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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.

News Archive

UFS outperforms SA higher education in EU-Saturn programme
2016-12-14

Description: Erasmus Mundus Tags: Erasmus Mundus 

Partnering between the UFS and other institutions
makes it possible for staff and students to study abroad.
Pictured from left front, are: Mareve Biljohn (EU-Saturn
at University of Groningen), Memory Mphaphuli (INSPIRE
at University of Ghent) and Wanda Verster (EU-Saturn at
Uppsala University). Back: Moliehi Mpeli (Erasmus Mundus
at University of Leuven).
Photo: Stephen Collett

The University of the Free State (UFS) strives to invest in its staff and students and a proven example can be seen in the latest cycle of the Erasmus Mundus EU-SATURN programme.

The UFS outperformed the higher education sector over the past five years as it had more exchange scholarships than most South African universities. A total of 16 (18%) out of the 89 local scholarships allocated until 2016 were from UFS. Stellenbosch University, with 14 scholarships, was second.

University one of main roleplayers
Chevon Jacobs, Senior Officer said: “Internationalisation at the UFS is a great achievement as the university allocated all available scholarships to eligible staff and students. She said the strong partnership history between the university and some European institutions, due to a similarity between the language and culture of especially Dutch-speaking countries, is one of the reasons for the success.

“We are very proud of our participation. We have invested for these predominantly young members to spend time abroad in furthering their qualifications,” she said.

The EU-Saturn project has been jointly co-ordinated for the past five years by the University of Groningen, Netherlands, and the UFS.

One of few projects funded by Erasmus Mundus
The Erasmus Mundus is an international partnership aimed at enhancing the quality of European higher education and the promotion of dialogue and understanding between people and cultures through co-operation with other countries. The EUROSA, EU-Saturn, Aesop and INSPIRE to name a few, are all programmes funded by the European Union through the Erasmus Mundus. These projects offer fully funded part-time or full-time postgraduate scholarships for study in Europe.

Some of the universities UFS students have studied at are the University of Groningen, the University of Newcastle, England, and the University of Ghent, Belgium.

Successful UFS grantees awarded scholarships over the past five years:
•    Maria Campbell (2014 – PhD) – University of Newcastle
•    Sethulego Matebesi (2014 – PhD) – Uppsala University
•    Lindie Koorts (2016 – PhD) – University of Groningen    
•    Reginald Makgoba (2013/2014 – Master’s) – University of Newcastle
•    Sanet Steyn (2013/2014 – Master’s) – University of Groningen  
•    Johnathan Adams (2015/2016 – Master’s) - Göttingen University
•    Eben Coetzee (2013/2014 - PhD) – University of Groningen
•    André Janse van Rensburg (2013/2014 – PhD) – University of Ghent
•    Martin Rossouw (2013-2015 – PhD) – University of Groningen
•    Jan Schlebusch (2013-2016 – PhD) – University of Groningen
•    Carel Cloete (2014-2016 – PhD) – University of Groningen
•    Nadine Lake (2014-2016 – PhD) – Uppsala University
•    Elbie Lombard (2014-2016 – PhD) – University of Ghent
•    Luyanda Noto (2014/2015 – PhD) – University of Ghent
•    Mareve Biljohn (2015/2016 – PhD) – University of Groningen
•    Wanda Verster (2015/2016 – PhD) – Uppsala University

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