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26 October 2021 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Supplied
Tumelo Robert Sekee from the Faculty of Health Sciences, 1st runner-up will be competing for big prize in the PhD category at the national leg of the competition and Emmie Chiyindiko, from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, winner of the UFS 3MT Competition.

Emmie Chiyindiko from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and Tumelo Robert Sekee from the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State were victorious in the PhD category during this year’s Three-Minute Thesis Competition held on 1 October 2021. 

Hosted virtually by the UFS Postgraduate School, tension ran high at this year’s institutional leg of the competition, with all participants putting their best foot forward. 

Winners from each faculty competed against each other for the UFS Three-Minute Thesis title. Chiyindiko was a winner with her 3MT thesis titled, Breaking the walls of energy poverty, and Sekee emerged victorious with his thesis titled, The ecology of flaviviruses in central South Africa, from a total of 15 participants – six PhD and eight master's participants.

Prof Witness Mudzi, Director of the Postgraduate School, says: “The university has been part of the competition from 2013 and started hosting it in 2016. Research is an important pillar of any institution of higher learning. It provides an opportunity for both the student and the institution to gain deep insight into a research area. Research allows for the generation of sustainable solutions to problems.”

“The most fundamental purpose of the Three-Minute Thesis competition is to support the mandate of the University of the Free State, which is to be a research-led institution, by increasing the number of research outputs and publications,” says Prof Mudzi.

The Three-Minute Thesis Competition is hosted at 200 universities around the world and is open to PhD and master's students. Participants are required to present their research in just 180 seconds – in a way that is understood by an audience with no background in the research area.

Melisha Moodley from the Faculty of Health Sciences won the master’s degree category with her 3MT thesis titled, Characteristics and outcomes of infants with cytomegalovirus infection in Bloemfontein.

Only PhD candidates will participate in the next round, happening nationally on 29 October 2021, with two participants each from the University of the Free State, University of Johannesburg, University of South Africa, University of KwaZulu-Natal, North-West University, Wits University, Rhodes University, Durban University of Technology, and Central University of Technology.

Prof Mudzi says: “Universities need to focus on the generation of new knowledge to solve critical problems in the country, on the continent, and globally. The Three-Minute Thesis competition aims to achieve this by encouraging the increase of research output produced by master’s and PhD students.” 

Winners and runners-up of the competition are as follows:

For the PhD category
Winner: Emmie Chiyindiko (Natural and Agricultural Sciences)
First runner-up: Tumelo Robert Sekee (Health Sciences)
Second runner-up: Sander van Leusden (Natural and Agricultural Sciences)

For the master's category
Winner: Melisha Moodley (Health Sciences)
First runner-up: Sunaida Sumaya Surtie (Economic and Management Sciences)
Second runner-up: Lumanyano Ngcayisa (the Humanities)

The National Three-Minute thesis will be hosted virtually on 29 October 2021. PhD finalists from each South African university will compete for the 3MT SA title.  Who will reign supreme? Join to find out.

Date: Friday 29 October 2021
Time: 10:00 

For more information, email the Postgraduate School at postgrad@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

UFS Communication and Brand Management Department once again honoured for ground-breaking communication work
2016-04-29

Description: Martie en Leonie award Tags: Martie en Leonie award

The UFS was announced as winner in the internal communication category of the African Excellence Award after entering the B Safe Take Action campaign. The university also received a Gold Award at the 2016 PRISM Awards. Here are Martie Nortjé, Assistant Director: Communication and Brand Management, and Leonie Bolleurs, Assistant Director: Internal Communication, from the University of the Free State.
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

Within a week, the Department of Communication and Brand Management at the University of the Free State brought home two gold awards. In April this year, the department was announced as winner in the Internal Communication Category of the African Excellence Awards for the B Safe Take Action campaign. They also received Gold at the 2016 PRISM Awards for the KovsieGear entry.
 
PRISM Award for the UFS KovsieGear shop
 
Martie Nortjé, Assistant Director: Branding and Merchandise, attended the PRISM Award function in Johannesburg where she received the Gold award for the UFS KovsieGear shop for the best entry in the corporate communication category. This is the second consecutive year that the department received Gold at the PRISM Awards. Last year, the department received Gold for the B Safe Take Action campaign.
 
The idea for a university-owned shop was initiated in 2013. Launched in January 2014, KovsieGear is used to strengthen the brand and creating a sense of ownership among all stakeholders. The KovsieGear team is grateful for the continuous support of staff and students, as well as alumni.
 
The PRISM awards of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA) are Africa’s most sought-after award in the public relations industry, and are presented to public relations and communication professionals who have incorporated strategy, creativity, and professionalism successfully into public relations and communication programmes and strategies, showcasing a successful public relations campaign.
 
African Excellence Award for B Safe Take Action Campaign
 
The B Safe Take Action campaign also received an award recently at a gala event hosted by the African Excellence Awards in Cape Town. Leonie Bolleurs, Project Manager of the B Safe Take Action campaign, received the award on behalf of the university.
 
It is of cardinal importance for the university that its students, staff, and assets are safe. Once again, this award demonstrates that the university is serious about the safety of its staff and students. This is especially so, since it is the objective of the campaign to develop a culture of safety awareness in students and staff alike.
 
The hosts of the African Excellence Awards are The Communication Director, the magazine for Corporate Communications and Public Relations (PR) in Europe, which enjoys worldwide distribution. According to Rudolf Hetzel, Chairman of the jury and publisher of The Communication Director, the African Excellence Awards are an opportunity for all those working in the field of PR and communications throughout Africa to come together, and honour ground-breaking communication campaigns and projects.
 
Quality work
 
“I am extremely proud of the Communication and Brand Management team for performing excellently once again in national and continental awards programmes. The awards are a good benchmark for the quality and standard of the work we produce,” said Lacea Loader, Director of the Department of Communication and Brand Management.  
 
In the past two years, the department also received other awards for their work. This include:
-    UFS #FaceOfFacebook campaign received a Gold Quill Excellence Award from the International Association for Business Communicators (IABC), both internationally and in the Africa region.
-    B Safe Take Action campaign received a Gold Quill Merit Award from the IABC, both internationally and in the Africa region.
-    UFS #FaceOfFacebook campaign received a Bronze Stevie Award from the International Business Awards (IBA).
-    B Safe Take Action campaign received a Bronze Stevie Award from the IBA.
-    #UFStoday Facebook campaign received a Merit Award from Marketing Advancement Communication in Education (MACE).
-    The NSFAS awareness campaign received a Merit Award from MACE.
 

 

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