The International Module at the University of Stellenbosch Business School

The University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) was one of the first business schools in South Africa, starting out with 14 MBA students in 1964. Today, the school has more than 2 600 degree students from all over the world. USB was the first business school from an African university to achieve all three of the major international accreditations – AACSB, EQUIS, and AMBA. USB forms part of Stellenbosch University – the strongest research university in Africa. In 2018, Stellenbosch University celebrated its 100-year anniversary.
USB’s vision is to be globally distinguished as the business knowledge partner in Africa. The school has become known for its African-focused expertise in areas such as sustainable development, futures research, development finance, ethics and corporate governance, responsible leadership development, management coaching and emerging-country economics. This allows us to contextualize business knowledge in terms of Africa.
Cape Town with its flat-topped Table Mountain regularly features as one of the leading destinations in the world. The city has a thriving service-based metropolitan economy where growth is often driven by innovation. The USB campus is close to main access routes, the Cape Town International Airport, shopping malls, sports facilities and first-class medical facilities. Also within easy reach are attractions such as the V&A Waterfront, Cape Point, Table Mountain (a World Heritage site and one of the new Seven Wonders of the World), Robben Island, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and the neighboring Boland area with its cultural heritage and world-famous winelands.
Samantha Walbrugh-Parsadh
Head: International Affairs, USB
sw2@usb.ac.za
+27 21 918 4200
http://www.usb.ac.za
Phone:+27 21 9184202
- Program
- Schedule
- Program at a Glance
- Faculty
- Participant’s feedback
- Accommodations
- Things to do in Cape Town
USB has become known for its African-focused expertise in areas such as sustainable development, futures research, Complexity, Leadership, Emerging Economics, Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Addressing continental challenges via an innovative mind-set and an entrepreneurial spirit
This program aims to help participants to investigate the unique institutional and policy conditions in Southern African countries which will not only allow future entrepreneurs and managers to understand the challenges that will confront their businesses, but also allow them to identify the opportunities that this rapidly growing region offers.
The program, located in South Africa, will run from Saturday 14 September until Saturday, 19 September 2019. It will consist of interactive lectures and company visits lead by selected faculty of the University of Stellenbosch Business School and senior business people from companies throughout South Africa.
The following themes will be discussed during the programme:
- South African history and context
- Economic and social challenges
- Entrepreneurship as the stimulus for our economy
- Entrepreneurship
- Case presentations by various Small Business Academy Entrepreneurs
- Digital Technology Evolution
- Future scenarios for South Africa
Course outcomes
- An acute knowledge of the development challenges facing Southern African countries
- Understand the growth of emerging Southern African markets and identify future growth potential
- Awareness of the additional social, environmental and ethical considerations for African businesses
- Prepare written case studies of a Southern African business
- Lectures conducted by Stellenbosch faculty, and other South African experts
- Visits to prominent businesses in the Western Cape
- Interactive classes – driven by discussion and student presentations
See Full Program at a Glance
Saturday, 14 September
(16h00 – 20h30)
- Programme overview
- Team building:
- Welcome Dinner
Sunday, 15 September
(10h00 – 16h00)
Pre-planned Cape Peninsula Tour
Enjoy a day trip along the famous Cape Peninsula, known for its ocean and mountain beauty.
Tour Highlights:
- Chapman’s Peak Drive
- Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve
- Cape Point
- Boulders Beach (Penguin Colony )
- Simon’s Town
Included: Lunch
Monday, 16 September
(08h00 – 16h00)
Topic: South African history and context
Speaker: Prof Piet Naudé
(Profile: https://www.usb.ac.za/wpcontent/uploads)
- Group Activity
Topic: Economic and social Challenges
Speaker: tbc
- Lunch
- Company visit: Hisense South Africa
Free evening
Tuesday, 17 September
(08h00-21h30)
Topic: Economic and social challenges
Speaker: Mr Salman Kajie (Head: InvestSA)
(Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salman-kajie-419178166/?originalSubdomain=za)
Topic: Entrepreneurship as the stimulus for our economy
Speaker: tbc
- Lunch
- Case presentations by various Small Business Academy (SBA)
Entrepreneurs from low-income communities
(https://www.usb.ac.za/small-business-academy/)
- Field visit (each group visits their entrepreneur’s premises)
- Cooking class
Wednesday, 18 September
(08h00-18h00)
Topic: Barriers and support for entrepreneurs in SA
Speaker: Mr Seraj Toefy (Profile:https://za.linkedin.com/in/seraj-toefy-8b9b421a)
Topic: Fostering entrepreneurship as a means to overcome barriers and support
Speaker: Mr Jaco Burger
(Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/burgerjaco/)
- Lunch
- Company visit: SAREBI (http://www.sarebi.co.za/)
- Group work on SBA case studies
Thursday, 19 September
(08h00-19h00)
Topic: Digital Technology Evolution
Speaker: Mr. Musa Kalenga (Profile:http://www.kalenga.me/)
Topic: Future scenarios for South Africa
Speaker: Dr. Doris Viljoen (Profile:https://www.usb.ac.za/wpcontent/uploads/07/Futures_Dorris.pdf)
- Lunch
- Company visit: tbc
Free evening
Friday, 20 September:
(08h00 – 15h00)
- Group presentations
- Farewell lunch
Martin Butler
Martin Butler is the Head: MBA programme at the University of Stellenbosch Business School. His areas of expertise include IT Project Management, Business and IT Alignment, and Enterprise Information Systems. He holds an MBA (cum laude) from USB and a BEng (Electronics) degree from the University of Pretoria. His research interests include information systems alignment with organisational strategy, knowledge management and business intelligence, enterprise information systems, project portfolio management, and technology futures. He is also a part-time lecturer in Operations Management at the Industrial Engineering Department of Stellenbosch University. He manages IT and business projects and he consults to corporates in various industries. In addition, he is a Technology Research Associate of Stellenbosch University’s Institute for Futures Research.
