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01 October 2019
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Story Xolisa Mnukwa
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Photo Xolisa Mnukwa
From the left; Gift Taku, 2019 Doty winner; Reabetswe Mabine, Doty Coordinator Tshepo Zweni, first runner-up and Jacobeth Selinga, second runner-up
The votes have been tallied, and after much deliberation, the UFS is proud to announce Gift Taku as the winner of the 2019 KovsieGear Designer of the Year (DOTY) Competition!
Tshepo Zwane and Jacobeth Selinga won second and third place respectively, with innovative designs that complied with the assessment requirements, based on originality of the design, adherence to the brand guidelines, creativity, and other criteria.
Gift’s design triumphed with 845 votes on the UFS KovsieLife webpage, as well as in the presentation in front of a judging panel.
Since 2016, KovsieGear has been discovering local (UFS staff and students) graphic designers and giving them a platform to showcase their work through DOTY, which runs annually. The aim of the competition is to support local talent by giving entrants an opportunity to come up with creative designs that are unique to the university and which will be used on limited-edition apparel in the store, as well as getting featured in the KovsieGear catalogue.
The competition has since fashioned the best clothing-logo designs the university has ever seen and continues to motivate and empower students to make positive contributions to the Kovsie campus culture and brand.
For more information about DOTY contact Reabetswe Mabine at MabineR@ufs.ac.za
The winning design by Gift Taku:
Funding of R8.7million for skills development in manufacturing and teacher training signed over to UFS
2017-06-19
The MerSETA (Skills and Training Authority for Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Industries) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the University of the Free State (UFS) for a grant of approximately R8.7million on 14 June 2017, which will be disbursed over a three-year period.
UFS seeks to bridge the skills gap
As a response to the need for skills development in the manufacturing, engineering and related industries sector, and as an institution of higher learning optimally placed to serve the population of central South Africa, the UFS proposed a partnership with MerSETA to address challenges in the sector. The interventions that MerSETA will fund include training for 600 vocational teachers, research and development of a green building mechanical index, in-service training for 60 IT Teachers and microbotics classes for 100 students.
The CEO of MerSETA, and UFS alumnus Dr Raymond Patel, said the funding for rare skills such as in science and engineering are of great importance for the country. The ability to train teachers and to upskill them will yield great results for the economy as a whole. Rector and Vice-Chancellor Prof Francis Petersen said the UFS partnership with SETAs and with MerSETA in particular should be mutually beneficial, and went a long way in integrating first-generation university students to be better-prepared for university studies.
Collaboration and support key within university departments
The delegates visited the Departments of Education and Engineering Sciences on the Bloemfontein Campus, where they met project leaders Louis Lagrange from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Dr Nixon Teis, Faculty of Education, and Pat Lamusse, Institutional Advancement. Present at the signing ceremony were members of the Rectorate, the Acting Dean of the faculty of Education, Prof Loyiso Jita, and Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Prof Danie Vermeulen, as well as researchers who will be working on the green building mechanical use index and other MerSETA representatives.