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29 March 2022
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Story Teli Mothabeng
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Philmon Bitso, Student Recruitment Officer, with the top-10 cohort of the class of 2021 Free State Star of Stars.
The Department of Student Recruitment Services at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted its annual Free State Star of Stars competition at the Amanzi Private Game Reserve during the first week of March. The event saw some of the brightest young minds in the Free State inducted as UFS first-year students into this year’s top-10 cohort for the competition. This marks the first Star of Stars event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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This new cohort consists of a dynamic group of academically gifted students from Quintile 1-3 schools in the Free State who are currently enrolled for different UFS academic programmes, ranging from Medicine, Law, Education, and various Bachelor of Science courses. Many of these students had to overcome insurmountable challenges to perform as well as they did in their Grade 12 academic year and to become part of the top-10 cohort for the class of 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Student Recruitment Services was forced to take a different approach to celebrate these deserving students; consequently, a weekend-long induction camp was the substitute for the annual gala dinner.
Apply for the 2022 Free State Star of Stars competition
The UFS realised the need to establish a platform that recognises and celebrates the diverse and, in most instances, difficult circumstances that disadvantaged schools (Quintile 1-3) are facing. Consequently, the Star of Stars competition was developed and established in 2016. This competition provides disadvantaged Grade 12 learners from all districts in the Free State an opportunity to showcase their excellence, while motivating them to aspire to achieve more.
Profiling of small businesses discussed
2010-06-03
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From the left are: Mr Christoff van der Merwe, businessman from Pretoria, Ms Jackie Ntshingila, Provincial Manager of SEDA in the Free State, Prof. Tienie Crous, Dean: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS, Mr Barry Chang from Mijona International in Bloemfontein and Mr Hendrik van der Merwe, businessman from Pretoria.
Photo: Stephen Collett |
“We need some kind of innovation to help small businesses in the Free State grow to their full potential.” These were the words of Ms Jackie Ntshingila, Provincial Manager of the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) in the Free State at a breakfast presented by the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein.
The faculty and SEDA presented the breakfast after identifying the need to profile small business development agencies and to get the role-players in the province together to discuss the development of small business enterprises.
“It is important that we start to profile small agencies in the province and a university is a good neutral ground to start an initiative like this,” said Prof. Tienie Crous, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS.
“Small business development agencies are working in silos, there are fragmented reporting lines, a duplication of services and the service is rotated among the same group of small, medium and micro enterprises,” said Ms Ntshingila.
“Students do not see themselves as job creators and entrepreneurs are not contributing optimally to the gross domestic product of the province. Job creation opportunities are also not efficiently reported and there is a competitive approach amongst different business associations,” she said.
Ms Ntshingila proposed a couple solutions: “Establish an electronic database, do government reporting through a systems or database administrator and make a presentation to government for adequate funding for these projects,” she said.
At the breakfast it was proposed that the small business development agencies will now be identified and follow-up meetings will be arranged by the faculty and SEDA.
Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
2 June 2010