Tukkie students rewarded for excellent work

Two students – one from the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences and the other from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences – were recently rewarded for remarkable achievements. Ntuthuko Tsokodibane was this year’s winner in the 37^th Nedbank and Old Mutual Budget Speech Competition and Mmathapelo Selomane received the award for the best student from the South African Institute for Engineering and Environmental Geologists (SAIEG).

Ntuthuko is an undergraduate student in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. He won the first prize of R30 000 in the Nedbank and Old Mutual Budget Speech Competition. For the competition, undergraduate students had to write an essay for the Minister of Finance in which they focused on the macro- and microeconomic policy changes that would increase South Africa’s export potential. The competition is an initiative to promote socio-economic thinking and to motivate students in economics and finance to apply their minds to constructive solutions.

Mmathapelo’s honours project was of such a high standard that she received the best student award from the South African Institute for Engineering and Environmental Geologists. She is a geology student who is studying for her master’s degree in Engineering Technology, after she completed her honours project (a two-year programme) in one year. The achievement marks a milestone in Mmathapelo’s career as an engineering geologist, and she is a shining light in the gloom that characterises the lack of black female professionals in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields in South Africa. She is proof that the University of Pretoria is making a tangible contribution to producing leading professionals in these fields.