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UFS to host inaugural ‘Sanlam and Santam Economist of the Year’ gala event

16 October 2024 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Supplied

The Department of Economics and Finance, within the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) at the University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with Sanlam and Santam, will host the inaugural ‘Sanlam & Santam Economist of the Year’ competition gala event on 18 October 2024. The event, to be held on the UFS Bloemfontein campus, marks the exciting conclusion of this prestigious competition.

About the competition

Prof Johan Coetzee, Chairperson of the Department of Economics and Finance at UFS, explained that the competition, launched in July 2024, is an initiative of the department, sponsored by Sanlam and Santam. ‘’The competition aims to equip our graduates with the essential skills required for the modern workplace, including presentation, communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills,” said Prof Coetzee. He also highlighted plans to extend the competition to schools, saying, “We are looking forward to broadening the platform to include school-level participants.”

In addition, Prof Coetzee noted that the competition is designed to train students to become highly skilled economists capable of navigating the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

The competition sees students - ranging from first-year undergraduates to those pursuing master's qualifications within the department - competing against each other by making predictions on key macroeconomic indicators. A schedule of these indicators is provided, and students must predict their values on an online platform before the official release of each indicator. Points are awarded based on the accuracy of their predictions, with the top 10 competitors progressing to the final stage.

Gala event highlights

Representatives from Sanlam and Santam, the Department of Economics and Finance, the top 10 finalists, and the department’s top academic performers from each year group will attend the gala event. “Besides recognising the competition winners, we will also honour our top academic achievers. As a department, we acknowledge the importance of recognition, and we are proud to be the academic home of these outstanding students,” Prof Coetzee added.

The top 10 finalists will each deliver a six-minute presentation to a panel of four economists from the department, after which the top three finalists will be announced. These finalists will then answer an additional question, and the final judging will determine the winner of the ‘Sanlam and Santam Economist of the Year’ title. The winner will also receive the largest cash prize.

In addition to the awards, Sivuyile Nzimeni, a data analyst within the EMS faculty and the developer of the competition platform, will address the audience. Nzimene will discuss the development of the platform and plans for its expansion.

News Archive

UFS hosts YSI for first conference of its kind in Africa

2017-06-13

Description: UFS hosts YSI Tags: UFS hosts YSI

From the left: Bryson Nkhoma, a doctoral student from
the International Studies Group, Prof Francis Petersen,
Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, and
Dr Tinashe Nyamunda, a postdoctoral fellow from the
International Studies Group.
Photo: Siobhan Canavan

In the first conference of its kind on the African continent, the University of the Free State’s Bloemfontein Campus was privileged to host the Young Scholars Initiative (YSI) conference.

Reflecting on the African experience
A total of 65 young and senior scholars from five continents attended the conference Decolonising Africa? The Economic History of Development, hosted by the YSI in partnership with the International Studies Group at the UFS.

The conference, held on 8 and 9 June 2017, provided an opportunity to reflect on the African experience from an historical perspective and to assess the current position of the continent in the global economy. It discussed new themes in development, such as the role of women, minorities and entrepreneurs.

The conference focused on how the business community has operated in an Africa that still faces inequalities and unfair terms of trade and lacks a unified political will.

Keynote speakers at conference
Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, said decolonisation was not self-explanatory. “In its radical form, decolonisation presents two polar opposites. On the one side is white privilege and on the other is black pain.”

Prof Ian Phimister, Senior Research Professor at the Centre for Africa Studies at the UFS presented the opening keynote address entitled International Imperialism: The Violent Making of Southern Africa, 1884-1914.

Other keynote speakers included Prof Sabelo Ndlovu Gatsheni from the University of Pretoria, Prof Gareth Austin from the University of Cambridge, and the closing keynote by Prof Alois Mlambo from the University of Pretoria.

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