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Kovsie ACT: Highlighting the significance of sustainable energy

24 May 2021 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa

Act_web read more — The 2021 Kovsie ACT Eco-vehicle race puts students’ sustainable energy and critical thinking skills to the test.

The University of the Free State (UFS) Division of Student Affairs’ (DSA) Director of Student Life, Dr WP Wahl, believes the knowledge and skills that students have gained through participating in the 2021 Eco-vehicle project will position them more optimally in the future world of work. “We are also tremendously grateful for the project funding received from merSETA; without their support, none of this would have been possible,” he remarked.

The Kovsie ACT Eco-vehicle race, in conjunction with the overall programme, was established to encourage students to learn more about the technology and logic behind sustainable energy sources and how this can influence the future global society.

This year’s events witnessed students competing according to their UFS residence teams, with Sonnedou, Legatum, Kestell (SonLeTell); Soetdoring, Beyers Naude, Arista (Soetbeyrista); and Roosmaryn, Kagiso, Karee (Kar-is-myn) ending in first, second, and third place respectively, obtaining the highest scores for the races they competed in.

Anton Calitz, Electrical Engineer in University Estates who was the announcer on the day, described the event as one that exceeded his wildest expectations. “From a sustainable energy point of view, the eco-vehicle race results really turned the tables, with lower energy usage per lap being successfully recorded – as anticipated,” he further added.

Andre van Wyk, Client Liaison Officer of merSETA (Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Seta) for the Free State and Northern Cape – as one of the sponsors of the innovative programme – extended warm congratulations to the UFS for hosting an outstanding event. He further applauded the university for its resourcefulness in virtually adding electronic media broadcasts to extend the event to the entire UFS community.

“The Kovsie ACT Eco-vehicle programme was eye-opening and exposed me to the broad field of electronics. It definitely came as a challenge – one I had not anticipated on that level, because at times I couldn’t even see what all the building was leading to, but I just had to put my mind and hands to work – it pushed me to think critically and creatively. I was honoured to have been part of this entire experience and I’m grateful to Anton and his team, as well as the Kovsie ACT office, for being a constant support structure throughout the process, as it was not easy.”

These were the humble words of Sinegugu Sibisi, a University of the Free State (UFS) student who was part of the 2021 Kovsie ACT Eco-vehicle race, where sustainable energy was at the order of the day.

For more information about the Kovsie ACT eco-vehicle skills programme, email ACT at ACT@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

Master’s student awarded Mandela Rhodes scholarship

2015-11-25

Candice Thikeson’s name will be added to the Mandela Rhodes Scholars book
Photo: Valentino Ndaba

Candice Thikeson was recently selected as the only 2016 Mandela Rhodes Scholar from the University of the Free State. She is one of 50 young African postgraduate students, eager to contribute positively to the educational development of the continent.

The Mandela Rhodes scholarship is a fully-funded postgraduate scholarship awarded to promising future leaders by the Mandela Rhodes Foundation. It is named after the former president of our country, Nelson Mandela, and Cecil Rhodes, who was known for his business skills and political influence in South Africa. Instituted in 1999, the scholarship aims to advance scholars who demonstrate the principles of Leadership and Reconciliation embodied by Mandela and Rhodes’s legacy, as they relate specifically to Education and Entrepreneurship.

Thikeson expects the programme will educate her on how to integrate the four pillars in relation to her field of study.

For Thikeson, earning the scholarship served as an endorsement of her dream of becoming an academic. “I want to obtain a PhD, lecture at a university, publish papers, and speak at conferences,” she related. “I also want to produce academics, I want to mentor young people,” she added.

Her academic journey began in 2011 when she pursued a BA Fine Arts degree for a year. Thikeson then transferred to a BA General degree which she completed over two instead of the standard three years. She went on to study an Honours degree in Art History and Visual Culture Studies. In the same year, she travelled to Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (University of Groningen) in the Netherlands as part of an exchange agreement between the university and the UFS, where she completed her mini-dissertation in four months. Both her BA and Honours were passed with distinction. Currently, Thikeson is pursuing a Masters degree at the Department of Art History and Image Studies under the supervision of Prof Suzanne Human.

Some accolades to her name include the Jan Teurlinckx Prize for the best student in Art History (2011), the David Jacobs Prize, awarded to the best student in Philosophy (2013), and the Richard Miles Prize, presented by the Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities (2013). Thikeson was also selected as a member of the Golden Key Honour society in 2012, for her consistent academic excellence.

Last year, Lehlohonolo Mofokeng, Zola Valashiya, and Tumelo Morobane made the UFS proud by graduating as the class of 2015 Mandela Rhodes Scholars.

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