What’s inside? Student Profile on Olympic

Team Trial member and post

grad student, Greg Louw

How Hide and Seek can in-crease tourism and reduce obe-

sity.

Bright and colourfull gallery of

this year’s Open Day.

Meet the faculty’s youngest

recipient of a Ph.D

Pretty in pink, but made of iron!

We congratulate our Iron Girls!

Find out why honours ac-

conting students are on the run!

Thuthuka students give back.

Business School celebrates largest MBA/DBA graduates to

date!

AND MORE….

The BA Development programme in-cludes core modules such as Introduc-tion to Development Studies and Devel-oping Issues in Contemporary Africa, and also allows the students to major in modules such as Economics and Indus-trial Psychology. “This programme helps the students to un-derstand the world they live in and their role in shaping that world,” said Development Stud-ies lecturer, Sekhile Phiri. Development Stud-ies, described as a multidisciplinary branch of social science, addresses issues of concern to developing coun-tries and places a particular focus on issues relating to social and economic development. Many career opportunities are available to graduates in this field, including project management, rural development, development practitioner for non-profit organisations and develop-ment Practitioner for policy implementa-tion institutions such as the United Na-

The newest addition to our faculty programmes, Bachelor of Arts in De-velopment Studies, is in full swing this year with over 40 registered stu-dents. The undergraduate pro-gramme, which is based at NMMU’s Missionvale Campus, began on the first of February this year, and with six months behind them, the students have already completed the first ever exams in the programme. In previous years, the Department of Development Studies only offered post-graduate programmes in development studies, in the form of master and doctor-al degrees. After identifying a growing interest in development studies among students, especially students interested in economics, it was clear that there was a need for an undergraduate pro-gramme.

New BA Development programme takes off

Future Leaders..The first year class of BA Development boasts an impressive 40 students, who are all passionate about their future career in Development Studies and about making a difference.

tions and the World Bank. With the BA Development programme being based on the Missionvale campus, it is hoped to contribute to the upliftment

and development of the local community within the area. The class of 40 first years, of which 4 are exchange stu-dents from Sweden, are all very excited about the pro-gramme and the

possibilities that lie ahead of them. “This programme deals with real life situations and current issues and we as future leaders need to familiarise ourselves with these issues so that we can find solutions to address these issues” said student, Unathi Beka “ We need to find long term solutions that will improve the lives of the poor while promoting sustain-able living and development.”

This programme helps

the students to under-

stand the world they

live in and their role in

shaping that world.

>Facul ty News

An unforgettable elephant experience during the tour. “The learners are so receptive when taken on outings like this,” said Bradley “One can teach them what would normally be taught in two weeks, in one day” The student’s initial plan for this project was to give the children a day of happiness, but after working with Djembe Heritage Initiatives, they decided to organise the project in such a way that it can be continued by the foundation after the students leave. “We hope to have planted a

seed in the minds of future exchange students who will visit NMMU, to come and work with Djembe Heritage Initiatives and make a differ-ence in the local communi-ties,” said exchange Oliver Bernhard, who describes the experience as eye opening.

“The kids here have so little, but are still so hap-py. You would never see this back home in Ger-many,” The students also took the initiative to get spon-sors for the day trip, with Addo Elephant Park sponsoring the entire tour group free entrance into the park, Blunden Busses providing free transport as well as Summerstrand Spar and Mr Paul Tai-Hing sponsoring the food for the lunch packets given to scholars. The day-trip proved to be a success and the experience had the children singing the entire trip back to New Brighton. “I think this outing was a brilliant idea. I really enjoyed learning about all the animals. I would love to do more things like this,” said inspired Grade7 learner, Junior Janda.

