Dr. Storm Watson, lecturer in the Department of Business Management, recently achieved a significant milestone in his academic journey by graduating with a PhD in Business Management on 12 April 2024 at Mandela University’s Autumn Graduation. His doctoral research, titled "Scenarios for re-imagining the digital landscape of South African organisations," marks a notable contribution to the field of digital transformation, particularly within South African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
Dr Welcome Kupangwa, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Business Management, was invited by the Nelson Mandela University’s Research Development Office to present his research work and milestones at the Postdoctoral and Research Fellows’ orientation and welcome ceremony on the 20th of March 2024.
During the week of the 18th to 22nd March students representing each of the Departments in the School of Management Sciences participated in an International week on Sustainability (I-week).
Professor Shelley Farrington, from the Department of Business Management, was a keynote speaker at the 3rd Global Entrepreneurship Catalyst Symposium.
Congratulations to Mr Siyabonga Sirayi, who graduated in December 2023 with his MCom in Business Management.
Patent attorney shares valuable insights with students.
Members of the NMU Family Business Unit and Business Management’s Dr Welcome Kupangwa and Professors Shelley Farrington and Elmarie Venter received the Best Paper Runner-up Award for their paper on “Transgenerational value transmission: Socialisation mechanisms in indigenous African business-owning families” during the recent 16th International Business Conference (IBC 2023), which was hosted in Swakopmund, Namibia.
The 16th International Business Conference (IBC) was held in Swakopmund, Nambia between 24 – 27 September 2023. This year, the conference received over 283 papers and over 200 people attended the conference. A number of academics from the Department of Business Management at Nelson Mandela University were among the attendees.
Prof Elmarie Venter, on behalf of her co-authors, Dr Welcome Kupangwa and Prof Shelley Farrington, attended the annual IFERA Conference in Kraków, Poland, which was hosted by the 6-8 July Jagiellonion University, during 6-8 July.
Prof Shelley Farrington was invited to present at the Student Entrepreneurship Practitioners Indaba, which took place on the 29th and 30th of June, 2023.
Dr Welcome Kupangwa was invited to a virtual engagement session on the 12th of July, which the Nelson Mandela University International Office organised in collaboration with the Centre for Entrepreneurship at NHL Stenden University of Applied Science in the Netherlands.
Members of Mandela University’s Family Business Unit (FBU) and Department of Business Management, Prof Shelley Farrington, Prof Elmarie Venter and Dr Welcome Kupangwa (Postdoctoral Fellow), met with Mr Raymond Mutura at Nelson Mandela University from the 12th to the 23rd of June.
An outcome of the international collaborative project between Nelson Mandela University, the University of Pretoria and Ghent University (Belgium) titled: Improving student entrepreneurship support at South African universities in order to mitigate youth unemployment and funded by VLIR-UOS, was the development of a Student Entrepreneurship Support (SES) Assessment Tool.
Congratulations to Dr Jasmine Kinsman, who graduated in April 2023 with her PhD in Business Management.
Congratulations to Ms Vuyolwethu Nokwanda Nyati, who graduated in April 2023 with her MCom in Business Management.
We would like to extend our congratulations to Divan Barnard, who was named as the top achiever for the Postgraduate Diploma: Financial Planning programme at the April 2023 awards ceremony.
We would like to extend our congratulations to Mr Philton Abrahams, Junior Lecturer in the Department of Business Management, who was named as the top achiever for the MCom Business Management programme at the April 2023 awards ceremony.
Prof Miemie Struwig and Dr Laura Best delivered a paper at the 4th Current Business Issues in African Countries April 2023.
We would like to extend our congratulations to Jared Farrell, who was named as the top achiever for the BCom General programme at the April 2023 awards ceremony.
We would like to extend our congratulations to Malumbo Edmund Gad Hami, who was named as the top achiever for the BCom Honours Business Management programme at the April 2023 awards ceremony.
We would like to extend our congratulations to Osmond Caerwyn Spence , who was named as the top achiever for the BCom Financial Planning programme in the Department of Business Management at the April 2023 awards ceremony.
We would like to extend our congratulations to Ryan Makolosi, who was named as the top achiever for the BCom General (extended) programme in the Department of Business Management at the April 2023 awards ceremony.
The Department of Business Management has appointed Ms Noxolo Kondile as an Academic Advisor, dedicated to assisting students in navigating the challenges associated with student life.
