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Well done to Kovsies GradStar top 11!

08 October 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Charl Devenish

Gradstar UFS — The 2019 GradStar programme is all about producing well-rounded students and providing them with opportunities in the world of work, explained Head of UFS Career Services, Belinda Janeke.

Congratulations to the Kovsies top-11 students who made it into the GradStar top-100 programme for 2019!

Each year, 100 South African students are selected through a rigorous four-phase judging process to become part of the GradStar programme. The programme is designed to offer opportunities for employment to previously unrecognised students.

What makes the top 11?

According to the UFS Head of Career Services, Belinda Janeke, the GradStar programme is all about producing a well-rounded student. Approximately 6 000 applications were received from Kovsies, of which 500 were selected based on a personality test. Another test was given to the 500 students who passed the personality test, after which interviews were conducted to determine the top 100 from the UFS.

The students who were selected to represent the UFS exhibited the most potential as future leaders in their respective fields. Apart from academic achievement, contestants were evaluated according to their individual soft skills such as motivation, discipline, altruism, and attitude. This combination promised to deliver top candidates for future employers.

2019 GradStar programme experiences

Throughout the competition, Kovsie contestants were exposed to new people and opportunities to network with various companies in their preferred career fields, where they had the opportunity to share their CVs with potential employers. Contestants were also afforded the opportunity to develop critical problem-solving skills in the world of work. The GradStar top-100 students also have a WhatsApp group where jobs are advertised.

The programme was valuable for the Kovsies; not only did it prepare them for employment, but also provided them with an opportunity for learning and recognising their own strengths and weaknesses as individuals in the working world.

Congratulations to the Kovsies who made it into the GradStar top 100:

Mariné du Toit: Bachelor of Social Work
Nyiko Maluleka: Bachelor of Arts, Corporate and Marketing Communication
Bianca Malan: Bachelor of Accounting, Financial Accounting
Boitumelo Mancoe: Master of Business Administration
Kabelo Mashego: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB)
Kananelo Moletsane: Bachelor of Agriculture
Mudzunga Mukwevho: Bachelor of Accounting, Financial Accounting
Neo Roberts: Bachelor of Science, Information Technology
Refilwe Maimane: Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting
Themba Makhoba: Bachelor of Public Administration
Mpolokeng Mmutle: Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting

News Archive

Profiling of small businesses discussed

2010-06-03

From the left are: Mr Christoff van der Merwe, businessman from Pretoria, Ms Jackie Ntshingila, Provincial Manager of SEDA in the Free State, Prof. Tienie Crous, Dean: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS, Mr Barry Chang from Mijona International in Bloemfontein and Mr Hendrik van der Merwe, businessman from Pretoria.
Photo: Stephen Collett

“We need some kind of innovation to help small businesses in the Free State grow to their full potential.” These were the words of Ms Jackie Ntshingila, Provincial Manager of the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) in the Free State at a breakfast presented by the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein.

The faculty and SEDA presented the breakfast after identifying the need to profile small business development agencies and to get the role-players in the province together to discuss the development of small business enterprises.

“It is important that we start to profile small agencies in the province and a university is a good neutral ground to start an initiative like this,” said Prof. Tienie Crous, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS.

“Small business development agencies are working in silos, there are fragmented reporting lines, a duplication of services and the service is rotated among the same group of small, medium and micro enterprises,” said Ms Ntshingila.

“Students do not see themselves as job creators and entrepreneurs are not contributing optimally to the gross domestic product of the province. Job creation opportunities are also not efficiently reported and there is a competitive approach amongst different business associations,” she said.

Ms Ntshingila proposed a couple solutions: “Establish an electronic database, do government reporting through a systems or database administrator and make a presentation to government for adequate funding for these projects,” she said.

At the breakfast it was proposed that the small business development agencies will now be identified and follow-up meetings will be arranged by the faculty and SEDA.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
2 June 2010

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