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Developing global citizens: UFS students studying abroad in Austria

10 February 2023 | Story Kekeletso Takang

UFS students Frans Benecke and Su-Mari Dreyer are two of the beneficiaries of the programme and will spend one year in Salzburg, from February 2023 until January 2024.

Nowadays, universities strive more and more to develop global citizens. For the University of the Free State (UFS) and the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences (SUAS) in Austria, collaboration on the Consecutive Master’s Degree Programme in International Finance is directed at this.

This exclusive and pioneering collaboration between the Department of Economics and Finance at the UFS and the Department of Management and Tourism at SUAS emanates from more than 15 years of collaboration between Prof Johan Coetzee (UFS) and Prof Christine Mitter (SUAS ).

The collaboration addresses the concerns constantly raised in South Africa that graduates do not have the requisite practical skills when entering the workplace. The UFS attempts to bridge this gap and contribute to a better-equipped, employable South African graduate who understands the link between theory and application in a problem-riddled world entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

UFS students Frans Benecke and Su-Mari Dreyer are two of the beneficiaries of the programme and will spend one year in Salzburg, from February 2023 until January 2024.

“This is a dream come true, a dream I didn’t even know I had. To experience a different culture through educational and cultural exchange will deepen my understanding of international relationships, which is a driver of development,” says Dreyer, who completed her MCom degree at the UFS.

Interdisciplinary research

The Consecutive Master’s Degree Programme in International Finance allows students wishing to pursue a master’s degree to acquire two degrees over a two-year study period: an MCom specialising in Finance in the Department of Economics and Finance at the UFS, and an MA in Business Management specialising in Financial Risk Management at SUAS in Austria. The degrees are done on location in Bloemfontein and Salzburg respectively. The UFS master’s is more quantitative in nature and exposes students to highly technical methods and applications, while the SUAS master’s degree is more qualitative in nature and exposes students to more practical real-world management scenarios.

“The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences has a long-standing and valued partnership with the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. As a faculty, we see the development of the consecutive master’s degree as a wonderful opportunity for students from both universities to participate in the learning opportunities that both universities offer. These opportunities transcend the academic learning that will take place, to also include the exposure of students to the culture and life in the partner country,” says Prof Philippe Burger, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. “We believe the learning that will take place through the exposure that the consecutive degree offers, will improve students’ employability and contribute to them building successful careers.”

Bridging the gap

As part of the curriculum requirements, students will also be offered the opportunity to do a short apprenticeship in Austria.

Benecke, who also completed his UFS master’s degree, says he hopes the programme will serve as a call to action for students considering postgraduate studies in the Department of Economics and Finance at the UFS.

News Archive

Researchers receive study grant for research into Congo Fever

2015-03-10

UFS researchers will be contributing significantly to the search for a vaccine against the deadly tick-borne disease known as Congo Fever.

Prof Felicity Burt from the Department of Medical Microbiology and Virology was recently awarded a research grant by the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) to study candidate vaccines for Crimean-Congo heamorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus and other arboviruses.

Arboviruses are viruses transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks, or other arthropods.

Prof Burt is an internationally-recognised expert on the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF). The Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus is a tick-borne virus that is associated with severe haemorrhagic disease in South Africa and other parts of Africa, Asia, and eastern Europe. Her interests focus on medically significant viruses that are transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes. Her research group is involved in determining the immune responses that are induced by different viral proteins.

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus, a tick- borne virus found in Africa, Asia, the Balkans, and eastern Europe, causes severe viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks.

Although a number of tick species are capable of becoming infected with CCHF virus, ticks of the genus Hyalomma, commonly referred to in SA as the “bont-legged ticks”, are the principal vector. The ticks have distinctive brown and white bands on their legs.

In February 1981, the first case of CCHF was recognised in South Africa (SA). To date, there have been nearly 200 cases of CCHF infection in SA with a 20% fatality rate. The majority of cases occurring in SA were in patients from the Northern Cape and Free State provinces.

“The funding that has been awarded will be used to profile immune responses against CCHF viral proteins, and investigate mechanisms and strategies to enhance these immune responses. We hope that the study will contribute knowledge towards the development of a vaccine against this medically significant virus.”

For more information or enquiries contact news@ufs.ac.za.

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