Congratulations to Dr Vusumzi Msuthwana (Senior Lecturer in Business Management) who completed the Two Oceans Marathon over the past weekend.
Members of the Family Business Unit meet with Belgian academics to discuss future collaboration opportunities.
In 2020, an international collaborative project was initiated between researchers from Belgium’s Ghent University (UG), the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) and the University of Pretoria (UP).
Ms Vuyolwethu Nyati has obtained her MCom Business Management degree and will be graduating in April 2023.
Mr Philton Abrahams has obtained his MCom Business Management degree and will be graduating in April 2023.
Mrs Jasmine Kinsman has obtained her PhD Business Management degree and will be graduating in April 2023.
Prof Shelley Farrington (Department of Business Management) and Mr Riyaad Ismail (University of Antwerp, Belgium) were invited to showcase their project relating to Student Entrepreneurship Support (SES) at South African public universities during the recent State Visit to the Republic of South Africa of Their Majesties the King and the Queen of the Belgians.
Prof Todd Davey from the Institut Mines Telecom Business School in Paris France has visited Prof Miemie Struwig and Dr Paul Tai Hing from Thursday 16 February to Tuesday 21 February 2023 to discuss collaborative research possibilities.
The Institut Mines-Telecom Business School is the business school of Institut Mines-Telecom, France’s leading group of engineering schools. It is placed under the authority of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It has a dual governance structure where the State’s supervision is complemented by the participation of large companies.
Dr Victoria Galan-Muros, Chief of Research and Analysis UNESCO International Institute of Higher Education, visited Prof Miemie Struwig and Dr Paul Tai-Hing from Nelson Mandela University to discuss collaborative research.
The UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education was created by UNESCO and it is the solely specialized institute of the United Nations system with the mission to contribute to the improvement of higher education in member states.
UNESCO is the only United Nations agency with a mandate in higher education and works with countries to ensure high quality higher education opportunities are available to everyone. It places a special focus on inclusion, the recognition of qualifications and quality assurance, particularly in developing countries.
BCom Financial Planning student, Yonela Peter, has been selected by the DHL GradStar Awards 2022 as one of the Top Ten most employable full-time students in the country.
The 2022 cohort of Financial Planning students had the privilege of conversing with Financial Planning Alumni from the Department of Business Management who had also pursued the same career paths.
On the 8th of November 2022, Prof Shelley Farrington and Mr Riyaad Ismail presented the findings of the international collaborative project, titled "Improving student entrepreneurship support at South African public universities in order to mitigate youth unemployment", to the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation. They also discussed the way forward in terms of the Student Entrepreneurship Support (SES) Self-Assessment Tool to be piloted and launched in 2023.
The Department of Business Management recently hosted well-known South African patent attorney, Erik van der Vyver, in an online guest lecture for their Entrepreneurship Honours students.
The staff of the Department of Business Management recently went on an overnight trip to Tsitsikamma from 13-14 October 2022.
Prof Venter, on behalf of Dr Welcome Kupangwa and Prof Shelley Farrington, presented their paper titled “Values as informal institutions: the interaction between indigenous black South African family businesses and the community” at the 5th International Family Business Research Forum 2022 in Hasselt, Belgium, from 27 to 29 September 2022.
Congratulations to two of our staff who have received promotions! We also welcome a new lecturer to the department.
Prof Elmarie Venter presented a paper on “A South African perspective on family foundations and trusts” during the 5th International Law and Management Conference, which was held at the Max Planck Institute of Law and Management in Hamburg, Germany from 22-23 September 2022.
Prof Shelley Farrington and Mr Riyaad Ismail recently attended the 33rd Annual Southern Africa Institute for Management Scientists (SAIMS) Conference, which took place at Mpekweni Beach Resort (close to Port Alfred), from the 11th to the 14th of September 2022.
On Thursday, 08 September 2022, Prof Janine Krüger delivered her Inaugural Lecture in the North Campus Conference Centre, titled “Is e-business the saving grace for retailers during Covid-19?”. Congratulations to Prof Krüger for this exemplary achievement!
Congratulations to Dr Ayanda Deliwe, Senior Lecturer in Business Management and HOD: Department of Business Management, for being named the Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences Emerging Researcher of the Year!
The Nelson Mandela University Family Business Unit (FBU) recently hosted the 3rd Annual African Family Business Research Conference, in collaboration with African Family Firms (AFF). Various staff members and students from the Department of Business Management were involved with organising and participating in this conference.
