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2023 Ernst Mach Grant recipient from the UFS

16 August 2023 | Story Rorisang Ramorena | Photo Supplied

Michael Skosana, a student on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS), has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 Ernst Mach Grant scholarship exchange programme at the University of Applied Sciences in Austria.

Skosana, currently pursuing his honours in Financial Economics and Investment Management at the UFS, aspires to pursue not only his master's qualification but also his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) levels and regulatory exams and ultimately pass his board exams. Skosana is set to leave on 30 August to start the semester on 1 September 2023.

About the grant

The Ernst Mach Grant is a program aimed at students from non-European universities who wish to spend a semester or two at an Austrian University of applied sciences. The Austrian Ministry of Science and Research offers the Ernst Mach Grant to students with non-European citizenship who plan to take up exchanges at an Austrian university.

According to its 2023 – 2028 internationalisation strategy, the UFS aims to integrate international and intercultural dimensions into the university's being, including the formal and informal curriculum. The Office for International Affairs (OIA) enables such comprehensive internationalisation, and specifically its International Scholarships portfolio, under the leadership of Mbali Moiketsi, contributes by liaising with funding bodies for mobility, sharing information about possible opportunities, and supporting students through the process.

The responsibility of the OIA is to ensure that students and staff are exposed to intercultural opportunities as part of their learning curriculum through information sharing. The OIA partners and works with international funding agencies to bring the information to the students and staff and support them through the process.

Skosana's motivation to study abroad is to challenge himself on the spectrum of finance, to learn more about the Austrian and South African economies, and, hopefully, to work in Europe and gain insight before returning home to change the financial landscape of South Africa. He added that “the acquired skills will empower and develop the South African financial economy and educate South Africans on financial literacy, investments, and any financial goals they seek knowledge about.”

Furthermore, Skosana encourages students to be more open to knowledge and international experiences by participating in such opportunities. He emphasizes that “students should always want to broaden their intercultural and global competencies beyond academics.”

For more information related to scholarships and opportunities, contact Mbali Moiketsi at the following email moiketsimv@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

Delegates encouraged to ‘walk the talk’ on fraud prevention

2017-11-27

Representatives from the UFS Business School with Nick Olivier, Certified
Fraud Examiner (right), at the International Fraud Awareness Week’s
Free State Conference.
Photo: Lerato Sebe

‘Walking the Talk on Fraud Prevention’ was this year’s theme during the annual International Fraud Awareness Week’s Free State Conference held at Monte Bello, Bloemfontein, on 16 and 17 November.

The conference was hosted by the Business School of the University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with the Free State Provincial Treasury, Standard Bank, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Detecting and taking action against corruption
The Free State MEC of Finance, Honourable Elzabe Rockman, says corruption is not only a provincial or national issue, but rather a global issue. “Through this interaction with the International Fraud Awareness Week, we reach a much broader audience, both inside and outside government.” She says this should make a direct contribution to increasing awareness of what constitutes fraud, and improving our ability to detect it and to take action.

Implications caused by fraud
One of the speakers at the seminar, Nick Olivier, a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), did a presentation labelled, ‘WTF – Where to focus in the corruption noise’, highlighting the impact which fraudulent crime has on companies. “With the private sector, the impact is huge because the company will have to spend money on investigations or lawyers to get their money back.” He mentions that in government, various things are affected by fraud, such as the economy, the country’s resources, the lives of citizens and the society.
“We need to start obeying the regulations which were implemented in our environments so that we do not need to do investigations, because every citizen has a duty to do the right thing,” says Olivier.

Tender procurement and bribery were listed as the top corruption crimes in both the private and government sectors.

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