Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
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

Palestinian delegation visit marks new bilateral relations
2015-11-27



Prof Jonathan Jansen and His Excellency Mr Hashem Dajani
Photo: Charl Devenish

The Office of International Affairs hosted the official visit of the Ambassador of Palestine, His Excellency Mr Hashem Dajani, to the University of the Free State (UFS) on 16-17 November 2015. Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, welcomed the Ambassador and the Palestinian delegation to the Bloemfontein Campus. During the visit, they met with senior management of the university, including Dr Karen Lazenby (Registrar: Systems and Administration), Beata Mtyingizana (Director of International Affairs) and JC Van der Merwe (Deputy Director at the Institute of Reconciliation and Social Justice).

The visit marked the finalisation of a scholarship initiative which offers placement of Palestinian students to study at the UFS. The new Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship programme will recognise academic excellence and merit in undergraduate, postgraduate, as well as doctoral academic disciplines.

One of the strategic objectives of the UFS is that of internationalisation, which is strengthened by the scholarship programme. With the focus on Palestine, the university’s international footprint in non-traditional regions of the world, such as the Middle East, will therefore be highlighted.

To conclude the visit, the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice hosted a film screening featuring ‘Jerusalem, the east side story’. The documentary mainly looks at the past forty years of Israeli military occupation policies in Jerusalem and the subsequent impact on the city and its people.

“Peace in Palestine is key to world peace,” Ambassador Dajani said. “The issue of self-determination is central to the Palestinian effort, and, through the assistance of the international community, it can it be realised.”

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