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14 October 2022 | Story Dr Cinde Greyling | Photo Iflair Photography
UFS Business school
The UFS Business School.

The University of the Free State Business School (UFSBS) was established in the late 1990s and is fully accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and the Central and East European Management  Development Association (CEEMAN). Since its inception, the school has operated as a boutique business school focusing on personal attention to adult learners.

Late 2021, the UFSBS appointed a new Director, Dr Udesh Pillay. In conjunction with the change in leadership, the UFSBS is embarking on a new strategic journey, while maintaining the focus on its core business – in other words, its official academic offerings. The strategic journey of the UFSBS has been underway for the past year, and significant time has been allocated to the recurriculation of programme offerings; decolonisation of the academic agenda; and orientating the UFSBS so that it makes a larger practical contribution to the SME sector locally and nationally, especially in relation to business continuity and resilience in the wake of unforeseen externalities.  These developments will ensure that the UFSBS remains a premier academic institution and contributes to the success of South Africa and its people. It also ensures that the twin principles of academic excellence and social justice become mutually reinforcing.

The UFSBS’s strategic direction for the next five years aligns neatly with the Vision 130. By 2034 – when the university commemorates its 130th anniversary – the UFS wants to be recognised and acknowledged by peers and society as a top-tier university in South Africa. Similarly, the UFSBS has aspirations to become a top-ten business school in SA over the next five years.

Given the history of South Africa, it is of utmost importance to empower people to add value, particularly in the field of business and management leadership. The UFSBS will contribute to building an ecosystem of entrepreneurialism, with the more traditional academic programmes based upon the conventional practices of teaching and learning, research, and mentorship to be supplemented by ‘opportunity-driven initiatives’, such as executive education, consulting support, coaching, incubation services, and the commercialisation of intellectual property.

Globally, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has catalysed processes of digital transformation in business, to which the UFSBS will align to ensure that students are equipped with the relevant knowledge and skills in a fast-changing, technology-enabled world. With the support of the Centre for Business Dynamics (CBD) housed in the UFSBS; the establishment of the Small Business Academy (SBA) in early 2024 in the UFSBS; the soon-to-be-established High-Growth Business Incubator (in collaboration with the NAS faculty); and with the process of strengthening relationships with the Paradys Experimental Farm gaining traction, a differentiated medium has been created to nurture responsible,  ethical, and socially conscious business leaders. The foundation then – to create the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs to become agents of change and value co-creators for business and society – will thus have begun.

The UFSBS will align to ensure that students are equipped with relevant knowledge and skills in a fast-changing, technology-enabled world. – Dr Udesh Pillay.
The slogan, ‘BE WORTH MORE’, embodies what the UFSBS strives for, and is consistent with new developments in global discourses, which are rethinking and transforming many of the traditional dogmas that have informed the mandates of business schools. 

As a critical bridge between academia and business, the UFSBS is uniquely poised to reimagine a better and intelligent future that is data-informed, collaborative, innovative, and inclusive.

News Archive

Student Transformation Forum kicks off
2010-08-19

Ms Nida Jooste and Ms Modieyi Mothole
Photo: Lize du Plessis

The establishment of a Broad Student Transformation Forum (BSTF) at the University of the Free State (UFS) was initiated yesterday with a student consultative forum called to determine the agenda and delegations to the BSTF.

The establishment of the BSTF follows the suspension of the functioning of the Student Representative Council (SRC) recently and aims to provide students broadly with the opportunity to reach consensus regarding student governance at the Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

The meeting was chaired by student affairs specialist Prof. Cecil Bodibe and was attended by representatives from student associations from all faculties, representatives of non-faculty student associations and representatives from residences. Commuter students were represented through private student associations.

“The meeting clearly expressed agreement that decisions taken by the BSTF should ensure that the student body and student-life programmes truly reflect our constitutional commitment to building a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic society, and that collaboration between students and management in affecting the decisions of the BSTF to achieve this should be prioritised,” Mr Rudi Buys, Dean of Student Affairs, said.

The forum agreed that apart from addressing specific questions pertaining to student governance, the BSTF should also address transformation issues broadly. The forum also agreed that the delegations to the BSTF should ensure that the forum is truly representative of the diverse student population and is inclusive of all stakeholder groups, including international students and students with disability. A proper process to determine the credentials of participating association was requested and will be implemented.

The meeting furthermore expressed the wish that the BSTF should exist only to determine the key changes that should be made to student governance now, so that the postponed SRC elections may continue as soon as possible. The BSTF will thus have a temporary role to enable the student body to reach consensus regarding changes to the SRC constitution.

Meanwhile, an Interim Student Committee (ISC) was appointed, which has the role to ensure the continuation of daily student life programmes and to ensure student representation in management and governance of the university continues during the deliberations of the BSTF. The ISC serves as an interim structure that will dissolve when a new SRC takes office following the outcome of the BSTF and the continuation of the SRC election.

The ISC consists of 15 members who were appointed through a process of nomination of four (4) members each from the faculty-student associations, non-faculty student associations and from residences, and three (3) members from the student executive committees of Kovsie Community Service, the Irawa student newspaper and the Kovsie Rag executive committee.

The ISC elected Ms Modieyi Mothole and Ms Nida Jooste as its chairperson and deputy-chairperson, respectively.
“I’m encouraged with the initiative and response of students to ensure student governance continues, which bears witness to the depth of leadership our student body holds, while the level of engagement by students in the BSTF indicates that the student body seriously consider issues of transformation,” said Mr Buys.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg.)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za  
19 August 2010
 

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