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UFS hosts National Student Entrepreneurship Week (#SEW2020)

22 October 2020 | Story Nitha Ramnath

The National Student Entrepreneurship Week (#SEW2020) is a project of Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) in collaboration with Universities South Africa (USAf).

The University of the Free State (UFS) has been selected to host the National Student Entrepreneurship Week from 2 to 4 November 2020. The programme is presented virtually and will be streamed by the UFS from 2 to 4 November; the events can be accessed live on the Whova app and on Facebook: @EDHEStudententrepreneurship, allowing students to watch at their convenience.

Background of SEW 2020

The National Student Entrepreneurship Week was piloted in 2017 and successfully executed in 2018 by the public universities and TVET colleges. This year, themed #AfroTech, #SEW2020 aims to gain participation from all (26) public universities and TVET colleges.

Objectives of SEW 2020

The objectives of Student Entrepreneurship Week are to raise awareness among students that participation in the economy is not necessarily only through the avenue of formal employment. Students are encouraged to develop innovative and creative ideas to solve many problems facing society. This year, the event allows universities and TVET colleges to showcase the different entrepreneurial activities and achievements of their institutions, which are intended to raise awareness and inspire students towards entrepreneurship and emphasising the benefits of having the best of both worlds as a student and as an entrepreneur.

Format of event

The event promises to offer a high-impact experience that will be easily accessible virtually, with multi-institutional participation and collaboration nationally. Participating universities will contribute to the content of the programme, which will be curated by the EDHE and livestreamed by the EDHE production partner.

The virtual format of the event allows students to preselect sessions in order to create a personalised experience that is customised for their personal schedules and circumstances. Students can watch the live stream as well as missed sessions on YouTube, and further engage with their own institution or with EDHE on social media.

More information on the Student Entrepreneurship Week can be found at https://edhe.co.za/

News Archive

UFS outlines research achievements

2011-09-02

At the launch of the 2010 Annual Research Report, were from the left: Mr Robert Kriger, the director for Policy and Strategy at the National Research Foundation (NRF); Prof. Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector: Academic and Prof. Frans Swanepoel, Senior Director: Research Development.
Photo: Stephen Collett

The University of the Free State (UFS) is well on course for delivery on its most important academic duty as a research university. This was the message that came forward at the launch of the 2010 Annual Research Report of the UFS on 30 August 2011.

Speakers at the launch, which included Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, as well as Prof. Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector: Academics outlined the key strategies and achievements of the UFS for the 2010 academic year. This included the establishment of a Postgraduate School at the UFS, the first of its kind at a public university in South Africa. Prof. Hay told guests that the aim of the Postgraduate School was to broaden research and deepens scholarship on postgraduate education in the country. She highlighted some initiatives the UFS undertook in 2010 to build and maintain its intellectual capital. Some of these initiatives included the appointment of seven senior professors and recruiting more female and black scholars and academics.

Also speaking at the event was Mr Robert Kriger, the director for Policy and Strategy at the National Research Foundation (NRF). Kriger reflected on the brilliant minds of scholars such as Archie Mafeje, Lewis Nkosi and Dennis Brutus and argued for efforts to increase the country’s research output.

Some highlights of the 2010 Annual Research Report:

The total funding available for research at the UFS increased from approximately R199 million in 2009 to just over R210 million in 2010. A total of R31.8 million was made available from central university funds.
In 2010 the UFS was home to 92 NRF-rated researchers. During 2010, four researchers applied for re-evaluation and of these, two improved their rating, while a further five received a first-time rating.
The Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences continue to be the most prolific producer of publications in accredited journals, while the Faculty of Education has shown a 54% increase in its publication output.
Staff members in the Physics department at the UFS Qwaqwa Campus published 22 papers in international peer-reviewed journals during 2010.
Also at the Qwaqwa Campus: Ms Khethiwe Mtshali,a postgraduate student in the parasitology research unit of the Department of Zoology and Entomology, received a best Honours presenter award at the 1^st Annual Research symposium of the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa.

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