On May the 12th, grade seven learners from Jarvis Gqamlana Primary School in New Brighton saw elephants for the first time. The scholars were treated to an educational day-trip to the Addo Elephant Park as part of a community upliftment project that was organ-ised by a group of 3rd year NMMU Management students. The group consisting of Austrian exchange stu-dents, Florian Mich and Bernhard Bruckner , Ger-man exchange students, Dennis Schweikart, Oliver Bern-hard, Christoph Gottwald and Marcel Ganter, and South Afri-can students Mzlwokuthula “Goodman” Nikwe, Dngeziwe Hokwinisa, Zizipho Nongau-za, Siphokazi Mntonga, Yonela Dlembula and Simamkele Sam-uel Mancoba, were just one of the many groups that were challenged by Management and Entre-preneurship lecturer, Mr Paul Tai-Hing, to make a difference in the community. After hearing that only 5% of New Brighton resi-dents, had seen an elephant, the students decided that their project will be what changes this statistic. An educational tour for under-privileged scholars to the Addo Elephant Park was just the activity to do this. “Children are the future, we should em-power them,” said German exchange student, Dennis Schweikart. Bradley Levack – Educational Development Officer for Djembe’ Heritage Initiatives, was the tour guide for the day. He enriched the scholars with knowledge on all the animals and plants seen

Children are the

future, we should

empower them Making a difference..Exchange students from

Germany and Austria leave their mark in SA.

All smiles...The entire tour group having fun at

Addo National Park.

Financial Planning Society hosts Corporate Event

On Friday the 20th of May, the Student Finan-

cial Planning society held their inaugural cor-

porate event at the North Campus Conference

Centre. The event was well attended with 65

students and nine guests from the Financial

planning industry.

The society organised three guest speakers for

the evening namely, Andrew Crossman from

Standard Bank; Lauren Weakley from Spectrum

and Yolande de Vos from Alan Gray. The speak-

ers gave some interesting insight into the Financial

Planning industry, and allowed the Bcom Students

a peek into the practical side of Financial Planning.

“The aim of this event was to gain some practical

perspective; the students have all this theoretical knowledge – now it is time for them to understand

the practical implications.” said Financial Planning lecturer, Ms Du Plessis.

The event was attended by staff of the Business Management Department, including Professor Stru-

wig – Director of the School of Management Sciences as well as Prof Mazibuko, the HOD. The even-

ing was an all-round success and the students were eager to get involved, and engage with the indus-

try. We look forward to the Society’s next event.

Above: (Left to right) Lecturer, Francine Du

plessis, DOS: Management Sciences, Prof Stru-

wig, HOD: Business Management, Prof Mazibu-

ko, Lecturer, Ms Nadine Oosthuizen and Roselle

Otto (FP Committee )

MEETING EXCELLENCE … Top Accounting

Thuthuka students met honorary doctor Prof

Suresh Kana during graduation in April Dr Kana

is a trustee of the Thuthuka Bursary Fund and an

ardent supporter of the Thuthuka programme. In

front second-yearstudents Nteleko Khuselo (from

left) and Sazikazi Mzileni, third-year student Bi-

rischkaSmith and honours student Christopher

Strydom joins Prof Kana (centre).

IOP Vacat ion Work Programme Launched

More often than not, Accounting Honours students can be found with their noses

deep in their books studying, to try and pass the hardest of their years at varsity. But

passing honours in accounting requires students not only to be mentally prepared,

but to also maintain their physical well-being. And no one knows this better than

Management Accounting and Finance lecturer, Johnathan Dillon.

A running group for Accounting Honours students has been organised by the Man Acc lec-

turer himself, to encourage students to balance their life with both mental and physical activ-

ities. Mr Dillon, or “JD” as called by some colleagues and students, invites his students to

run every Thursday in one of two sessions: in the morning at 06:45 or in the afternoon at

17:15. The group meets at the Indoor Sports Centre on South Campus and usually run a

10km route to Hobie Beach and back or takes a more scenic route by running a trail through

the NMMU nature reserve. “The trail run provides an amazing opportunity to see zebra and

buck up close while running through our beautiful reserve” said Johnathan.

Although the running group is aimed at Honours students, Mr Dillon encourages any student

to join. “Even if students don’t join, I always encourage them to do some form of exercise or

enjoyment outside of their heavy academically focused Honours year,” said Johnathan.

Regulars in the running group include Honours students, Jack Schoeman and Brett Holmes.

Johnathan is an active person and regularly takes part in local running events and recently

also completed the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon and the Comrades Marathon. “A bonus

for me is that the running group helped with my Comrades preparation” said Johnathan, as he had to put in a lot of training and mile-

age for the 87km race.

