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26 August 2022 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Supplied
Katleho Nkosi
Katleho Nkosi’s design, which won him second place in the national design competition during the Student Entrepreneurship Week 2022.

Katleho Nkosi, a fourth-year Education student at the University of the Free State (UFS), obtained second place in a national design competition hosted virtually by Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE). 

The national design competition formed part of the launch of the Student Entrepreneurship Week 2022, which took place at the University of Venda on 18 August 2022. As such, students from many of the universities in the country, including Nkosi, took part in designing a poster that would be used to advertise the event. 

Nkosi is delighted and excited about this accomplishment. “This win was really surprising and unbelievable for me, because obtaining the second-place position means that my work is good,” said Nkosi.

The participants were allowed to conceptualise and submit their final product between 28 June and 15 July 2022. “I had no experience in this space, I only designed content for fun, and I participated in this competition because I was motivated by a friend,” Nkosi highlighted. 

Click to view document  Click here to view poster in full size.


The motivation behind the design

Since the Student Entrepreneurship Week was held at the University of Venda, Nkosi used the vibrancy and colourfulness of Venda as inspiration for his design. “When I was designing the poster, the only thing on my mind was making sure that I put something together that was related to Venda,” he explained. In addition, the theme for the Entrepreneurship Week was ‘Move to Market’, and Nkosi asserts that he tried to integrate the theme with Venda, and this is how the design came about.

The outcome of the competition and future plans

Although Nkosi did not win the competition, he did receive a cash prize for being among the top three. Furthermore, given his accomplishment, Nkosi would like to take part in many more design competitions moving forward. “Now that I have realised that I have the potential to win, I think I can take this as a career path in the future,” he said. Nkosi is also looking at merging his love of teaching with his newfound love for design. “I’m going to try and find the connection between design and education, because I really love to teach, so I could perhaps become a design teacher,” Nkosi expressed

News Archive

Student represents UFS and SA in world orchestra
2015-11-27



The A-list violist, Maja van Dyk 

Among the 100 musicians from 74 countries who performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York as part of the International Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (YPHIL) tour was Maja van Dyk. The viola player was one of two South Africans, and the only University of the Free State (UFS) representative, in the main performance of the tour on 27 September 2015.

“The highlight of the tour was definitely the concert in Carnegie Hall,” said Maja.

The fourth-year BMus student at the UFS Odeion School of Music (OSM) was one of 900 musicians between 18 and 26 years of age who auditioned for the world orchestra.  She reached a major milestone in her music career when she was selected as both our country and our university’s ambassador.

The YPHIL project is a hub for the most powerful young performers from all over the world who spotlight social issues affecting the global collective through music. This objective behind creating one symphonic voice is to unite and empower in an unconventional manner.

Over the years, Maja has gathered a wealth of experience by playing for the MIAGI Youth Orchestra, the South African National Youth Orchestra, the Free State Youth Orchestra, the OSM Camerata, and the Free State Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Bloemfontein and Stellenbosch City Orchestras.

As a member of the National Youth Orchestra, she was invited to tour the country with the world-class Zurich Chamber Orchestra and the Zürcher Kammerorchester in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Her recent international exposure cannot be separated from past stints on the world stage. “I participated in tours of The World Orchestra to Spain and Lebanon, prior to the YPhil tour to New York City this past September,” she said.

The award-winning Maja is currently playing as an ad hoc member for the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. She moved to the Western Cape after she played in her last exam last week.

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