The demand for business education on the African continent is growing and schools in SA are continuing to experience an unusually high number of applications.

This is according to the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (GSB) and the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB).

They say the increased interest in business education is driving tougher competition for admission, which could be good news for business education overall.

“In our own experience the demand for business education provided by business schools is definitely growing on the African continent,” says USB marketing and stakeholder director Dr Marietjie Theron-Wepener.

“This could be attributed, in part, to a realisation of the challenges faced by African businesses and multinationals, which create opportunities for well-equipped managers.

“It also has to do with the diverse portfolio that is offered by business schools – in USB’s case, for example, we have pioneered qualifications in development finance in addition to our internationally accredited MBA programme.”

Theron-Wepener says that the current cohort of registered MBA students at USB is more than 700, and each MBA class is capped at 55 students.

Theron-Wepener says that the current MBA cohort of registered students at USB is more than 700 – this after capping classes at 55.

“In our experience what is also contributing to the upsurge in a demand for business education is the new formats of delivery; for example, the blended learning option that USB is offering on its postgraduate diploma in business management and administration.

“This should not be confused with the conventional ‘online’ learning; the difference is that ‘blended learning’ is a synchronised, real-time learning experience by students who ‘attend’ classes virtually from anywhere in the world, and which enables them to engage with the lecturer and the rest of the class,” says Theron-Wepener.

Cape Town’s GSB, which is currently accepting applications for the 2017 academic year, says that it has had such an increase in applications overall that it has had to introduce two application dates.

“The GSB’s programmes, which include the MBA, EMBA (executive management), MCom in development finance, MPhil in inclusive innovation, postgraduate diploma in management practice, and a PhD programme, are particularly sought-after,” the director of open academic programmes at GSB, Segran Nair, says.

“Each year we receive so many applications that we are working with a waiting list.”

Nair says SA can only benefit from this rising interest in business education, as well as the increased competitiveness.

Schools were also seeing a shift in what was being taught as more students were seeking a grounding in innovation and entrepreneurship, along with a more traditional focus on business fundamentals, he says.

“The GSB is particularly geared towards social innovation, business model innovation and values-based leadership,” says Nair. “Our focus is on training world-class leaders who can operate successfully on the African continent.”

Meanwhile, a new report by wealth advisory firm New World Wealth, which forms part of its SA 2016 Wealth Report, has ranked Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape as the top university in SA for business and finance degrees.

Monash University was second on the list, followed by Stellenbosch University, Vega School of Brand Leadership and the University of Cape Town.

In its report New World Wealth considered the quality of lecturers and courses, individual attention given to students, safety and student life on campuses, and international recognition of degrees.

•Source: BusinessDAY South Africa.

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