UFS Natural and Agricultural Sciences Faculty Fosters Collaboration with Flash Fact Competition

The Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (NAS) recently hosted a two-day Flash Fact Competition, where postgraduate students (Masters, PhD, and Postdocs) and staff presented and shared their research.

Co-organisers Liesl van der Westhuizen and Heidiry White, from the Dean’s Office, noted that “the main purpose of this competition is to disseminate information across departments within the faculty.” Dr Frans O’Neill, Programme Director of Microbiology and Biochemistry and co-organiser, added that the competition “creates awareness for collaboration opportunities and showcases the impressive diversity of research within NAS.”

In his closing statements, Prof Paul Oberholster, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, emphasised the significance of the competition, highlighting that it provides a platform for staff and students to showcase their work and encourages collaboration among participants.

Winners from each department (and divisions within departments) in the faculty faced each other in the final Flash Fact Competition. Participants had three minutes to present their research, followed by a question-and-answer session with a panel of adjudicators and the audience.  According to Dr O’Neill, a scoring system based on the standard Three Minute Thesis competition (3MT) was used to determine the winners. The criteria included content and audience engagement.

Prize Winners 

Masters category:

First prize – Mareli Moster, Department of Genetics

Second prize – Alexandra Howard, Department of Zoology and Entomology (Qwaqwa Campus)

Third prize – Natalie Matchett, Department of Physics (Astrophysics)

First prize – Thandi Mazibuko, Department of Physics

Second prize – Justin Cooper, Department of Physics (Astrophysics)

Third prize – Diana Mngomezulu, Department of Plant Sciences

First prize – Dr Abdul Rashid Issahaku, Department of Chemistry

Second prize – Dr Govind Nair, Department of Physics

Third prize – Dr Kamini Govender, Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry

First prize – Dr Tinus Viljoen, Department of Genetics

Second prize – Dr Cowan McLean, Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences

Third prize – Dr Ernie Langer, Department of Chemistry