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29 August 2024
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Story Anthony Mthembu
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Photo Harmse Photography
Ross van Reenen, CEO of the Toyota Free State Cheetahs.
The Business School at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently hosted the CEO of the Toyota Free State Cheetahs, Ross van Reenen, for a guest lecture. Van Reenen presented the guest lecture in the Business School Auditorium on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus on 21 August 2024.
Reflecting on Van Reenen’s address
In a lecture addressed to an auditorium filled with UFS staff and students, Van Reenen’s talk was divided into several sections. Firstly, he spoke about the concept of the ‘black swan’ in reference to the book written by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, titled The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. Referring to Taleb’s book, Van Reenen defined a ‘black swan’ as a rare event that has a severe impact, and the occurrence of which people try to explain. He used some examples to explore this concept as well as its implications, including COVID-19 and its impact on the world, and the tragic death of the people in the Titanic disaster. However, he delved deeper into 9/11 and the extent of its impact, saying that “9/11 was a major wake-up call in the world economy”. Van Reenen highlighted how some companies such as Barclays, for which he previously consulted, had to work to be up and running after the collapse of the Twin Towers in 9/11.
In addition, Van Reenen’s lecture also touched on the importance of the first ninety days of a job after an individual has been employed. “Those first ninety days are crucial, as you have to establish yourself in a company where you are paid less than you are worth,” Van Reenen said. As such, he gave the audience insight into what they could focus on in that time frame. This includes focusing on the small wins, as well as ensuring that you are working at keeping the team together, as the team is an integral part of an organisation.
Van Reenen concluded his address by speaking about his time as the CEO of the Toyota Free State Cheetahs, including some of the decisions he took to ensure the success of the organisation.
Young researchers are equipped to participate in projects relevant in global context
2017-09-05
This group of early career researchers received bioinformatics
training in Worcester in the UK from Dr Diane Saunders of the
John Innes Centre in the UK.
Photo: Supplied
The interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools to understand biological data is known as bioinformatics. According to Dr Renée Prins, a research fellow in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State, there are few tertiary institutions in South Africa that offer a postgraduate degree in Bioinformatics.
“Most institutions focus either on humans, human diseases, forest trees and their pathogens. They usually do not have spare capacity to assist researchers, for instance, those working on crops in the agricultural sector,” Dr Prins said.
Big data sets need significant skills
With the advancements made in genomics such as high throughput DNA marker platforms and next-generation sequencing technologies, the data sets biologists have to deal with have grown massively big and cannot be dealt with unless you have significant computer skills.
Dr Prins believes that all young researchers need some level of training in this field to be effective in future. The British Council Researcher Links, being run by the Newton Fund, gives early career researchers across selected partner countries the opportunity to form international connections through fully funded workshops and travel grants. Dr Prins made use of this opportunity and with the assistance of the Department of Research Development at the UFS, she arranged for Dr Diane Saunders of the John Innes Centre in the UK, a bioinformatician of note, to present training to a group of 20 early career researchers in Worcester in the UK.
Providing training with Dr Saunders were two other bioinformaticians from the UK, Dr Burkhard Steuernagel (John Innes Centre) and Dr Robert Davey (Earlham Institute). From the UFS side, Eleanor van der Westhuizen and Dr Henriëtte van den Berg (former UFS academic) acted as mentors, providing guidance on funding opportunities and career development skills.
Participating in projects in a global context
The researchers attending the training came from research institutions or academia, and they work involving plants (predominantly wheat) or plant pathogens. A limited number of participants from the commercial sector, including private South African companies focusing on plant breeding and molecular genetics lab work on agriculturally important crops also benefited from the training.
“Tertiary institutions in South Africa have the obligation to ensure that young scientists are equipped with bioinformatics skills. If they are not equipped with the necessary skills, they will not be able to participate in research projects that are relevant in a global context,” said Dr Prins.