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10 August 2023 | Story LACEA LOADER | Photo Supplied
Prof Nicolene
Prof Nicolene Barkhuizen, newly appointed Director of the UFS Business School.

The University of the Free State (UFS) has appointed Prof Nicolene Barkhuizen as Director of its Business School as from 1 November 2023.

Strong network

Prof Barkhuizen holds a PhD in Industrial Psychology from the North-West University and began her academic career as a research assistant at the same institution before gaining lecturing experience at the University of Johannesburg and the University of Pretoria, among others. Currently, she is full professor in the Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). She is also the Director of the Centre for Work Performance and Deputy Head of the Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management at UJ. 

“Prof Barkhuizen brings a wealth of experience and expertise. She is a globally recognised expert on talent management and one of the country’s leading industrial psychologists. Her management experience in higher education, her extensive publication record, and her drive for excellence makes her the ideal person to lead the UFS Business School to new heights,” says Prof Philippe Burger, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences

Prof Barkhuizen is regarded as the leading author on talent management on the African continent; she is globally recognised for her work in this area and has occupied various executive and senior management positions thus far. She has been part of several national and international teaching and research associations, bodies, and committees and is a member of numerous national and international bodies. 

Research outputs and prestigious acknowledgements 

Prof Barkhuizen’s research outputs to date has resulted in more than 150 accredited research publications, 180 peer-reviewed conference presentations, two books, and eight book chapters. She has also received various prestigious acknowledgements for her research outputs, such as the National Women in Science award for best junior researcher in the field of Social Sciences from the Minister of Science and Technology. She is also well versed in supervising postgraduate research, lecturing, and consulting. 

“I am delighted and excited to be afforded the opportunity to join the vibrant and dynamic UFS team. The UFS Business School's motto to "provide individuals with an exceptional opportunity to Be Worth More” resonated with me immediately, as I am passionate about developing and empowering individuals from all walks of life.  As a result, I am convinced that the UFS Business School is ideally positioned to invest in the talents of today and tomorrow by equipping individuals with the entrepreneurial compass to navigate a VUCA-BANI world to launch sustainable business ventures. We live in a time when there are numerous opportunities to provide innovative and creative solutions for the development of individuals on multiple societal levels. Together with my team, I look forward to expanding and establishing the UFS Business School as the preferred incubator for education that will transform, empower, and sustain the lives of future-fit leaders and societies through business education excellence.

My motto is: “If you want to make a success in life, you need to take at least ten people with you.” Now, more than ever, is the opportunity to invest in education and build a nation on the footprints of knowledge,” she says.

News Archive

Postgraduate School opens at UFS
2011-05-19

 
Prof. Maresi Nerad, from Washington university in Seattle, USA
Photo: Stephen Collett

We are celebrating the launch of our new Postgraduate School (PGS) on our Main Campus in Bloemfontein from 16 - 20 May 2011.

In line with national priorities for research-based postgraduate education and the focus of the UFS Academic Turnaround Strategy, the aims of the Postgraduate School are to:

  • improve the quality of postgraduate student research;
  • produce graduates who are global citizens, research literate and able to reflect ethically on the purpose, process and product of research;
  • improve throughput rates of postgraduate students; and
  • make the experience of being a postgraduate at the UFS one which is stimulating, enjoyable and which contributes to the development of the person beyond the limits of her or his discipline(s).

“We hope that the school will be a pleasant place to pursue research scholarship, discuss ideas and relax, and we look forward to welcoming postgraduates and other scholars to the school,” Prof. Neil Roos, Director of the UFS Postgraduate School said.

This significant event in the academic transformation of the university goes hand in hand with the inaugural lecture of Prof. Maresi Nerad. Prof. Nerad’s impressive CV reads amongst others that she has a M.A. (Political Science) at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany and a Ph.D. (Higher Education) at the University of California, Berkeley. She is also the founding director of the national Center for Innovation and Research Graduate Education (CIRGE).

As Professor Extraordinary in the UFS’s Postgraduate School, she is bringing more to the table than a world of wisdom and her passion for the postgraduate education. “I can contribute lessons learned from four distinct professional experiences, including 17 years of administrative and scholarly leadership in undertaking the conceptual and practical transformational work of organisational change at two US postgraduate schools, where I worked amongst others to improve the quality of mentoring, shorten the time to doctoral degree, and improve doctoral completion rates.”

She also brings to the UFS her experience as founding and current director of the first research center for studies on graduate education in the world. “It is our mission to discover how best to prepare Ph.D. students to be effective leaders in research and society,” she said.

Prof. Nerad says that she is committed to support and consult with the UFS Postgraduate School. She would particularly encourage the use of research to understand postgraduate education in all its dimensions at the UFS better and to use the evidence-based findings as a base for policy-making and resource allocation.

In reflecting on her vision for the UFS Postgraduate School, Prof. Nerad says that five years from now she hopes to see the UFS having strengthened its position as a major driving force in the national South African postgraduate-education community for internationalising postgraduate education. She is also confident that the UFS will supply increased numbers of skilled postgraduates who are “intellectual entrepreneurs and risk takers with a social consciousness, who have sustainability of the systems of the planet as a core value”.

“Five years from now the PSG will have taken the lead in preparing graduate students who are world citizens,” Prof. Nerad concluded.

 

Presentation on PhD students reveals more than meets the eye

British professor presents a discussion at UFS

Journey from student to scholar

Society will take care of interests

Female academics talk about joys and lessons

Research plus the internet equals the cyber scholar
 


 

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