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14 November 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo André Damons
Khoebo Innovation Promotion Programme launch 2024
Staff members from the Directorate Research Development (DRD) at the University of the Free State; Palesa Mgaga, second from right, Tebogo Machethe, centre, and Charelise van Staden, second from right, were thanked for hosting the launch of the Khoebo Innovation Promotion Programme. They are pictured with colleagues from the IDC’s Samkelisiwe Mtsewu, left, and Thato Mogopodi, far right.

The University of the Free State (UFS), represented by the Directorate Research Development (DRD), played host to the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (dtic) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) for the launch of its Khoebo Innovation Promotion Programme (KIPP).

The launch took place on 5 November in the Sasol Library on the Bloemfontein Campus. Tebogo Machethe, Director: Research Contracts and Innovation at the DRD, said its role was to expose the university researchers to different opportunities and programmes for funding from the IDC and the dtic. It also allowed the researchers to engage potential funders in order to understand what funders look for in a project when considering funding it.

“The aim of IDC KIPP is to assist local entrepreneurs and small to medium enterprises with commercialisation funding. The KIPP offers capital and business support to SMMEs during the early stages of commercialisation with particular emphasis on township and rural entrepreneurs,” said Machethe.

Address uneven distribution of economic development

KIPP is a dtic programme but is managed by the IDC and aims to enable early-stage innovative SMEs to penetrate the market with their locally developed innovations, resulting in a more competitive economic environment and thereby facilitating economic growth in the economy.

According to Machethe, who welcomed the guests, participants and presenters to the launch, some of the funding is geared towards the development of university innovations. Though the focus was on the KIPP launch, he continued, the discussions also encompassed other forms of funding that are available and more geared towards the university innovation.

His address was centred around the university's Vision 130 and how it supports innovation and the entire innovation ecosystem, which seeks to shift the emphasis to research impact, embracing both knowledge and societal impact. Vision 130 identifies the need for a greater focus on collaborative research, research that can attract large-scale funding in niche areas where the university is seen as a national and global leader.

Samkelisiwe Mtsewu, KIPP Account Manager at the IDC, said the programme was introduced to address the uneven distribution of economic development across the country. She said with its capacity, the KIPP programme can contribute to addressing the uneven distribution of economic development. 

News Archive

Prof. Martha Nussbaum visits Kovsies
2012-12-27

Prof. Martha Nussbaum
Photo: Sonia Small
10 December 2012

The UFS community was privileged to gain insight into the brilliant mind of renowned philosopher Prof. Martha Nussbaum when she visited the Bloemfontein Campus.

Prof. Nussbaum, considered by some as one of the foremost living philosophers on the world stage, spent a week at the university interacting with staff, students and visitors from South Africa and abroad. The visit attracted huge interest, with people traveling from other parts of South Africa to hear Prof. Nussbaum speaking at public events held on the campus. International visitors attending the conference “Engaging the Other: Breaking Intergenerational Cycles of Repetition”on campus and scholars taking part in the Southern African Young Scientists Summer Program, also attended events.

Prof. Nussbaum’s first public event was on 6 December 2012 when the university honoured her with an honorary doctorate. She received a D. Litt degree for her intellectual and public contribution to human development. On 7 December 2012, she delivered a lecture on “Creating capabilities, the human development approach”. She also delivered a keynote address on the Political Role of the Arts as part of the conference on “Engaging the Other: Breaking Intergenerational Cycles of Repetition”.
 

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