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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

CED holds Family Math and Science summit

2009-10-06

At the summit were, from the left: Ms Lorraine Botha(CED); Susan Koen (Coordinator: Frances Baard, Northern Cape); Prof Daniella Coetzee-Manning (Director: CED); Elizna Prinsloo (Project Coordinator: CED); Magriet Fourie (Coordinator: Qwa-Qwa); Anne-Marie Lochner (Coordinator: Namakwa).
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe

The Centre for Education Development (CED) at the University of the Free State launched its Family Math & Family Science roll-out initiative in the Free State and Northern Cape Province at the beginning of 2009. As part of the quality assurance process, a Family Math & Family Science Summit was recently held at the CED to reflect upon the roll-out strategy during 2009. Delegates as far as Qwaqwa in the Free State and De Aar and Springbok in the Northern Cape province, sponsors and other role-players attended the summit to share information regarding the impact and best practices of the roll-out strategy.

The mission of the project is to demystify Math and Science for learners in the early school years by raising their levels of understanding and changing their attitudes towards Sciences and Mathematics. This is done by exposing learners to Family Math & Family Science activities on a regular basis in the classroom and integrating the activities into the curriculum.

A total number of 5112 learners from predominately rural communities in the Free State and Northern Cape provinces were actively involved in doing Math and Science activities during the first 3 terms of 2009. To achieve this, the CED trained 9 Subject Advisors to act as coordinators in their respective regions with the responsibility of training and supporting local teachers in the implementation of the progamme. One of the key elements of the success of the project is the fact that the CED also manufactures and issues the 134 participating teachers with sufficient training material like manipulatives and other activity material to be utilized in the classroom. Without the support of the sponsors, ABSA and SANRAL, the latter would not have been possible.

It is envisaged to include as many schools as possible in the Free State and Northern Cape province in the programme, depending on sponsorships received.

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