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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

Empowering teachers: Working with head, heart and hand
2011-06-14

 
Prof. JJE Messerschimdt (left) is the main supervisor and Dr KE Khabanyane the co-supervisor of this study within our Faculty of Education.

The implementation of Curriculum 2005 brought about new demands in the teaching and learning of languages.  In teaching languages, it is expected of teachers to focus on the development of the basic language skills which are embedded in the first four outcomes, namely listening, speaking and reading which is coupled with viewing and writing.

Although the learning outcomes are developed as an integrated whole, each one needs special attention. According to the NCS, the third learning outcome namely "reading and viewing", is stated as follows: "The learner will be able to read and view for information and enjoyment, and respond critically to the aesthetic, cultural and emotional value in texts".
 
Julia Ramabenyane researches The facilitative role of Grade 1 teachers in the development of reading skills in Sesotho. Empowering teachers: Working with head, heart and hand, a workshop for Grade 1 teachers, was held on 27 and 28 May in the Winkie Direko Building on our Main Campus. The aim of the workshop was to create an opportunity for teachers to better understand their role as facilitators in the development of reading skills.
 
In addition to the facilitation of Mrs Ramabenyane, Prof. Hasina Ebrahim (lecturer at the School of Social Sciences and Language Education), grade 1 teachers from Lesedi and Karabelo Primary Schools, as well as the HOD of Foundation Phase and three grade 1 learners from Karabelo Primary School in Rocklands, participated in the activities.
 
This workshop, together with other reflective group sessions, formed part of the emancipatory action research of Julia Ramabenyane's Foundation Phase PhD studies. This PhD study is titled The facilitative role of grade 1 teachers in development of readings skills in Sesotho.

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