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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

Business Management students scoop Tata Africa Scholarship awards

2016-12-09

From left: Mr Harneet Luther, Nomcebo Langa
(first-place winner), Palesa Makhetha and Dr Johan van Zyl.

Tata Africa celebrated the class of 2016 of the Department of Business Management at the University of the Free State (UFS) on 1 December 2016 on the Bloemfontein Campus. As part of the company’s Postgraduate Scholarship Programme, 11 academically and financially deserving students will have their postgraduate studies sponsored in 2017.

The scholarship programme was initiated by the Department of Business Management in 2012, in collaboration with Tata Africa. The aim is to provide final-year Strategic Marketing students an opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge by developing practical marketing strategies for any one of the Tata Group companies operating in Africa.

Students were invited to present their ideas to a panel of UFS and Tata Africa representatives, who selected the category winners. The categories were for the Tata Bakkies, Jaguar vehicles, Tata Chemicals in Magadi, Kenya, and Land Rover vehicles, intended to enhance the business’ competitive edge. The top three winners were Nomcebo Langa, Internal Marketing; Johan Nel, #OutPaceThis campaign; and Jesse Heath, Entrepreneurial Development campaign.

Topics covered by the students include target market identification, development of practical marketing strategies (digital and traditional), service strategies, experiential campaigns and application design. The Executive Director of Tata Africa Holdings, Mr Len Brand, said, “In the course of change in Africa and South Africa, in particular, we are very honoured to inspire young minds to bring innovative marketing solutions to the Tata business. We hope that their creativity will also inspire innovations in business, government, and civil society that will ultimately sell South Africa and Africa as good investment destinations.”

Dr Johan van Zyl from the Centre for Development Support congratulated the winners and encouraged them to continue on the path of augmenting creativity in business. In presenting the awards, Executive Director of Tata Automobile Corporation SA, Mr Harneet Luther, spoke of the origins of the Tata company, its vision and the level of innovation that its founders had, which was necessary in propelling it to where it is today. He commended the students for their outstanding performance and innovative campaigns. Since 2006, over 250 scholarships have been awarded through the University of the Free State, the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Wits University.

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