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08 June 2023 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Stephen Collett
Dr Karen Booysen, Acting Director: Centre for Graduate Support; Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation; and Dr Nthabeleng Rammile, Senior Officer: Company Relations in Career Services
Dr Karen Booysen, Former Acting Director: Centre for Graduate Support; Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation; and Dr Nthabeleng Rammile, Senior Officer: Company Relations in Career Services – the main speakers at the 2023 Postgraduate Konnect – highlighted the importance of having degrees with positive impact on the society.

“You are the future of this country. It is encouraging to see that we have this pool of talent. Pursuing a postgraduate qualification gives you an opportunity to become more of an expert in your chosen field,” said Dr Nthabeleng Rammile, Senior Officer: Company Relations in Career Services, at the 2023 Postgraduate Konnect. 

Hosting the Postgraduate Konnect event, the Centre for Graduate Support provides an opportunity for new and returning postgraduate students ‘to connect with the University of the Free State (UFS), as well as to the resources, and to assist them in successfully navigating their postgraduate studies journey.’ 

Foundation laid for students to thrive

Speaking at the 2023 event held virtually and face to face in the Equitas Auditorium on the Bloemfontein Campus on Friday 2 June 2023, Dr Rammile said: “I know people say that experience is a teacher; this is true to a certain extent. However, relying on experience alone is a limitation. But your intellect sharpens in a way that you cannot on any other platform, except when you get your qualification. With your qualification, you become attractive to industries.”

Dr Karen Booysen, Former Acting Director: Centre for Graduate Support, reminded students to ‘keep in mind that they are part of a larger community.’ “Many have faced adversities and emerged stronger and wiser. The UFS has developed a network of support structures designed to provide assistance and resources to encourage you to thrive academically and professionally,” added Dr Booysen.

The UFS currently has two sources of funding for students pursuing postgraduate studies – The National Research Foundation (NRF) and the University of the Free State Tuition Bursary. To qualify for NRF funding, students must have 65% average for the honours degree to pursue a master’s degree. For the UFS Tuition Bursary, students applying for honours degrees must have 65% for all modules completed at undergraduate level. 

Remembering the roots to building a strong future

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation, said embarking on postgraduate studies is a “journey to be inspired by many who came before you and those who will come after you”. Prof Reddy said: “We must remember our heritage, our roots, and the people who put us there – the families, mothers, and grandmothers.”

“This is not only about accomplishing a degree and a qualification. The University of the Free State is very focused on the kind of individual you will become, because you will be brand ambassadors of the university with your qualification. We want our students to become future leaders with attributes that develop entrepreneurial spirit, think ahead about the uses of my degree, civic engagement – recognising that you are there because of the community, ethical reasoning,” said Prof Reddy.

Jeremiah Hlahla, PhD student in Plant Sciences who arrived at the UFS in 2022, said the event helps with ‘navigating the institution, helps to know where I can get support’. “The event also helped me to understand the available funding models. I really need the financial support, and I am hoping that the planned seminars and conferences will be relevant to our studies,” said Hlahla.  

Pursuing his studies, Hlahla said it would also be important to ‘prioritise mental health, as it does not help to leave without getting what one came for.’ “Your physical well-being contributes a lot to your mental health; the institution has training facilities, including outdoors, to help with putting the mind at ease regarding challenges we endure in our studies,” said Hlahla.

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UFS researchers are producing various flavour and fragrance compounds
2015-05-27

 

The minty-fresh smell after brushing your teeth, the buttery flavour on your popcorn and your vanilla-scented candles - these are mostly flavour and fragrance compounds produced synthetically in a laboratory and the result of many decades of research.

This research, in the end, is what will be important to reproduce these fragrances synthetically for use in the food and cosmetic industries.

Prof Martie Smit, Academic Head of the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the UFS, and her colleague Dr Dirk Opperman, currently have a team of postgraduate students working on the production of various flavour and fragrance compounds from cheap and abundantly available natural raw materials. 

Prof Smit explains that most of the flavours and fragrances that we smell every day, originally come from natural compounds produced mainly by plants.

“However, because these compounds are often produced in very low concentrations by plants, many of these compounds are today replaced with synthetically-manufactured versions. In recent times, there is an increasing negative view among consumers of such synthetic flavour and fragrance compounds.”

On the other hand, aroma chemicals produced by biotechnological methods, are defined as natural according to European Union and Food and Drug Administration (USA) legal definitions, provided that the raw materials used are of natural origin.  Additionally, the environmental impact and carbon footprint associated with biotech-produced aroma chemicals are often also smaller than those associated with synthetically-produced compounds or those extracted by traditional methods from agricultural sources.

During the last four years, the team investigated processes for rose fragrance, vanilla flavour, mint and spearmint flavours, as well as butter flavour. They are greatly encouraged by the fact that one of these processes is currently being commercialised by a small South African natural aroma chemicals company. Their research is funded by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation through the South African Biocatalysis Initiative, the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Catalysis and the Technology Innovation Agency, while the UFS has also made a significant investment in this research.

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