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BCom Finance student defends UFS Economist of the Year title

06 November 2025 | Story Tshepo Tsotetsi | Photo Stephen Collett

University of the Free State (UFS) BCom Finance student Reatile Seekoei has again claimed the top prize in the UFS’s second annual Economist of the Year competition.

The event, hosted on 31 October 2025 by the Department of Economics and Finance in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS), brought together UFS students, academics, and parents at the Bloemfontein Campus to celebrate emerging talent in the field. The group was joined by sponsors from Sanlam and Santam.

The competition has quickly become a highlight on the academic calendar, offering students an opportunity to bridge classroom theory with real-world practice. It challenges them to apply their understanding of economic trends, policy analysis, and data interpretation to forecast future developments, helping them grow from students into confident, career-ready economists. The event also recognised the top-performing students in the department – from first-year level to master’s – in celebration of academic excellence.

Turning theory into practice

According to Prof Johan Coetzee, Head of the Department of Economics and Finance, the competition aims to give students a platform to apply what they learn in class to real-world scenarios. “The purpose of it is to expose students to macroeconomic indicators and to apply their forecasting skills,” he explained. “It forces students to read up on the news, to know what’s happening in the world around them, and to articulate their understanding clearly. In a world increasingly driven by AI, we need humans – we need economists – to set the narrative. This prepares them for the world of work.”

Prof Coetzee added that the judging focuses on both technical and communication skills, with 40% of the score based on forecasting accuracy and 60% on presentation and articulation. “Economists must not only understand the numbers, but also communicate what those numbers mean,” he said.

From conceptual thinker to confident economist

For Seekoei, winning the competition again was both a challenge and a statement of growth.

“I came into this competition for the second time with one goal: to defend my title,” he said. “To win again is thrilling because I had to deliver more than I did last year. It pushed me to grow from a more conceptualised economist into a mature one who can apply indicators and present economically well.”

His presentation impressed the judges with its structured approach. Seekoei built a framework that combined a baseline analysis of South Africa’s economy with an interpretation of leading indicators, inflation trends and monetary-policy direction. He credited his success to the guidance of his lecturers and his belief in self-discipline. “The key to my success is believing in myself,” he said. “It was me against myself. I had to deliver better than what I did last year, and that confidence made all the difference.”

The competition also saw outstanding performances from other finalists, including BCom student Malek Suhail as the first runner-up and BCom Law student Lunghile Rivombo as the second runner-up, both of whom impressed the judges and their peers with their analytical skill and innovative approach – a testament to the faculty’s interdisciplinary strength.

Prof Coetzee expressed gratitude to Sanlam and Santam for sponsoring the competition and helping to make the initiative possible. Their support, he noted, plays a vital role in nurturing future economists who are both analytically strong and socially aware.

As the department looks ahead to next year’s competition, Seekoei’s back-to-back wins set a new benchmark – one that will no doubt inspire his peers to challenge themselves, think critically, and forecast with both precision and passion.

News Archive

Wildlife researcher in ground-breaking global research on giraffes

2017-10-20

Dr Deacon from the Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland
Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS),
lead a multispecialist research group to catch
and collar giraffe to collect data that will
contribute to the conservation of these animals.
Photo: Prof Nico Smith

Capturing 51 giraffes without any injuries or mortalities to collect data that will contribute to the conservation of these animals is not for everyone. Capturing a giraffe with minimum risk to the animal and the people involved, requires extraordinary skill, planning, and teamwork. “This exercise is a dangerous task, since a well-placed kick from these large and extremely powerful animals can cause serious injuries. Early in October was the first time that giraffes were captured on such a large scale,” said wildlife researcher Dr Francois Deacon.

Dr Deacon from the Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), led a multispecialist research group of over 30 people from 10 different countries to collect information about these little-known animals.

UFS first to collar giraffe
Taking a global approach, the team responsible for this intricate process consisted of wildlife biologists, conservationists, interdisciplinary scientists and five specialist veterinarians who are experienced in catching and working with wild animals. Specialised drugs sponsored by Dr Kobus Raath from Wildlife Pharmaceuticals, tested for the first time and administered with a dart gun were used to tranquillise the giraffe, which then allowed for the GPS collars to be fitted. These collars, sponsored by Africa Wildlife Tracking, enable the researchers to record the location of individual giraffe for up to two years, give 24/7 readings, irrespective of weather conditions. In this cost-effective manner, data can be gathered on climatic factors, giraffe communication, social behaviour, home ranges, seasonal movements, human and giraffe interaction zones, as well as migration routes and the duration of the migration process. The collars will effectively be used to locate individuals to collect faecal samples for hormonal cycles, stress hormones, nutrient deficiencies based on diet and also internal parasites.

“This knowledge we gain is the key to all keys in saving this iconic animal from becoming extinct,” said Dr Deacon.

Six years ago, during a pilot study, Dr Deacon was the first researcher to fit giraffes with a GPS collar. Collaring is less invasive and allows researchers to collect detailed samples. Not only was extensive knowledge and experience gained during the process, but he also initiated interest from the filmmaker and conservationist, Ashley Scott Davison, executive producer of Iniosante Inc.

Getting to tell the story
Davison, who was doing research for a film on giraffe learnt about the silent extinction of the species. In a great number of countries giraffe numbers have been declining by as much as 40% over only a few years since 2000. Today West Africa has between 400 to 600 giraffe left while four out of five giraffes were lost in East Africa since 2000. This is a considerable decline in numbers and poses a real threat to the survival of the species in the longer term. At the end of 2016, the giraffe was classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red Data list.

According to Davison, children in school learn about the destruction caused by ivory poaching and habitat loss. But in Africa today, there are six times as many elephants as there are giraffes.

In the process to find out more about this majestic species Davison learnt of Dr Deacon’s work. After being introduced to and spending time with Dr Deacon, Davison not only describes the UFS as the leader in the conservation of giraffes but he returned to the university, three times to help build a dedicated research team to address unanswered research questions within various disciplines.

Flowing from the affiliation with the UFS is Iniosante’s award-winning production of a documentary, “Last of the Longnecks”. The film has received several awards, including official selection at the 2017 Global Peace Film Festival, the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival and the Environmental Film Festival in the US capital.

The film team accompanied the multispecialist research team last week to gather footage for a follow-up documentary, “Catching Giants”. This film is expected to air in middle 2018.

Video clip of the event: https://www.dropbox.com/s/d3kv9we690bwwto/giraffe_UFS_revision-01a.mp4?dl=0

Video clip of the event: RooistoelTV

Former articles on this topic:

18 Nov 2016: http://www.ufs.ac.za/templates/news-archive-item?news=7964
23 August 2016: http://www.ufs.ac.za/templates/news-archive-item?news=7856
9 March 2016:Giraffe research broadcast on National Geographic channel
18 Sept 2015 Researchers reach out across continents in giraffe research
29 May 2015: Researchers international leaders in satellite tracking in the wildlife environment

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