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24 April 2024 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Eco-vehicles race
Join the UFS on 18 May 2024 from 10:00-13:00 at the Red Square Parking area for the seventh annual Kovsie ACT Eco-Vehicle Race. Come and support your favourite team to victory!

Kovsie ACT at the University of the Free State (UFS) proudly presents the seventh Kovsie Eco-Vehicle Race, set to take place at the Equitas Parking area on the Bloemfontein Campus.

According to Karen Scheepers, Assistant Director: Student Life, ten teams will be participating in this year’s race, featuring the three UFS campuses as well as the Central University of Technology. The event promise excitement like never before.

Scheepers says, besides an exciting race, spectators can look forward to a new track and viewing area. She invites the public, staff and students to come and support the competing teams as they showcase their skills on the racetrack.

Event details:

  • Date: Saturday 18 May 2024
  • Time: 10:00-13:00
  • Venue: Red Square Parking area (opposite George du Toit Building)

Breakdown of the programme:

09:00 -10:15 Performance by student artists 
10:15 -10:35 Walkthrough by judges
10:35 -10:40 Welcoming
10:40 Races commence
12:30 -13:00 Announcement of winners

13:00 -14:00 Performance by student artists

The Eco-Vehicle Race marks the culmination of a nine-month co-curricular skills programme, aimed at empowering participating students with a set of skills for the world of work. Through this programme, they are equipped with basic knowledge and abilities on sustainable energy, enabling them not only to compete in the eco-vehicle race but also to comprehend the inner workings of the vehicle. This understanding is important to the teams for when they are doing repairs during the race.

Students will be competing in three events:

• Obstacle course: Teams will be challenged by obstacles to test their control over the car.
• Smart lap: A timed lap in which the drivers take the main track for the first time.

• Endurance race: The teams need to finish as many laps as possible using the least amount of energy in 45 minutes.

The winners of the three events will each be awarded a trophy. Additionally, there will be a trophy for the best pit stop as well as a spirit cup for the team with the best energy and support from the audience.

For more information, contact Teddy Sibiya.

News Archive

Prof Neil Heideman awarded a Fellowship
2006-07-25

Prof Neil Heideman, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), was  awarded the Fulbright Senior Researcher Fellowship to visit the laboratory of Prof Jack Sites, a fellow herpetologist at Brigham Young University, Utah, in the United States of America (USA), from October 2006-January 2007.

The Fulbright programme is a flagship programme of the government of the USA which focuses on the exchange of international experts in a variety of educational activities such as advanced research and university lecturing.

Prof Heideman will use the opportunity to develop an understanding of the application of micro satellites (short repetitive sequences in DNA molecules) to population genetics questions.  In recent years  micro satellites have become the marker of choice for measuring genetic variability in populations. Prof Sites has extensive experience in the application of the technique and is therefore an ideal candidate to spend time with. Although not new to South Africa, the country's  capacity in the use of micro satellites is still very limited, being essentially non-existent among herpetologists.

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