Nelson Mandela University hosted the 6th Annual Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) Lekgotla at the Boardwalk Conference Centre in Gqeberha, from the 19th to the 22nd of July 2022.
The 6th Annual EDHE 2022 Lekgotla was hosted by Nelson Mandela University from the 19th to the 22nd of July at the Boardwalk Conference Centre, Gqeberha. Professor Shelley Farrington (Department of Business Management) and Mr Riyaad Ismail (PhD student and Research Assistant, Department of Business Management), together with Dr Alex Bignotti (University of Pretoria) showcased the outcomes of their international collaborative project with Ghent University (Belgium) focusing on student entrepreneurship support at South African public universities.
Prof Miemie Struwig, together with Dr Laura Best of the VC’s Office at Nelson Mandela University, delivered a research paper at the 13th Global Conference on Business and Social Sciences 2022.
Ms Sanele Matomela has been accepted to attend the Social Entrepreneurship Seminar, offered by the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, the University of Pretoria, and the African Network of Social Entrepreneurship Scholars.
Mr Riyaad Ismail, a PhD student in the Department of Business Management and lead researcher for the international project titled “Improving Student Entrepreneurship Support at South African Universities in order to Mitigate Youth Unemployment”, recently travelled to Europe to work with team members from Gent University, Belgium. During his visit, they worked on an article, as well as a Student Entrepreneurship Support (SES) Assessment Tool.
On 7 May 2022, Mr Arthur Peters of the George Campus gave a presentation at the annual “Young people’s Career Day”, hosted by the New Apostolic Church: Athlone District in Cape Town.
Prof Shelley Farrington and Mr Riyaad Ismail from the Department of Business Management at Nelson Mandela University (NMU) have released the results of their project titled “Improving Student Entrepreneurship Support at South African Public Universities in order to Mitigate Youth Unemployment”.
Congratulations to Dr Ayanda Deliwe on her appointment as Head of Department (HOD) for the Nelson Mandela University Department of Business Management.
Mr Luyolo Mahlangabeza recently presented two papers at the International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines (IABPAD) Conference, which was held during 21-24 April 2022, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel near the Galleria in Dallas, Texas.
We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to Dr Jackie Palframan, who graduated at the April 2022 graduation ceremony with a PhD in Business Management.
Congratulations to Dr Cerneels Coetzee, who graduated at the George Graduation ceremony on 7 April 2022 with his PhD in Business Management.
On Thursday, 7 April 2022, Prof Miemie Struwig had a research paper presented at the 3rd Current Business Issues in African Countries Conference. The paper was co-authored and presented at the conference by Dr Laura Best of the VC’s Office at Nelson Mandela University.
Prof Miemie Struwig, Professor in Business Management, and Mr Storm Watson, Academic in Business Management, have recently had a research article published as part of a book dedicated to COVID-19 research.
Mr Riyaad Ismail, a PhD student in the Department of Business Management and lead researcher for the international project titled "Improving Student Entrepreneurship Support at South African Universities in order to Mitigate Youth Unemployment", recently visited entrepreneurship stakeholders at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Stellenbosch University (SU) to share some of the project’s findings.
Mr Luyolo Mahlangabeza teamed up with Mr Loyiso Zwelakhe, an alumnus of the Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, to publish an article in the Tuesday, 8 March 2022 edition of The Herald Newspaper.
Prof Shelley Farrington of the Nelson Mandela University and Family Business Unit was a keynote speaker at the First Global Entrepreneurship Catalyst Symposium 2022, held from 26-27 February.
On 3 February 2022, Dr Ayanda Deliwe presented a keynote address at the Digital Learning Africa Summit. The summit was held virtually and hosted by the International Business and Economic Forum (IBEForum).
Congratulations to Dr Gabriel Kwadwo Twumasi, who has graduated at the December 2021 graduation ceremony with his PhD in Business Management. Dr Twumasi shared some insights into his academic journey.
Dr Conrad van Greunen has completed his second PhD in Business Management and graduated at the recent December 2021 graduation ceremony. Dr van Greunen has kindly given us an intimate view of the heart, personal foundation and framework that fuelled his meticulous persistence to become the first person in the Department of Business Management to earn two doctorates, both under the supervision of Prof Elmarie Venter.
