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18 May 2023 | Story KEKELETSO TAKANG | Photo PEXELS
Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences promotes student engagement and employability

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) drive towards student engagement and graduate employability necessitates the development and implementation of value-adding initiatives. One such initiative is the Business Management Start-up offered by the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.

The initiative is not only aimed at getting potential (nascent) entrepreneurs (students, lecturers, stream of external entrepreneurs) actively involved in entrepreneurship, but also to keep them engaged and take them through a value chain to enable them to establish and run a sustainable business. The Business Management Start-Up Initiative will equip students with practical experience, along with the theoretical knowledge that they will accumulate, thus delivering resilient, capable, proudly Kovsie students to industry.

Students will fundamentally understand how business works, improving their employability when they enter a business as employees, and providing them with the skills to become self-employed.

Students can look forward to several interactive sessions with knowledgeable presenters, who will guide them through a well-structured process to continuously evaluate their business ideas against the knowledge gained. Moreover, the active involvement of mentors implies that students will have access to expert sounding boards for advice and motivation. Lastly, due to the partnerships with external stakeholders, students will be exposed to ‘real-life’ industry situations, exposing them to a wealth of industry-specific knowledge.

And just in case that is not enough to get you excited, let the possibility of funding for your new venture be the last drop of motivation you need to fill your tank for action!

Come join the Business Management team every Wednesday between 13:00 and 14:00 in the Flippie Groenewoud Gebou (FGG) 378 to be part of this exciting opportunity!

For more information on the initiative and the topics, click here.

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Dr Mercy Oduyoye receives an honorary doctorate for changing how women are viewed in theology
2015-07-08

Dr Mercy Oduyoye.
Photo: Johan Roux

Dr Mercy Amba Oduyoye received an honorary degree from the UFS Faculty of Theology in acknowledgement of the trailblazing work she has done in the field of African women’s theology. Known as the Mother of African Women’s Theology, Dr Oduyoye is the first black woman in Africa to have received a degree in theology. Ever since then, she has been changing views on gender in theology across the globe. Still at the office at the age of 82, Dr Oduyoye’s life work has centred on two areas: her work with churches, and her work with female theologians.

Women in religion and culture
Following the 2015 Winter Graduation Ceremony on the Bloemfontein Campus, during which Dr Oduyoye received her honorary degree from the University of the Free State (UFS), she presented a lecture on women in religion and culture at the Faculty of Theology. Dr Oduyoye gave a brief overview of her involvement in organisations since the early 1970s to eliminate patriarchal structures in theology, in order to produce a relationship of partnership between women and men. An area that lies especially close to Dr Oduyoye’s heart is that of storytelling, and the use of language. Therefore, a driving force behind her work has been the question: “How do we communicate what we believe as Christians?”

Writing in a way people can understand

This question led Dr Oduyoye on her journey to vernacularise theological language, and it became her mode of writing. “Very seldom will you find the classical or official theological language in my writing, because I’m writing as if I’m speaking to a youth group, a women’s group – or even my grandmother.” In this way, communication became her focal point to present Christianity in such a way that people can understand it, thus rendering it relevant to the situation in Africa.

Changes toward inclusive language
Dr Oduyoye has gone on to author four books and over eighty articles on theology from a feminist perspective. And after toiling for many years, Dr Oduyoye can now see the changes emerging – especially in the US – as Bibles, lectionaries, and hymns are increasingly adopting an inclusive language, giving women a presence and voice within the church.

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