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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:

UFS Doctors make History in South Africa
2011-07-14

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New aortic valve |
Three members of our Faculty of Health Sciences made history by being the first to implant a special new aortic valve in South Africa.
In a combined effort, the Departments of Cardiology, Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery did the first Medtronic CoreValve implant in South Africa on a patient in Universitas Academic Hospital.
With the support of hospital management and the Medtronic company, Prof. Hennie Theron, Prof. Stephen Brown and Dr JP Theron of the Faculty of Health Sciences, with the assistance of Dr Jean-Claude Laborde, performed the operation early on Wednesday morning, 06 July 2011.
The advantage of this new valve is that it can be implanted percutaneously through a catheter from the groin. This eliminates the need for invasive surgery.
The valve is made from porcine pericardium (tissue derived from pigs) and is mounted on an expandable stent, which is threaded along an artery, until it reaches its desired position. Prof. Theron says the valve is especially useful in older patients who suffer from aortic valve disease and pose a high surgical risk. Furthermore, the use of this valve greatly reduces hospitalisation time, in comparison to traditional surgery.
“One patient already received an implant this morning and we hope to finish 2 more today,” Prof. Brown said, emphasizing the swiftness and efficiency of the new valve implanting process.
“It is a complex procedure, but this service can in future be offered to all patients in the public and private sectors of the Free State. It is heartwarming that the academic complex can take the lead in this modern, high-tech therapy.”
For more information on the procedure, please contact Prof. Theron at 051 4053428.