Latest News Archive

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

UFS PhD student wins Young Minds award at international symposium

10 November 2023 | Story André Damons | Photo SUPPLIED

Muthianzhele Ravuluma receives an award from Prof Sebastian Leuzinger from the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand.

A PhD student from the University of the Free State (UFS) has won the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) Young Minds award for the Best Paper and Best Poster Presentation during the 12th International Workshop on Sap Flow, which was held in Rotorua, New Zealand.

Muthianzhele Ravuluma from the Department of Soil, Crop, and Climate Science who is working on his PhD in Agrometeorology, presented a paper on “Sapflow Dynamics of Young and Mature Pomegranate Trees Under Irrigation” during the four-day symposium that took place between 30 October and 3 November 2023. Agrometeorology is the study of the soil, plant and atmosphere continuum. In simple terms, it is called agricultural meteorology, which is the study of the influence of weather and climate on agriculture.

Encourage do and learn more

“I feel thankful to being given an opportunity like this, and winning the award was a surprise. Still, I am happy and grateful for the support from my promoters and the Pomegranate Water Use Project members. This encourages me to do more and to learn more about new technologies in the field of agriculture,” he says.

Ravuluma travelled to New Zealand with his promotor Dr Phumudzo Tharaga to present his research and to learn from other researchers is the field. His research looks at the water use of pomegranate trees under irrigation in a Mediterranean climate.

A proud Dr Tharaga says he is happy to know that the guidance he has been giving to Ravuluma is fruitful and improving his academic and research capabilities. “I feel proud as a supervisor, which makes my dream come true of ensuring that all postgraduate students can showcase their work on international stages,” says Dr Tharaga.

Hosting next symposium

Together with Prof Rob Skelton from Wits University, they also successfully bid to host in the 13th International Sap Flow Workshop in South Africa – beating China and the US in the process. All three colleagues will collaborate as conveners of the workshop in South Africa during October/November 2026.

“It is an honour to be recognised and entrusted by the international community of scientists who would like to showcase their work in South Africa. As the convener of the conference, I am happy that it will be hosted in our country for the first time since the inception of the Sap Flow Working Group. Scientists and researchers in South Africa will be able to interact with their peers from different parts of the world,” concludes Dr Tharaga.

Dr Phumudzo Tharaga congratulates Muthianzhele Ravuluma on winning the prestigious award.

Dr Phumudzo Tharaga congratulates Muthianzhele Ravuluma on winning the prestigious award.

News Archive

Patricia de Lille: “Know the difference between right and wrong.”

2010-03-04

From the left are: Jeanie Britz, MBA student; Garth Botha, MBA student; Ms De Lille; Prof. Tienie Crous, Dean: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS; and Prof. Helena van Zyl, Director: School of Management at the UFS.
Photo: Stephen Collett

Ms Patricia de Lille, the Leader of the Independent Democrats, recently paid a visit to the School of Management at the University of the Free State (UFS). She spoke to students in the MBA programme about the leadership challenges South African business leaders are facing.

Ms De Lille voiced her opinion on many current issues, such as corruption. “Business is standing back with its arms folded and leaving everything to government. In fact, business is doing something very similar to what it was doing during apartheid,” she said.

She added that a business leader and his or her business could be found behind every corrupt transaction. “It is a relationship involving more than one party. If someone accepts a bribe, someone else is paying a bribe,” she said.

Ms De Lille lashed out at business leaders who received extravagant salaries and bonuses even after they had been asked to leave the company. “South Africa needs a new generation of business leaders that truly know the difference between right and wrong,” she pointed out. “And it’s wrong to demand the rest of your contract’s money and bonus after you have been fired because you obviously didn’t do your work.”

Ms De Lille also focused on the role that South African business played. Business should engage with the government to identify problems and find solutions to speed up transformation. “We need young entrepreneurs that are patriotic and think out of the box,” she said.

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