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16 November 2020 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath

In this webinar, Prof Brownhilder Neneh of the University of the Free State, and Christopher Rothmann, co-founder of LiquidCulture, discuss the intersection between the two fields of science and entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship and the university curriculum from an interdisciplinary perspective. The webinar will provide insight into entrepreneurship at universities, particularly the UFS, advancing entrepreneurship development and entrepreneurship-related programmes that are student focused, and illustrate the critical role that entrepreneurship plays in the lives of students.

This webinar is part of a series of three webinars on Interdisciplinarity that is presented from November to December 2020 via Microsoft Teams for a duration of 45 minutes each. The webinar topics in the series explore the intersection between Neuroscience and Music, between Science and Entrepreneurship, and between Science and Visual Arts.  

Date: Tuesday 24 November 2020
Topic: The intersection between science and entrepreneurship 
Time: 13:00-13:45 (SAST)
RSVP: Alicia Pienaar, pienaaran1@ufs.ac.za by 23 November 2020 
Platform: Microsoft Teams

Introduction and welcome

Prof Corli Witthuhn 
Vice-Rector: Research at the University of the Free State 


Presenters

Prof Brownhilder Neneh 

Prof Neneh is Associate Professor and Academic Chair (HOD) in the Department of Business Management at the University of the Free State.  She is an NRF-rated researcher in the field of entrepreneurship and small business development. Her research is primarily based in the field of entrepreneurship, where she looks at different aspects of a business venture – from business gestation activities to performance, growth, and exit.  She also focuses on some niche areas in entrepreneurship, such as women and student entrepreneurship. She was a 2019 winner of the Emerald Literati Awards in the category Outstanding and Highly Commended papers. 

Christopher Rothmann – Co-founder of LiquidCulture

Liquid Culture (LC) was started by Christopher Rothmann and Dr Errol Cason in the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology in 2018. They produce yeast in its purest liquid form. LC is the only company in Africa to do so. Their yeast is mainly used by breweries for the fermentation of beer and they have since also branched out to the baking and distillery industries. Christopher was awarded the joint runner-up position in the Existing Tech Business category of the 2019 Entrepreneurship Intervarsity.

News Archive

Deaf Awareness Month empowers the hearing impaired
2015-09-21

There are more sign languages in the world than spoken languages. About 600 000 deaf South Africans have the South African Sign Language (SASL) as their first language. There are about 40 schools for the deaf in South Africa. 90% of all deaf children are born to hearing parents. Only about 30% of speech is visible on the lips.

How many of these fundamental facts did you know?

Deaf Awareness Month serves to educate hearing communities about issues that the deaf population face on a daily basis, as well as to honour the history and culture of people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. For the past 70 years, the University of the Free State (UFS) has dedicated September to hosting events around the topic of hearing impairment.

The theme of ‘With South African Sign Language rights, our children can!’

This year’s theme had learners from Bartimea School for the Deaf and Blind, hearing impaired UFS students, and Prof Jonathan Jansen engaged in a conversation around empowerment at a picnic held on Monday 7 September 2015 at the Red Square on the Bloemfontein Campus.

Through a sign language interpreter, Matshela, a grade 12 learner, explained that he felt empowered by the efforts the university has made to embrace and empower individuals with disabilities. He then revealed his intentions of pursuing Information Technology or Social Work studies at Kovsies.

Clifford Machete, a first-year Administration student at the university, stated how sign language interpreters gave him an ‘I can’ attitude when he first arrived at university.  “As a deaf person, I see that I am able to learn with the help of sign language interpreters. There is accessibility at the university, and I am so proud to be a student here and part of Deaf Awareness Month.”

Susan Lombaard, Lecturer and Acting Chairperson at the Department of South African Sign Language, believes that Deaf Awareness Month is about promoting human dignity.

“We want to show the world that deaf people can do everything, and that their language is as strong and important as any spoken language.”

For more information regarding Deaf Awareness Month activities, contact the South African Sign Language Department on 051 401 2251.

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