We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to Dr Welcome Kupangwa, who graduated at the recent December 2021 graduation ceremony with his PhD in Business Management. Not only is Dr Kupangwa an alumnus of the Department of Business Management, but he is also an active member of the Nelson Mandela University Family Business Unit and a lecturer in the Department of Management Practice. He has shared some wonderful insight about his PhD journey.
Congratulations to Mr Riyaad Ismail, who completed his Master of Commerce degree cum laude! Riyaad is a Research Assistant in the Department of Business Management and will be graduating at the ceremony held on Wednesday, 15 December 2021. Riyaad has shared his experience and elaborated on his interesting and extremely relevant research topic…
Two staff members of the Department of Business Management have received promotions, which will take effect from 1 January 2022.
Two of our department’s alumni have been honoured at the recent Nelson Mandela University Alumni Awards ceremony that was held digitally on Tuesday, 7 December 2021.
On 17 November 2021, Prof Elmarie Venter of the Nelson Mandela University Department of Business Management and Family Business Unit, together with Prof Johan Willemse, an Agricultural Economist, presented a two-hour webinar to discuss the economic outlook for 2022 for different parts of the Agricultural sector in South Africa.
On Friday, 19 November 2021, Mr Luyolo Mahlangabeza of the Department of Business Management was invited to deliver a 90-minute virtual ‘Leading Practice Masterclass Presentation’ for the Coalition for Organisational Integrity (COI).
Dr Ayanda Deliwe, Lecturer in Business Management, recently participated in the 20th European Conference on e-Learning (ECEL). The hybrid (online and in-person) conference was held on the 28th & 29th of October 2021 and was hosted by the University of Applied Sciences HTW Berlin, Germany.
Prof Elmarie Venter, Professor in Business Management and Director of the Nelson Mandela University Family Business Unit, participated in three different online events. The events included being a part of Standard Bank’s Phenomenal Families Series, presenting a webinar for SAIPA and co-hosting a Family Business Webinar.
Prof Elmarie Venter and Prof Shelley Farrington from the Nelson Mandela University Department of Business Management and Family Business Unit, together with Mr Alan Barr of KPMG South Africa, presented a paper at the annual International Family Enterprise Research Academy (IFERA) 2021 Conference.
Mr Luyolo Mahlangabeza, Lecturer in Business Management, was invited to be a panellist during the Early Career Academics Advancement Programme (ECAAP) online shared learning session on 29 September 2021.
Prof Shelley Farrington (Professor in Business Management) and Mr Riyaad Ismail (Masters student and Research Assistant in the Department of Business Management), together with Prof Mirjam Knockaert (University of Ghent, Belgium), presented their collaborative project at the 5th Annual EDHE 2021 Lekgotla held from the 11th to the 14th of October 2021 in Pretoria.
Ms Sumaiya Sidat (Junior Lecturer) and Mr Luyolo Mahlangabeza (Lecturer) are members of the Early Career Academics Advancement Programme (ECAAP), and their stories were featured in the recently published 3rd issue of the 2021 ECAAP newsletter. They both reflected on their respective journeys thus far and discussed some of the difficulties they experienced as aspiring academics during a global pandemic.
Nelson Mandela University hosted its second, virtual annual student Academic Awards ceremony on 28 September 2021. During the ceremony, top achieving students were acknowledged for their outstanding academic results in numerous categories.
Various papers were presented at the recent International Business Conference (IBC) by members of the Department of Business Management.
Two research papers were presented by members of the Department of Business Management at the recent Southern Africa Institute for Management Scientists (SAIMS) conference.
Ms Sanele Matomela, Junior Lecturer in Business Management, represented Nelson Mandela University at the Social Entrepreneurship Summit (SES) 2021.
Congratulations to Mr Randolph Meth, a final year BCom Financial Planning student in our Department, who has won the ‘Existing Business – Tech’ category in the regional round of the EDHE Entrepreneurship Intervarsity 2021 Awards.
Congratulations to Mr Luyolo Mahlangabeza, Lecturer in Business Management, for being named as the Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences Emerging Researcher of the Year! The award is given to emerging researchers who have made a significant contribution to their relevant field of research and is based on Mr Mahlangabeza’s research outputs during the 2020 calendar year.
It gives us great pleasure to welcome another new face to the Department! Mr Sinaye Akhumzi Mtimba will be joining us from the 1st of September 2021 as a Lecturer in Business Management and will be focusing on the financial planning side of the Department.
