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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

Research conducted on economic impact of recent international soccer and rugby matches for Bloemfontein

2004-09-09

The Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently conducted a survey on the economic impact of the international soccer and rugby games that were played in Bloemfontein earlier this year.

The research focused on the soccer match between Bafana Bafana and the Cape Verdic Isle and the rugby match between the Springboks and Ireland .

“The survey was done as a result of a research agenda about local economic development in Bloemfontein ,” said Dr Lochner Marais, researcher at the centre.

“We conducted the research by doing 402 interviews with soccer supporters and 376 interviews with rugby supporters from outside Bloemfontein ,” said Dr Marais.

The centre distributed questionnaires, collecting the following information on the soccer and rugby supporters: their age, gender and origin, the number of nights spend in Bloemfontein , their household expenditure in Bloemfontein and their rating on the quality of service.

“It is estimated that 10 800 soccer supporters and 27 000 rugby supporters came from outside Bloemfontein . Of the rugby supporters 14,4% were female and 85,6% were men. For the soccer international the percentage was 33% females and 67% males,” said Dr Marais.

The highest number of people who came to watch the soccer game in Bloemfontein (35,8%) was from the Northern Free State . The rugby supporters mainly came from Gauteng (21,8%) and the Northern Free State (18%).

When visiting Bloemfontein soccer supporters spend R912 per household, whilst rugby supporters reached deeper in their pockets and spent R1 807 per household.

“The survey indicated that the two international matches resulted in approximately R58 million been spent in Bloemfontein . Rugby supporters were accountable for the largest part (R48 787 205) spent. The largest chunk of the money spent was on accommodation (R14 593 279). On average soccer and rugby supporters from outside Bloemfontein spent 1,4 and 1,9 nights in Bloemfontein ,” said Dr Marais.

Rugby and soccer supporters were also asked to rate the quality of service received from amongst others hotels, guest houses, restaurants, and transport and entertainment facilities. Soccer supporters rated their satisfaction with services higher as rugby supporters. The rugby supporters gave the services at hotels a 3,9 rating, whilst soccer supporters awarded 4,6 rating out of a possible five.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
9 September 2004

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