Latest News Archive

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

Exceptional UFS lecturer finishes second in global Accounting exam

23 February 2023 | Story Kekeletso Takang | Photo Supplied

Michelle de Lange, accredited Accounting Lecturer in the School of Accountancy at the University of the Free State (UFS), finished second in the world at the recent Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) Board Examination. With only one point between De Lange and the first candidate, she aced the challenging exam.

Having obtained fourth position in the world for the 2019 CIMA Gateway exam, De Lange was determined to outdo herself.

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) is the world’s largest global professional management accounting body to offer training and qualification in management accountancy. As designation holders, members get to showcase their skills and experience to a global audience, while upholding professionalism and promoting continuous learning.

De Lange, who holds another professional accreditation from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), coordinates the BCom Honours in Management Accounting programme, which is CIMA-aligned for postgraduate students. For De Lange, the greatest reward is the realisation of the impact she is making on her students through strategic vision.

Having worked in the private sector and later joining the UFS as an Assistant Director at Finance back in 2016, De Lange believed that something was missing; that there was more to give. In 2018 she moved to the School of Accountancy, taking on her new role as Lecturer. “I wanted to make a difference and be significant. This motivated my move to lecturing,” she says.

Her passion for teaching extends beyond the lecture hall. De Lange pays it forward by supporting students through a hands-on approach and ensuring that assessments are CIMA-aligned.

The School of Accountancy in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences is proud of De Lange and her achievements.

Becoming a CGMA requires discipline. De Lange is grateful for the support she received in preparation for the board exam, in particular from her husband Francois, who was “always understanding and encouraging”.

News Archive

UFS leads the way with GMO testing

2003-08-25

A formal agreement linking Africa’s first testing facility for genetically modified organisms (GMO) to an international organization was signed at the University of the Free State.

According to the manager of the GMO testing facility, Dr Chris Viljoen of the Department of Plant Sciences, the facility is now part of GeneScan, a world leader in food diagnostic testing, which has its headquarters in Germany with subsidiaries in the Unites States, Brazil and Hong Kong.

The facility at the UFS has been selected by the second largest international food company to do all its South African GMO testing for export products.

The GMO testing facility is the brainchild of Dr Viljoen, who is a specialist in the field of marker biotechnology and its applications in crop science.

He says the need for such a testing facility arose due to the international regulations on GMOs in food, especially Europe and Asia that requires South African exporters to certify whether their products contain any GMO.

“The regulations in Europe and Asia reflect a consumer need for choice in what they eat due to concerns over the safety of GMOs, as well as environmental and ethical issues. GMO testing and labelling allow consumers the right of choice to eat genetically modified foods or not. According to EU regulations, any product with a GMO content of 1% or higher is labelled as containing GMO.”

According to Dr Viljoen only four products in South Africa are currently GMO. They are white and yellow maize that have been made insect resistant, soya bean that is herbicide tolerant and insect resistant cotton. He says that the awareness of GMOs among South Africans is still very limited, especially in poorer communities, but it is likely to increase with the efforts being made in consumer education by government, seed companies and NGOs.

The testing facility has been established to accommodate the local as well as international market. The GMO testing at the UFS facility is performed using real time PCR, the most advanced means of GMO detection currently available, and using GeneScan developed technology that is recognized worldwide.

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

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