Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
23 September 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Frans Koning recently obtained a CERA accredited enterprise risk management (ERM) qualification from the Actuarial Society of South Africa.

“If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.”

“During and after planning, ensure that you identify all risks, since it would be the risks that you did not identify that might sink you.” 

These are two of the beliefs of Frans Koning, Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of the Free State (UFS), whose outputs in life – whether as lecturer or risk manager – are about planning. 

Koning, a qualified actuary with an interest in corporate governance, has been investing in his growth and development for the past three years by enrolling and obtaining an enterprise risk management (ERM) qualification from the Actuarial Society of South Africa, which is a member of the CERA Global Association (CGA). Having a Chartered Enterprise Risk Actuary (CERA) credential means that he worked through a world-class curriculum that is recognised globally and transferable internationally. This qualification gives professionals greater exposure to the C-suite and leadership, while empowering them to become a more highly valued resource for a company. 

Pulling out all the stops

CGA describes itself as a body that provides accredited risk professionals with strong ERM knowledge to drive better business decisions in finance and insurance. It associates characteristics such as professionalism, ethics and trust, impeccable standards and integrity with students who have obtained the CERA credential. “These professionals can communicate ideas effectively with leadership and is qualified to play varying roles within an organisation, from risk manager to chief risk officer and more,” it states. 

He had to pull out all the stops to obtain this qualification. “This was about 400 hours of study; and absolutely worth it. Since it was very interesting, I did not consider it hard work,” says Koning, who believes in a positive outlook on life. “I have never seen a successful pessimist,” he says. 

This qualification enables him to add extra value in the classroom, teaching Risk Management. Discussing hard questions in class, linking it to practice, i.e., modelling COVID-19 and discussing its effect on life insurance, is what he loves about this profession. He misses student interaction in the classroom, saying that interaction and discussions are not the same with a Blackboard/Teams/Zoom meeting.

A multitude of opportunities 

Koning, who has been with the university since 2003, believes his motivation of students makes a difference in their lives. “Teaching students and seeing them grow into actuaries and chief executive officers of companies gives me great satisfaction,” he states.

He lectures Life Contingencies, which is about calculating life insurance premiums and reserves, as well as Asset and Liability Management, which teaches students about managing the liabilities arising from selling insurance and managing the assets backing these. 

Teaching students and seeing them grow into actuaries and chief executive officers of companies gives me great satisfaction. – Frans Koning

 

As an independent non-executive director (NED) at African Unity Life (Ltd), he also chairs the risk committee and serves as a member of the audit committee. Koning is of the opinion that this qualification will be useful in more board positions than NED. This is but one of his options. According to him, there are a multitude of opportunities in the private sector, as all entities manage risk.

“I also intend to do some research in the space of enterprise risk management, something which I enjoy,” he adds. 

News Archive

Kesa and Wayde biggest stars at KovsieSport Awards
2017-10-03

Description: 'Awards KovsieSport 2017 Tags: Awards KovsieSport 2017

Wayde van Niekerk was unable to attend the KovsieSport Awards.
Steven Swarts, his stepfather, received the award for KovsieSport
Senior Sportsman of the Year from Prof Francis Petersen (left),
Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State,
on his behalf.
Photo: Mlungisi Louw/Volksblad


It took Kesa Molotsane seven years of hard work and patience to excel, and all this time she has been a Kovsie. Unlike some other sporting greats, success didn’t come overnight for her. 

The star athlete had an amazing year and was crowned KovsieSport Senior Sportswoman of the Year, while Wayde van Niekerk is the KovsieSport Senior Sportsman of the Year for a fifth consecutive time. The 400 m Olympic Champion surpassed the record held by himself and Franz Kruger for most successive sports awards for men (four), and equalled Kruger’s record (five) for the most men’s titles overall.

Blose and Chawane top juniors

The cream of the crop was honoured at the KovsieSport Awards, held in collaboration with the Volksblad Free State Sport Stars Awards, at Monte Bello in Bloemfontein on 27 September 2017.

Kwenzo Blose, who represented the South African U20 rugby team at the Junior World Cup, was named Junior Sportsman for a second consecutive year. The netball player Khanyisa Chawane is the KovsieSport Junior Sportswoman of the Year. She captained the South African U21 netball team at the World Youth Netball Champs.

The blind athlete Louzanne Coetzee and her guide Khothatso Mokone received a Special Award for Disabled Sport. Coetzee took part in the Paralympic Games and has set many records, such as in the 5 000 m (T11).

Hard work over many years

Molotsane competed at the World Cross-country Championships in Kampala, is the leader of the Spar Women’s Grand Prix 10 km series, and represented South Africa at the World Student Games. The Assistant Officer at KovsieSport says being the best female athlete is humbling. 

“It took me long enough to get here and it needed a lot of work from my side over many years. I have been with Kovsies for, like, seven years and I am only getting this after so long.”
She also commended Karla and Tanya Mostert who was nominated with her. “Karla has been a motivation for little kids from primary school up until high school learners. She has always been there and knows what it means to really be a sport star. 

“And her younger sister Tanya is the upcoming one. It is amazing to be on stage with both of them.”

KovsieSport Awards:
Participants in World Student Games in Tapei: Arné Nel (tennis), Hendrik Maartens (athletics), Janke van der Vyver (badminton), Kesa Molotsane (athletics), Lienke de Kock (tennis), Maryke Brits (athletics), Rynardt van Rensburg (athletics), Tsepang Sello (athletics).
Special Award for Disabled Sport: Louzanne Coetzee and Khothatso Mokone
Special Awards: Maryka Holtzhausen (netball), Janine de Kock, Marnus Kleinhans (tennis), Ans Botha, Rufus Botha (both athletics), Nicole Walraven (hockey) and Godfrey Tenoff (soccer)
Junior Sportswoman of the Year: Khanyisa Chawane (netball)
Junior Sportsman of the Year: Kwenzo Blose (rugby)
Senior Sportswoman of the Year: Kesa Molotsane (athletics)
Senior Sportsman of the Year: Wayde van Niekerk (athletics)

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept