WBS redesigned MBA contextualises curriculum around Africa

WITS Business School (WBS) redesigned its curriculum in 2016 to provide students with a management education that is contextually relevant and sensitive to the socio-economic challenges facing Africa. With the aim of equipping students with the knowledge and skills to do business in Africa, the new MBA programme revolves around five key themes: context in Africa, context in South Africa, sustainability, entrepreneurial action and critical engagement.

Conrad Viedge, director of the MBA programme at WBS, says, “As the second-oldest and leading business school in Africa, we are excited to be taking part again in the QS World MBA Tour. It is instrumental to our strategy of attracting diverse, high quality MBA candidates from around the continent who are motivated to become the best business leaders they can be.

“Africa has some of the fastest growing economies in the world, yet lacks sufficient skilled managers to fuel this growth and development of these economies. The intention of the MBA is to not only enable students to grasp the opportunities offered by South Africa and Africa but also to develop them as individuals.”

A renewed focus on the individual has led to an independent study component of the MBA, which includes both an applied research project and a ‘Leadership Quest’.

“Our Leadership Quest is an ongoing part of the curriculum, which requires students to use research and literature, as a basis to interrogate their own behaviour and habits in order to become the best leader they are capable of becoming.

“In promoting their success in their individual careers, we also want our students to achieve something beyond themselves and thereby contribute back to society. One of our new courses on the MBA, ‘Business Society and Collective Action’, challenges students to confront the issue of the role of business in society, and more particularly their own role.

“The WBS MBA is still the ultimate ‘stress test’ for anyone wanting to reach their potential and it prepares students for complex business challenges, particularly in the context of emerging markets. The School makes extensive use of locally relevant case studies, prepared by its own, dedicated Case Centre.

“We live in a fast paced, information-rich and interconnected world and business requires good thinking, the ability to collaborate and an understanding of what it takes to get things done. The MBA challenges students to engage with real business problems and offer solutions, preparing them to meet global business challenges, both now and in the future,” concludes Viedge.