Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
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

Varsity Cup launched at the UFS
2008-02-14

 

Eerste Nasionale Bank (ENB) het onlangs die ENB Varsitybeker-kompetisie, waarin Suid-Afrika se top-universiteite teen mekaar gaan meeding, aan die Universiteit van die Vrystaat (UV) bekend gestel.

Die Varsitybeker-konsep bestaan uit agt spanne wat op Maandae teen mekaar sal meeding, gevolg deur twee halfeindstryde en ‘n eindstryd. Die wedstryde skop 18 Februarie 2008 af en die laaste wedstryd sal op 7 April 2008 gespeel word. Die Shimlas se wedstryde (4) begin op 25 Februarie 2008 teen die Universiteit van Johannesburg en eindig op 15 Maart 2008 teen die Nelson Mandela Metropolitaanse Universiteit.

‘n ENB Varsitybeker-feestoernooi word oor die Paasnaweek in April vanjaar in George beplan waar al agt spanne elk drie ligawedstryde sal speel. ‘n Koshuis van elk van die agt spanne se universiteit sal ook die geleentheid kry om teen mekaar in George te speel. Dit sal die eerste keer in die Suid-Afrikaanse rugbygeskiedenis wees dat universiteitskoshuise in ‘n toernooi teen mekaar sal meeding.

By die loodsing was, van links: prof. Frederick Fourie (Rektor en Visekanselier van die UV), mnr. James Letuka (Direkteur: KovsieSport) mnr. Francois Pienaar (voormalige Springbokkaptein en direkteur van die ENB Varsitybeker), en mnr. De Wet Ras (KovsieSport).
Foto: Leonie Bolleurs

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept