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18 May 2023 | Story KEKELETSO TAKANG | Photo PEXELS
Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences promotes student engagement and employability

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) drive towards student engagement and graduate employability necessitates the development and implementation of value-adding initiatives. One such initiative is the Business Management Start-up offered by the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.

The initiative is not only aimed at getting potential (nascent) entrepreneurs (students, lecturers, stream of external entrepreneurs) actively involved in entrepreneurship, but also to keep them engaged and take them through a value chain to enable them to establish and run a sustainable business. The Business Management Start-Up Initiative will equip students with practical experience, along with the theoretical knowledge that they will accumulate, thus delivering resilient, capable, proudly Kovsie students to industry.

Students will fundamentally understand how business works, improving their employability when they enter a business as employees, and providing them with the skills to become self-employed.

Students can look forward to several interactive sessions with knowledgeable presenters, who will guide them through a well-structured process to continuously evaluate their business ideas against the knowledge gained. Moreover, the active involvement of mentors implies that students will have access to expert sounding boards for advice and motivation. Lastly, due to the partnerships with external stakeholders, students will be exposed to ‘real-life’ industry situations, exposing them to a wealth of industry-specific knowledge.

And just in case that is not enough to get you excited, let the possibility of funding for your new venture be the last drop of motivation you need to fill your tank for action!

Come join the Business Management team every Wednesday between 13:00 and 14:00 in the Flippie Groenewoud Gebou (FGG) 378 to be part of this exciting opportunity!

For more information on the initiative and the topics, click here.

News Archive

Stakeholders endorse UFS’s vision and strategy
2014-05-27

Results from a perception audit commissioned by the University of the Free State (UFS) in February 2014 have been finalised. The audit indicates that 86,14% of the university’s internal and external stakeholders agree with the institution's stated vision. An average of 81,99% of stakeholders endorse our values and 81,28% agree with our goals. 

The study was commissioned by the university's Department of Communication and Brand Management and conducted by an external firm of independent researchers. It was aimed at determining internal and external stakeholder understanding and endorsement of university strategy, as well as tracking core reputational indicators and perceptions.

The study was conducted among a representative sample of 23 stakeholder groupings, including staff, current and prospective students, donors, alumni, school principals, community leaders, potential employers of students and international partner universities.

Two similar audits were conducted in the last ten years – in 2005 and again in 2008 after the Reitz incident. Although a direct comparison of findings would not be psychometrically rigorous due to differing research modelling and sampling methods, there is a strong indication that the perception of the institution's stakeholders has shifted.

The uniqueness of the study and the research model developed for the project have recently received international recognition from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). The prestigious Jack Whittmer Research Award was presented to the university on 9 June 2014 during the Excellence Awards Gala of the association's world conference held in Toronto, Canada.

Read the full release (pdf)

 

 

Issued by: Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Tel: +27(0)51 401 2584 or +27(0)83 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27(0)51 444 6393

 

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