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03 October 2024
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Story Ansie Barnard
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Photo Supplied
From left to right: Londeka Mkhwanazi, Semither Mkhize, Salima van Schalkwyk, Slindokuhle Ndlovu, Asanda Mpinga, Mantombi Molefe, Ntombinkulu Khumalo, Mosebjadi Chauke and Thembinkosi Mkhwanazi.
The Amrut Foundation, in partnership with the University of the Free State (UFS), successfully hosted its Inaugural Innovathon at the UFS Qwaqwa Campus. This competition is designed to identify and support innovative products and services that not only generate profit but also contribute to the public good, with a strong emphasis on ethical business practices. Through this collaboration, students gain national exposure for their businesses and receive support to create sustainable social enterprises.
Five teams of student social entrepreneurs from the Qwaqwa campus were shortlisted to participate in the regional finals. Their selection was based on ventures that adhered to a social entrepreneurship model and demonstrated plans for long-term profitability and sustainability.
During the Innovathon, a panel of judges from the UFS, the Amrut Foundation, and the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) selected two outstanding teams to represent the UFS at the national finals, which will take place in October. The winning ventures, Biofly-Pro and Root Rescue were each awarded R20,000 to further develop and expand their initiatives.
Hemang Desai, Executive Director of the Amrut Foundation, expressed his enthusiasm for the event: "Amrut is proud to co-host the Free State leg of the inaugural Innovation Challenge with the UFS. Supporting students with entrepreneurial ambitions that align with societal care is one of our key focus areas."
Dr Grey Magaiza, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director for the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at the UFS, highlighted the importance of social entrepreneurship: “Social entrepreneurship is a collaborative effort towards creating sustainable and ethical business processes. The two winning projects embody these principles, and we look forward to their continued growth. In line with our Vision 130, social entrepreneurship can serve as a critical lever for university-community engagement.”
Congratulations to Biofly-Pro and Root Rescue on their well-deserved achievements!
Rector's book rated among the best
2009-12-10
The University of the Free State’s Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Jonathan Jansen’s book Knowledge in the Blood: Confronting Race and the Apartheid Past has been listed among the best 31 books of 2009 by the Library Journal.
In its listing the journal says of the book: “This is the story of how commitment to enlightened pedagogical principles can bring divergent populations – the historically dominant and the historically victimized – into engagement.”
It refers to the time when Prof. Jansen became the first black dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria in 2000, where he administered a white-majority student body in an officially Afrikaans-speaking institution.
The Library Journal is the oldest and most respected publication covering the library field. Considered to be the “bible” of the library world, the journal is read by over 100 000 library directors, administrators, and staff in public, academic, and special libraries.
It is the single-most comprehensive publication for librarians, with groundbreaking features and analytical news reports covering technology, management, policy and other professional concerns. Its hefty review sections evaluate nearly 7 000 books annually, along with hundreds of audio books, videos, databases, web sites and systems that libraries buy.