Tasneem Motala
Shortly after completing her MBA in 2015, she was head-hunted by the USB to teach on the then newly-established PGDip in Business Management & Administration in 2016.
Ms Motala worked as a process and control engineer with Chevron before becoming an academic. She brings a wealth of professional and practical experience to her teaching role. She further worked as an engineer at ImproChem and Shell & BP SA earlier in her professional career. She holds an MBA from the USB and a BA in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kwazulu-Natal. She teaches Operational Excellence on the MBA and Principles of Operations on the PGDip in Business Management & Administration.
Morne Mostert

André Roux
Prof André holds a PhD in Economics (Stellenbosch University) and was awarded the Rector’s award for excellence in teaching at the University of Stellenbosch in 1999, and gives more than 60 talks/presentations each year.
Dr Lize Barclay
Dr Lize Barclay studied town and regional planning at North West University and then worked as a consulting town planner and, later, in local government in Phalaborwa, Limpopo Province. There she juggled the needs of the mines with traditional communities, as well as with conservation and tourism, working to develop a mutually beneficial future.
Dr Lize completed her PhD in Town and Regional Planning with a treatise entitled “The applicability of gaming simulation in teaching and learning in urban and regional planning: a ten-year case study at the University of the Free State”. On 1 December 2017, Lize joined the University of Stellenbosch Business School as Senior Lecturer in Futures Studies and Systems Thinking. Her current research explores policies and their future impact, gentrification, hipster culture, gaming, gender, the 4th Industrial Revolution and indigenous knowledge systems.
Feedback – 2016 EMBA Consortium
Prabirendra Chatterjee, an Assistant Professor at the School of Management at Sabanci University in Istanbul, attended the 2016 EMBA Consortium Week at the University of Stellenbosch Business School. He shares his thoughts on the week:
My experience during the EMBA Consortium Week at the University of Stellenbosch Business School was truly exceptional. I participated in the Consortium in 2016, and from the get-go I found the programme to be one of the most structured and well-organized events I ever attended. The consortium administrators meticulously planned all the events well in advance. We were informed about the accommodation options at least two months prior to the Consortium event. I was also provided with a letter of invitation, which helped me get the visa without hassle.
The Consortium lectures and company visits were quite an eye-opener for me and many of the other participants. Most of us knew that South Africa, being an important emerging economy, has been shaping the African business world for quite some time. But the discussions on the impact that South African entrepreneurs have had on a global scale were educational to say the least. I thoroughly enjoyed the visits to the informal townships of Cape Town, where we met a number of local entrepreneurs who talked about the ground-level challenges and opportunities of doing business in an emerging economy. We also met several highly educated young entrepreneurs at Stellenbosch University’s innovation hub. All of them have been pursuing cutting-edge R&D projects which, upon successful completion, could change the landscape of twenty-first century business. Some of the student participants even used these ideas during the case study competition, which was equally competitive and entertaining.
The extra-curricular activities we enjoyed at USB were also top-notch. I especially loved the Master Cooking class, which was a great team-building activity. And, of course, we were mesmerized by the beauty of Cape Town and Stellenbosch. I fondly remember the week I spent at USB and, like many other participants, I hope to go back to the Consortium event sometime in the near future.
Prabirendra
Here are the two recommended options for all participants staying in Cape Town during the International Week from September 13 – 21 September 2019:
Cape Town Hollow Boutique Hotel
RESERVATIONS DESK
Tel: +27 (0) 21 423 1260
Email: reservations@capetownhollow.co.za
15 On Orange Hotel, Autograph Collection
Tel: +27 21 469 800
Email: reservations@15onorangehotel.com
*A shuttle service will only be arranged for students staying at any of these Cape Town hotels.
https://www.whatsonincapetown.com/