Faculty of Agriculture, Science and Technology hosts successful research day

The Faculty of Agriculture, Science and Technology (FAST) hosted a successful research day on 17 October 2014, at the campus multipurpose hall.

The FAST research day is an annual event designed to showcase the width and depth of research activities being conducted in the faculty each academic year.

During this year's research day, presentations of scientific work were given by honours', masters', and PhD students, as well as members of academic staff. A total of 108 abstracts were presented from all schools in the faculty.

"Research impact and a good university; the SA landscape; NWU and FAST performance; academic staff development planning; practical information; get to know all the relevant journals in your field; identify the 'top' journals and know who are the leading researchers in your field and identify researchers with whom you can co-author; compare local and international journals; read books and book chapters in relation to your focus carefully; get information from the Web; plan strategically which conferences to attend and participate in; attend conferences of your scholarly society; participate at conferences - ask questions." These were the words of the keynote speaker Prof Amanda Lourens, the vice-rector, Research and Planning at the Potch Campus.

Prizes and awards were given to staff and students for their roles in ensuring a successful 2014 FAST research day. Top presenters in each category were awarded prizes for their sterling work.

This research day was also combined with a postgraduate open day, which sought to showcase research opportunities in FAST for potential postgraduate students. A variety of literature on postgraduate programmes in the different schools were made available through manned stalls and desks.