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29 March 2022
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Story Teli Mothabeng
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Photo Supplied
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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.
Internationally-renowned futurist proposes innovation in corporate management
2016-05-10
Pieter Geldenhuys, guest speaker at the seminar, who mapped the future of corporate management (left) with Dr Vic Coetzee, Senior Director: Information and Communication Technology Services at the UFS (right).
Photo: Hatsu Mphatsoe
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Humans need to adapt their thinking to the world’s changes. This is Pieter Geldenhuys’s conviction.
The Information and Communication Technology Services (ICT) at the University of the Free State hosted a seminar on 22 April 2016 at the Bloemfontein Campus. Geldenhuys, the Director of the Institute for Technology Strategy and Innovation at North-West University and internationally-renowned futurist, presented his views on technology, innovation, and corporate management on this occasion.
Geldenhuys, a well- known speaker, academic, and futurist, is in the business of identifying opportunities in the changing technological and social landscape with the aim of assisting companies to prepare for the future, while being an active agent in defining it. Lately, he has been exploring the concept of a new kind of management science, which he believes is a prerequisite for institutions such as ours.
This management science incorporates physics in improving corporate management. “We have an unbelievable grasp of the world of physics,” he said, suggesting that we use our knowledge of nature to capitalise on individual and collective strengths within institutions.
He said that minor changes can change one’s future or that of an organisation completely. He even went as far as to state that the culture of an organisation is the one that determines how well you do. Relating to the adaption of organisations in a constantly changing and dynamic environment, Geldenhuys advised that, “when faced with disruption, don’t retaliate; accept.”
By making use of different tools, such as technology aw well as social and business trends, Geldenhuys is adamant that corporations and institutions will adapt easily to the world’s complex systems.