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05 October 2020 | Story Nitha Ramnath | Photo Supplied
Haneke van Zyl and Mojalefa Mosala.

This year, two finalists from the University of the Free State School of Accountancy have made the top-35 South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) competition. Mojalefa Mosala and Haneke van Zyl were both selected from a number of entries after a rigorous selection process by SAICA.  

 “The selection of the 35 finalists has taken longer than expected due to the amount of entries received, and the calibre of our entrants – we had a difficult task to select the finalists,” commented SAICA. 

Mojalefa ‘Jeff’ Mosala is a Chartered Accountancy lecturer in the School of Accountancy. He received the Innovative Teaching and Learning Award for his ground-breaking and value-adding work on community engagement presented at the South African Higher Education Community Engagement Forum (SAHECEF) in 2019. 

He is chairperson of the SAICA Bloemfontein District Forum and is involved in SAICA’s mathematics camps. Mosala also participates in the governance structures of several non-profit organisations. This includes serving at national level as an investment and audit committee member for the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA). He also serves as director of finance in the Free State Cricket Union (FSCU), an affiliate of Cricket South Africa, and as board member and chairperson of the finance committee.

Mosala believes in the value of servanthood. “I understand the responsibility that comes with my abilities; I pursue relevance in the modern age as a young CA(SA) by continually seeking to add value. That is how I approach my teaching, mentoring, and leadership responsibilities,” he says.

Haneke van Zyl is the Programme Director: General Accountancy and Research within the School of Accountancy. She joined the school in 2015, after which she obtained her master’s degree and was later promoted to Programme Director. A lecturer and PhD candidate focusing on student accounting language comprehension, Van Zyl plays an active role in a SAICA academic-funded literacy project in collaboration with the School of Accountancy. 

Van Zyl has secured two professional programme accreditations to expand opportunities for current students. Through her willingness to learn and hunger to develop, she ensures that her voice is heard. She is a mother of two and lives by the saying, ‘good leaders do not tell you what to do, they show you how it is done.’ 



News Archive

One, two, three – is your thesis done?
2016-08-26

Description: three-minute-thesis  Tags: three-minute-thesis

Winners of the UFS Three-Minute-Thesis competition.
From the left: Thutukile Jita, Natural/Social Sciences
PhD winner; Saheed Sabiu, Natural/Health Sciences
and audience-favourite PhD winner;
Matseliso Mkotywa, master’s audience-favourite
winner; Zingisile Mbo, Natural/Health Sciences
master’s winner.
Photo: Charl Devenish

“Next time you have three minutes to spare, try to formulate your master’s or doctoral thesis,” says Dr Henriëtte van den Berg, Director of the Postgraduate School at the University of the Free State (UFS).

The much anticipated Three-Minute-Thesis (3MT) Competition took place at the UFS Bloemfontein Campus on Friday 19 August 2016. Diverse and interesting research projects were discussed, giving one a glimpse into months and even years of hard work and dedication.

A learning opportunity for candidates
The 3MT competition is an international event founded at the University of Queensland, Australia. It is divided into master’s and PhD categories.  At the UFS competition, the master’s section was dominated by the Medical and Natural Sciences, in contrast with the PhD section’s focus on Social Sciences. “The competition is a learning opportunity for our UFS candidates,” says Dr Henriëtte van den Berg.

Thought-provoking research presented
Interesting methodologies and research questions sustained the academic excellence the candidates pride themselves in. Saheed Sabiu, PhD candidate and winner, constructed his thesis around, Waste to Health: Corn silk in the Management of Kidney Diseases. “Use corn silk (white fibre around corn) in the same manner as a tea bag, to help manage kidney diseases,” says Sabiu.

Audience members also had the opportunity to ask the candidates questions relating to their thesis topic.

Winners at the event:
•    Master’s winner: Zingisile Mbo
•    PhD winner: Natural/ Health Science: Saheed Sabiu
•    PhD winner: Natural/Social Sciences: Thutukile Jita

The winners of each category received a cash prize and will represent the UFS at the national 3MT competition, hosted by the UFS in November this year.

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