More information can be found on the running group’s Facebook page: “Man Acc Running Group” where the

group interacts with one another and it gives other people a chance to see what they are up to.

Accounting Honours students on the run.

Keeping Fit…(Left)Academic Trainee, Matthew

Moore, (Middle) Management Accounting and

Finance lecturer, Johnathan Dillon and (Right)

Honours Accounting Student, Brett Holmes

An exciting new initiative known as the In-

dustrial and Organisational Psychology

(IOP) Vacation Work Programme (VWP) was

launched by NMMU’s IOP Department on 12

May.

The VWP, which will be an annual programme,

will see the top twelve, 3rd year, IOP students

each working in in an organisation over a two

week period in the June/July university holi-

days.

The objective is to allow IOP students a

glimpse into what happens in HR and/or IOP in

the real world, not only in the form of work

shadowing, but also through practical involve-

ment in company-specific projects.

Organisations on board for the 2011 VWP, who

attended the launch at NMMU, include Ever-

eady, Headhunters Recruitment, Life

Healthcare (St George’s as well as Mercantile

Hospitals), Neurolab, Schaeffler, Shatterprufe,

Top Personnel and Work Dynamics.

The VWP stemmed from discussions with IOP

students regarding their lack of industry expo-

sure at an undergraduate level. “The vital link

between academia and practice has

traditionally been missing” said lecturer and

VWP co-ordinator, Michelle Paddey. “Most

students enter the working world without any

hands-on industry experience, which puts them

at a disadvantage. This situation is also detri-

mental for organisations, who often unsuccess-

fully seek graduates already in possession of

work experience”

Students will work in the organisations’

traditional HR Departments in areas

such as staff training and development,

procurement and labour relations. They

will be given access to assessment cen-

tres, sit in on disciplinary hearings, plan

training interventions and even conduct

interviews.

This collaboration will furthermore pro-

vide the participating organisations with

the opportunity to identify potential future

employees who are NMMU’s top talent in

the field, as well as allow for mentoring

relationships to form between industry

experts and dedicated IOP students.

The IOP Department looks forward to

their stu- dents coming back

with greater insight into the working

world, increasing their knowledge and under-

standing of HR and IOP.

If any companies would like to become in-

volved in next year’s VWP, please contact

Michelle at michelle.paddey@nmmu.ac.za.

90% of 2010’s

BCom Honours

Accounting

students

passed the QE1

Wendy Griffiths from Life Healthcare (St George’s

Hospital) (in middle) with IOP students Wesley

Gallant and Justine Schoonraad

Business School News

Fifty three MBA graduates, eight of which received their degrees cum laude, along with four DBA students, and ten BBA gradu-ates, graced the stage during the official graduation ceremony on Tuesday the 19th of April. The students celebrated their graduation at an exclusive cocktail at the Port Eliza-beth St Georges Club on Monday, 18 April 2011. The graduates will bear testi-mony, and demonstrate their success by becoming confident, well-informed “leaders for tomorrow”. Mr Sean Gaskin, who is one of the candi-dates receiving his Degree cum laude,

viewed his Masters as both challenging but rewarding at the same time. He mentioned that an MBA has taught him about time man-agement and the importance of planning and that sometimes “good isn’t good enough, you need to strive for excellence.”

Business School ce lebrates i ts largest MBA and DBA graduate f igures to date .

MBA Graduates: Mr Ajibola Anani Mrs Gaynor Appels Ms Lynn Barrow Mr Sibo Camagu Mrs Jacquellene Cherry Mr Lonwabo Daniels Mrs Veldo Derrocks Mr Piet de Jong Mr Dumsani Dlamini Ms Thenjiwe Dlamini Mr Sicelo Fayo Mr Ettienne Gerwel Mr Jannie Gie Ms Pendulwa Guma Mr Eduard Hoops Mr Silas Khayundi Mr Carel Kleinhans Mr Evert Knoesen Mr Peter-John Koen Mr Sean Leite Mr Andre Louw Ms Gcobisa Makubalo Mr Mbulelo Maliti Mr Mpendulo Mkhonta Mr Clive Mostert

Mr Tando Mtintsila-na Mr Shumani Muthige Mr Semeyi Mu-wanga-Zake Mr Clive Njela Ms Nomfundo Nqakula Mrs Winifred Pe-

