking Competition has been an annual event in Philippolis since 2013. The competition was established as a result of the Multilingual Information Development Programme (MIDP), a project sponsored by the province of Antwerp in Flanders, Belgium. 

The competition is jointly hosted by the Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment (ULFE) at the University of the Free State (UFS) and the Department of Community Engagement, also from the UFS. 

Debating in your home language
Grade 6 to 9 learners from four schools participated in this year’s competition. Bergmanshoogte Intermediate School, Madikgetla Primary School, Williamsville Primary School, and Springfontein Primary School each entered their three best speakers per grade. 

Olerato Tshiloane, a Grade 7 learner from Madikgetla Primary School, was named best speaker overall. 

Everyone debated on ‘Heritage’
The overall theme of this annual event was ‘Heritage’. Thirty six learners debated in their mother tongue on aspects of this theme, such as its definition, the role it plays in their lives, and the importance thereof. According to Dr Chrismi-Rinda Loth from ULFE, learners have to present their speeches in their mother tongues. “This emphasises the value of the mother tongue/home language within a teaching context,” she says.

This year’s competition saw 20 Afrikaans speeches, 13 in Sesotho, and three in isiXhosa. The multilingual adjudication panel was composed of teachers from the participating schools, and the head adjudicator from the Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV). The ATKV is a partial sponsor of the competition and also provides the participation certificates. 

Dr Loth says ULFE and Community Engagement are looking forward to continue their collaboration, thus contributing to the empowerment of the community.

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