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21 July 2020 | Story Nitha Ramnath | Photo UFS photo archive

The Department of Business Management within the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences is one of four successful recipients of the Nurturing Emerging Scholars Programme (NESP), which aims to recruit honours graduates who demonstrate academic ability and express an early interest in the possibility of an academic career. 

 “The NESP is a mechanism that addresses a potential shortcoming in the department in the medium to long term. Most of the academics in the department specialise either in entrepreneurship or marketing. As such, the availability of academics with interdisciplinary business knowledge who can teach and do research across the different sub-fields of business management is limited,” says Prof Brownhilder Neneh, Associate Professor in the Department of Business Management.

Once graduates enter the programme – as NESP master’s graduates they form part of a resource pool from which new academics can be recruited. 

Prof Neneh continues: “Considering the imminent retirement of academics in the department, the NESP provides an opportunity to recruit an academic who is able to work with experienced academics, gain experience, and ‘prepare’ the person to become an expert across the different fields in the department.”

“This programme would assist in succession planning within the department as well as training individuals within academia,” she says. 

According to Prof Neneh, access to this funding opportunity will further strengthen and expand the path that the department has embarked upon as far as striving for excellence in teaching, research, and community engagement is concerned, thereby contributing to address key societal challenges. “Appointing an NESP candidate would be an ideal opportunity to recruit an academic who will be able to work with the senior staff and gain experience and teaching/research competencies relevant to the 4IR, and ‘prepare’ the person to become the business management expert in the department,” she says.

News Archive

Anxiety about losing a loved one to death culminates in runner-up prize at Sasol New Signatures Art Competition
2014-09-15

 

Adelheid Camilla von Maltitz
Photo: Supplied

Adelheid Camilla von Maltitz – a lecturer at our Department of Fine Arts – has been awarded the runner-up prize at the Sasol New Signatures Art Competition. Her sculptural piece, ‘Bodies’, explores the process of mourning and loss and the grey areas between life and death.

The Sasol New Signatures Art Competition is recognised as the country’s longest running art competition. The competition has kick-started the careers of some of South Africa's most prominent artists. Last year, the competition was won by another Kovsie, Dot Vermeulen.

“Personally, I experienced an intense and consistent sense of anxiety towards death, specifically an anxiety towards losing a loved one due to a road accident. This led me to wonder how an individual copes with substantial loss. During my practical research it became obvious that there are many contrasts existing in the mourning process, contrasts related to anxiety and peace,” said Von Maltitz.

The piece encourages contemplation on three levels.

At the first level, two boxes lie on the floor covered in heaped earth and ash which suggests a buried body: closed, powerless and dark. Here, Von Maltitz invites the viewer to use this space to contemplate the process of mourning and loss.

The second level offers fragmented apparitions displayed in the light boxes, commenting on the ‘grey area’ between life and death.

At the third and final level, the viewer stands between the light boxes: open, alive and powerful.

Von Maltitz is currently reading for her PhD in Fine Arts at Kovsies. Commenting on her research, Von Maltitz said that she is “also interested in comparing the use of repetitive actions – such as revisiting a grave, which seem present in the mourning process – to the use of repetition in sculptural installation.” She is also interested in the relationship between these repetitions and anxiety and relieving anxiety, either permanently or temporarily.


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