7 Tshikuvhe Phetho at the Russian Olympiad 2022 The Russian Olympiad is an intellectual competition among university applicants that offers a real chance to be admitted to a university past the entrance exams and to receive either a state scholarship or a significant discount on tuition. The Olympiad is organised by the Association of Global Universities, in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudichestvo). The competition is aimed at talented foreign students who would like to enroll in master's and postgraduate programmes in Russia for free. Tshikuvhe Phetho, a final year Advanced Diploma Business Information Technology student in the Department of Applied Information System,s was one of 11 South Africans chosen to participate in the Russian Olympiad 2022, which took place from 7 to 16 October 2022. “It all started when I challenged myself to join a hackathon that was organized by the Empire Partner Foundation, where we were solving challenges that SMMEs face daily. The opportunity to participate in the Olympiad was sent to the WhatsApp group. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I wrote the online test and made sure I followed their requirements so I could get the opportunity to fly to Russia for the finals, and possibly get a scholarship to study in any university of my choice in the Russian country.” Tshikuvhe says that studying business information technology challenged her never to limit herself, and awoke her curiosity to learn more from all over the world in order to come up with mind-blowing IT solutions. Moments she will never forget about her trip to Russia were how they welcomed the participants with cultural dance and song, and the welcome address from all the directors from the different continents. To watch her journey in pictures, click HERE. Every single day was a gift, and she learnt a lot from the games and overall competition, which saw her winning five prizes. She passed tests in (1) analysing financial fraud using graphics systems, and (2) transparent blockchain, and received a diploma for both. She also obtained (3) a certificate for making it to the second final stage of the Olympiad in financial security; and (4) received a certificate for participating in the sports programme of the second international Olympiad in financial security. She also received a gold medal and a smart watch for being one of the five best winners in the Olympiad from South Africa, which saw her winning a full scholarship to study at any university of her choice in Russia in 2023. She has decided to study a bachelor’s in computer science. Once that is completed, she will articulate into a postgraduate qualification. Well done, Tshikuvhe – we are excited for you, and wish you the very best for your new journey ahead! Caitlin Rooskrantz wins bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games! BCom Marketing Management first-year student Caitlin Rooskrantz is at it again. This time she won bronze in artistic gymnastics at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. We asked her to share how this experience was for her, and this is what she had to say: “The Games were an absolutely great experience. I went there with a massive goal of leaving with a podium finish and, by God’s grace, that is exactly what I accomplished – among other historic achievements in the gymnastics field. We were there for a duration of almost two weeks. And I was part of the five-member team to achieve the massively great achievement of finishing an incredible fourth place in the team final. This was the first time that our women's artistic gymnastics team had such a high finish at the Commonwealth Games, let alone coming so close to a podium finish behind Team England, Australia, and Canada. Our team qualified for every final, and as an individual, I managed to qualify for the all-around final! I finished in ninth place in the all-around final, and my teammate Naveen Daries achieved an incredible historic sixth place finish. The last stretch was the bar final. After performing one of the best routines of my career thus far, I managed to walk away with a bronze medal after an intensely tight final. History was made once again for our team, as I became the first South African woman to medal on the uneven bars at the Commonwealth Games. It was an incredibly huge and emotional moment for me, getting the privilege to stand up on that podium in the middle of a packed arena with nothing but joy and pride in my heart.” Well done, Caitlin! It is such a pleasure to watch your journey and see you constantly rise and shine. We are proud of you!
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