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UFS team makes it to top four in CFA University Research Challenge

18 November 2020 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo Supplied

CFA CHALLENGE_web read more — The UFS team, from the left: Monique Harcourt, Dawid Potgieter, Atalanta Watson, and Zoe Travers.

One of two teams from the University of the Free State (UFS) performed exceptionally well and made it to the top four in the extremely competitive local Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) University Challenge.

The CFA Society South Africa recently hosted the 12th annual local edition of the CFA Institute University Research Challenge. The research challenge is an annual global competition in equity research hosted by the CFA Institute, a global representative body for chartered financial analyst (CFA) charter holders. During the research challenge, teams from different universities locally and internationally compete on three levels – more than 1 000 universities compete annually.

"Taking part in the CFA challenge was a wonderful opportunity where we learnt new skills and gained industry-specific experience, which will be invaluable to us as we graduate and embark on our journey as professionals. We are proud to have represented Kovsies in the finals and this proved to us, once again, that hard work pays off, " said the UFS team.

Two teams of four were selected to represent the UFS during the 2020 challenge. Team selection was based on students’ performance during the first semester of their BCom Honours (specialisation in Financial Economics and Investment Management) in the Department of Economics and Finance. During the challenge, students assumed the role of a (sell-side) research analyst and had to write a concise report that covered various aspects related to the company’s business activities, structure, governance, finances, etc., which was presented via Zoom to a panel of judges from the CFA Society South Africa.

Dr Ivan van der Merwe, the team’s adviser from the Department of Economics and Finance, commented: “It was a pleasure to work with a team that showed so much dedication and was willing to go the extra mile. The experience they gained during this challenge will stand them in good stead and it was a real confidence builder for them to successfully complete a very stressful live presentation and subsequent question session. They made us proud and set the standard for aspiring Finance students at Kovsies.”

News Archive

A call for next generation of professors: Apply for the Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Scholars’ Programme

2014-12-19

Examples of the rector's prestige scholars' international footprint: Dr Olihile Sebolai, Fulbright scholar (left) returned to the UFS after six months at the University of Birmingham and three at the University of Missouri. Dr Cilliers van den Berg (right) visited Cornell University on a ten-month sabbatical.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Scholars’ Programme (PSP) seeks to identify, develop and promote the next cohort of the most promising and talented UFS academic members of staff who obtained a doctoral degree within the last five years or will graduate by June 2015.

Scholars identified benefit from an intensive programme of academic and professional support that includes an advanced residential programme, exposure to leading scholars, concentrated reading and writing programmes, high-level seminar participation and presentation, nuanced publication schedules and personal mentoring and advice, including participation in the annual PSP mock NRF rating and the development of a postdoctoral intellectual project for funding submission (Thuthuka, and similar).

Past prestige scholars have become Fulbright scholars, received funding from among others the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Erasmus Mundus, NRF Blue Skies, Thuthuka, etc. They have spent time at universities in Canada, the USA, United Kingdom, Europe and Japan.

This year the selection process will be anticipated by pre-selection. Final selection to the programme will take place in September 2015. The selection is highly competitive, and aimed at those young scholars with the potential to obtain upper-level NRF ratings (Y1 and P).

Criteria for selection:

Recently obtained a PhD degree.
Evidence of an active publication record.
Early recognition of scholarly work, e.g. successful funding/grant applications and academic awards.
The early development of a post-doctoral intellectual project that shows evidence of scholarly “potential” (defined by the NRF Y-category).
Indication of the young scholar’s understanding of what their envisaged postdoctoral endeavours will contribute to the body of disciplinary knowledge.
Full participation in the pre-selection residential programme and activities is a requirement for selection.

Call for interest: 2015 (PDF)

Requests for further information can be directed to Prof Jackie du Toit at dutoitjs@ufs.ac.za.

Applications close on 16 February 2015.

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