CLMS Hosts Successful Postgraduate Open Days

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The College of Law and Management Studies (CLMS) recently hosted successful Postgraduate Open Days to help prospective students and business executives with identifying academic programmes to advance their studies and careers.

This two-day event was attended by hundreds of guests live and virtually on the Westville and Pietermaritzburg campuses.

On the Westville campus, the event incorporated live conversations with notable alumni who shared the experiences of their journeys towards their professional and entrepreneurial endeavours, highlighting the positive impact of postgraduate programmes offered by the College.

The alumni panel comprised of Mr Sandile Zondi, Senior Director and Attorney at C.S. Zondi & Associates Inc who recently graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Investigation and Criminal Justice; Dr Garth Gaffley, founder of Garth Gaffley Consulting, a digital transformation advisory and consultative business based in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng; as well as Master of Commerce in Leadership Studies graduate and UKZN’s Risk Management Services Acting Director, Ms Sinegugu Tshabalala. The session with alumni was facilitated by Dr Nomkhosi Luthuli, senior lecturer at the Graduate School of Business and Leadership (GSB&L).

During the conversation, Tshabalala reflected on her journey as a graduate and how she moved from being a professional teacher into operations and management. She emphasised that undergraduate students should not look down on any postgraduate course because their passion may not lie in what they are doing.

Zondi, who believes that entrepreneurial success lies in education, encouraged prospective students to enrol in courses that can help them acquire the knowledge and skills which are the relevant characteristics that come with entrepreneurship. ‘You cannot succeed without having the knowledge because you need to keep up with the trends, and if you do not take courses like postgraduate diplomas, you will not be able to keep up and grow your business,’ he said.

Gaffley, a tech consultant, spoke about how his doctoral research has enhanced his ability to mentor and coach senior business executives who are not adept at technology and leading their organisation’s digital transformation processes.

The Pietermaritzburg campus discussion was chaired by Dr Bhasela Yalezo of the GSB&L and featured Professor Mabutho Sibanda, Dean and Head of the School of Accounting, Economics and Finance and Professor Maxwell Phiri from the School of Management, Information Technology and Governance. The academics shared their journey to success in academia and business which was enabled by postgraduate studies.

Explaining how they help students build up their relationships with relevant industries, Sibanda said:
‘We get most of our lecturers from industry. Most of our graduate programmes are taught by industry practitioners, some of them are bankers and some of them are financial planners. They help us align the curriculum with what is happening in the industry.’

On the other hand, Phiri, who has supervised and graduated 35 PhD students since 2012, and over 50 master’s students since 2008, shared the impact that has been made by UKZN graduates in commerce and academia.

The event was well received by prospective students who had an opportunity to engage with administrators, academics and alumni.

Words: Hazel Langa and Samukelisiwe Cele

Photographs: Supplied