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Juanita Burjins joins USAf leadership team, contributing strategic expertise

04 May 2023 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Supplied

Juanita Burjins, Head: Leadership and Development in the Department of Human Resources at the University of the Free State, was recently appointed as a member of the Universities South Africa’s Leadership Management Strategy Group (LMSG). The appointment to the group in April 2023 is a testament and a recognition of Burjin’s leadership and expertise, not only in the field of human resources but also in the higher education sector.

The LMSG is responsible for initiating activities that would allow it to develop evidence-based influences on the work of Higher Education Learner Management (HELM), and to advise the board on the programmatic direction of HELM, including its financial sustainability and identifying opportunities for the growth and expansion of its post-school education and training.

As a member of the USAf Leadership Management Strategy Group – a position Burjins will hold for three years – she will contribute and provide strategic advice to the USAf Board, the Chief Executive, and the Director of Higher Education Leadership and Management, regarding planning, implementation, and monitoring.

Burjins said: “I was nominated by the Skills Development Facilitators Forum; in the group, I will be responsible for engagement and alignment with member universities and other key role players in terms of their leadership and management development needs.”

Beaming with pride, Burjins is looking forward to “working with a group of expert leaders within the higher education sector and contributing to enabling and empowering learning opportunities”.

“I am proud that I could represent the University of the Free State in this capacity and contribute to the stability and effectiveness of institutional leadership and management in the higher education sector. With the opportunity, I am also looking forward to providing strategic advice, advocacy, and tactical programme management support for HELM, and identifying potential national and regional collaborations and partnerships with other universities,” added Burjins.

Burjins believes it is important to have the USAf Leadership Management Strategy Group in higher education, as it provides ‘strategic advice to the USAf Board on the planning, implementation, and monitoring of HELM for the engagement and alignment of member universities in terms of the leadership and development needs as well as the relevance and responsiveness of programme offering and other services in leadership and development.

News Archive

UFS shines in MBA survey

2006-10-25

Here are Prof Tienie Crous (Dean: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS) and Prof Helena van Zyl (Director of the UFS School of Management) with a copy of the Financial Mail.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

UFS shines in MBA survey
According to a recent survey published in the Financial Mail, the MBA programme presented by the School of Management at the University of the Free State (UFS) was rated jointly second best in the country by its graduates in terms of quality and standard.
The UFS MBA Programme was also rated fourth best by its graduates in terms of relevance to their business.

“I am overwhelmed and very proud that the School of Management, although we are a young school and have only been in existence for 7 (seven) years, has been rated so high by our graduandi. The School contributes in a very special way to much-needed business training in central South Africa,” said Prof Helena van Zyl, Director of the UFS School of Management.

“According to the survey, we have the lowest acceptance rate of applicants for the MBA programme, with only 33 students being accepted out of every 100 who apply. In general, we do not compromise on quality – as stated by our slogan: Be worth more. Given the quality of the programme, our MBA is very affordable – it offers real value for money,” said Prof van Zyl.

According to Prof van Zyl, the School of Management has had an increase the past 6 (six) months in enquiries from prospective students from Gauteng who are interested in studying the MBA programme. “They are even prepared to travel to Bloemfontein to attend classes,” she said.

This year Financial Mail moved away from an overall MBA ranking to a detailed consideration of subject area strengths for each business school in South Africa. The subject Strategy offered at the UFS School of Management was rated second in the country while the subject Economics also received the same rating.

“The School of Management is the flagship of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. It gives the UFS and this faculty a standing in corporate South Africa. This is largely due to Prof Helena van Zyl’s strategy to position the school and making it visible on a national level,” said Prof Tienie Crous, Dean: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS.

According to Prof Crous, the UFS School of Management provides students with opportunities to obtain first-hand experience of how big and successful companies are managed. “For instance, our MBA students undertake an overseas study tour every year. This year they visited amongst others the headquarters of Airbus in Toulouse, France and next year they will be visiting the headquarters of Toyota and Yamaha in Japan,” said Prof Crous.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
24 October 2006

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