The Nelson Mandela University Family Business Unit (FBU) recently hosted the 2nd Annual African Family Business Research Conference, in collaboration with African Family Firms (AFF). Various members from the Department of Business Management were involved with organising and participating in this conference.
The Department of Business Management wishes to extend a warm welcome to Mr Luyolo Mahlangabeza, who has been appointed as a Lecturer in Business Management.
The Nelson Mandela University Department of Business Management, together with the Department of Dietetics, has formulated and introduced a new bachelor's programme - BCom Food Service Management.
Prof Miemie Struwig and Mr Storm Watson attended the recent 19th Annual International Conference on Management held on 28-30 June & 1 July 2021. The conference accepted in-person and remote (online) presentations and was hosted by the Athens Institute for Education and Research in Athens, Greece.
On 23 June 2021, Dr Ayanda Deliwe participated in and presented her research paper at the 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd’21). The virtual conference was held during 22 and 23 June 2021, and was organised in Valencia, Spain by the Faculty of Business Administration and Management of the Universität Politècnica de València (UPV).
Ms Sumaiya Sidat, Junior Lecturer in the Department of Business Management, recently presented a paper (co-authored by HOD, Dr Tony Matchaba-Hove) at her first international research conference. She attended the 10th International Conference on Business and Economic Development (ICBED), co-hosted by the Centre for Business and Economic Research (CBER) and Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York.
We would like to congratulate Mr Viwe Mlonzi on his progression as one of the Top 50 finalists of the Mr. South Africa 2021 competition! Viwe is a former student of the Nelson Mandela University Department of Business Management, having joined us in 2008 when he commenced his BCom Financial Planning degree. Thereafter, he went on to complete his Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning and finally his Masters in Development Studies.
Junior lecturer from the Department of Business Management, Ms Sanele Matomela, has been selected to participate in the Virtual Summer Seminar in Entrepreneurship Research for doctoral-level training in Entrepreneurship, led by Associate Professor Vishal K. Gupta (University of Alabama).
In 2019, an international collaborative project between Nelson Mandela University, University of Pretoria and Ghent University in Belgium was initiated. The project is funded by Vlir-Uos* and is titled "Improving Student Entrepreneurship Support at South African Universities in order to Mitigate Youth Unemployment".
Congratulations to Dr Talifhani Khubana, who completed his PhD in Business Management and graduated during the April 2021 graduation period. Dr Khubana shared the story of his amazing PhD journey.
The Department of Business Management wishes to Congratulate Junior Lecturer, Mr Storm Watson, who completed his Master of Commerce in Business Management degree. Mr Watson graduated cum laude from Nelson Mandela University during the April 2021 virtual graduation period and has subsequently shared a bit more about his research and academic journey thus far.
The Department of Business Management has appointed an Academic Advisor to assist students navigate the difficulties of student life.
The Department of Business Management wishes to extend a warm welcome to Dr Viwe Mrwebi, who has been appointed as a Senior Lecturer in Business Management.
Dr Ayanda Deliwe represented the Nelson Mandela University as a guest speaker at the 3rd Annual Africa e-Learning and Technology Conference 2021, which was hosted by The Federated Management Institute.
On 20 October 2020, Mrs Palframan (Senior Lecturer in the Department of Business Management at Nelson Mandela University) was hosted by Cover Magazine for a short interview regarding professionalism in the financial planning industry and the role of formal qualifications.
On 11 and 12 December 2020, various members of the Department of Business Management participated in the 11th Global Conference on Business and Social Sciences 2020 (GCBSS). The theme of the conference was “Contemporary Issues in Management and Social Sciences Research”, and was hosted by Novotel Bangkok Platinum Pratunam, in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference was held virtually, with participants submitting pre-recordings of their presentations.
It is with great pleasure that we wish to congratulate Dr Tony Matchaba-Hove, on successfully obtaining his PhD during the April 2020 graduation period.
Congratulations to the Department of Business Management's own Ms Sumaiya Sidat, who completed her Master of Commerce degree and graduated during the April 2020 graduation period. Sumaiya shared her experience and provided some great insights into her research and what it takes to be a researcher.
Dr Boitumelo Rasethuntsa completed her PhD in Business Management and graduated during the April 2020 graduation period.
Dr Wise Mbewe completed his PhD in Business Management and graduated during the April 2020 graduation period.