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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

UFS Music rises to academic prominence

2007-10-18

From the left are: Ronella Jansen van Rensburg, Hanna van Schalkwyk, Elene Coetzer en Lizabé Lambrechts

Four postgraduate students gave prominence to the Music Department of the University of the Free State by having four academic articles published by accredited journals, and a fifth published in an international online journal.

It is the first time that a tertiary music institution in South Africa has had so many postgraduate studies published in one year, says Prof Martina Viljoen.

The students who worked under Prof Viljoen's supervision are Hanna van Schalkwyk, senior lecturer in singing at UFS; Ronella Jansen van Rensburg, part-time music lecturer and founder of the Sentraal-Kultuurakademie (Central Culture Academy); Elene Coetzer, also a part-time lecturer and involved in the Mangaung String Project; and Lizabé Lambrechts, who is still studying full-time.

Hanna and Ronella attained their master's degrees and Lizabé honours.

Hanna's research on the unique and at times unorthodox philosophy in singing and method of the pedagogue in singing Sarie Lamprecht (1923-2005) is published in the Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe (Journal for the Humanities).

The study documents interviews held with Lamprecht over more than two years as well as conversations with her most prominent students.

Ronella's study on the relationship between emotional intelligence and musical performance anxiety is divided into two successive articles in the journal Musicus.

Dr Adelene Grobler, Epog director at UFS, was Ronella's co-supervisor.

Elene conducted a qualitative investigation into the Mangaung String Programme in which the social value of this teaching programme is emphasised.

She documented the responses of learners, parents and teachers who are involved in the project. Her article is published in the Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa.

Lizebé reached out to pop culture for her research and wrote about no less a person than the controversial shock-rock-icon Marilyn Manson.

Her study serves as a model analysis for educational work that focuses on popular culture as a didactic instrument.

In this respect Manson's music, which is frequently slated as vulgar or disturbing, is shown as aggressive social comment.

Lizabé's article, which throws light on Manson's bisexual identity, was published as a full-length monograph in the first edition of the overseas online noncejournal.

In 2005 the Department of Music also excelled when it was the first academic music institution in South Africa that published international congress proceedings as a subsidised collection.

The collection contained eminent international authors and was published under the guest editorship of Viljoen.

Die Volksblad – 1.10.07

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