Sometimes

good isn’t good

enough, you

need to strive

for excellence

tersen Mr Mfundo Piti Mr Grant Rose Mr Phillip Schutte Mr Gabriel Slabbert Mr Ryan Smith Mr Oscar Sundu Ms Samantha van der Merwe Mr Brenton van Vuuren Mr Charl van Wyk Mr Jacques van Zyl Mr Graham Ward Mr Andrew White Mr Wayne Whitlock Mr Themba Zwane Cum Laude: Mr Riekert du Preez Mr Mark Farndell Mr Richard Fyvie Mr Sean Gaskin Mr Patrick Monks Mr John Offerman Ms Johnelene Theron Ms Donne Rothner DBA Graduates: Prof Andre Calitz Dr Nyambura Koigi Dr Ann Lourens Dr George Wakah

As part of infrastructure upgrades, adult learners can look forward to aestheti-cally enhanced training and dining facilities at the NMMU Business School’s Bird Street campus. NMMU Business Marketing and Stake-holder Relations and creative agency, (Strategy) embarked on an interior makeover aligned to NMMU Business School’s new brand image and its futur-istic brand positioning. “The brief to the agency was to make aesthetic modifications to beautify inte-rior but no significant structural changes were permitted in light of the fact that NMMU Business School will relocate to new 2nd Avenue premises.” The artist impressions show how the training and dining facilities will look.

Business School announces new training and dining facilities

BEFORE

AFTER

Business School News

Professor Michael Hay, who holds a DPhil and is a Professor of Management

Practice in Strategic and International Management and Entrepreneurship at the

London Business School - one of the World’s pre-eminent business schools -

recently visited the NMMU Business School in his capacity as an AABS consult-

ant.

AABS (Association of African Business Schools), which has the mission of promoting excellence in business and management education in Africa,

provides support to graduate business schools through collaboration and quality improvement.

“Professor Hay’s session was most informative and relevant to providing strategic direction to our Business School,” said NMMU Business School’s

Prof Paul Poisat. “He provided us with an international, global perspective on crucial developments in Business Schools.”

Formerly the Dean of Executive Education at London Business School, Professor Hay is now the Deputy Dean and Secretary of London Business

School. He is also the co-director of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor which examines the level, nature and impact of entrepreneurial activity in

more than 40 countries around the world.

Michael Hay has undertaken assignments for a number of major international companies including British Airways, 3M and United Business Media

both in Europe and USA. He has also worked as a consultant for the United Nations on welfare in Eastern Europe.

Business School empowers youth w ith entrepreneurship

ski l ls

On the 5th of April, NMMU Business

School announced that its partnership

with Imbewu, a non-profit organization

that is concerned with education and

youth development.

The Business School launched and pre-

sented a cutting edge entrepreneurship

programme, aimed at cultivating a strong

spirit of entrepreneurship amongst high

school learners from

previously disadvan-

taged communities in

the Nelson Mandela

Bay district.

Twenty one learners, all

between the ages of 16

– 18 years, from Cowan

and Newell High

Schools in New Brighton as well as

Nzondelelo and Kwezi Lomso High

Schools in Zwide were selected for the

Entrepreneurship Programme. These

students were selected from a pool of 70

applicants who underwent testing to as-

sess their individual entrepreneurial po-

tential.

The programme consists of several con-

tact teaching sessions presented by the

business school, of which a two day intro-

ductory session was already held in April.

The aimed of the introductory session

was to orientate learners and to com-

mence the teaching of the various busi-

ness management aspects needed to

become successful entrepreneurs. A

further 3-day contact teaching session is

to be presented in the June and July

school holidays. The project will culminate

in a business plan presentation to a panel

of judges in August, with the winning busi-

ness plan will be selected on its feasibility

and viability.

“The NMMU Busi-

ness School and

IMBEWU have recog-

nised gaps in local

schools in terms of

entrepreneurship

offerings. The aim is

to establish educa-

tional and mentorship programmes that

will foster entrepreneurship among the

youth,” said Dr Margie Cullen from the

NMMU Business School.

The initiative forms part of the NMMU

Business School’s sustainability commit-

ment strategy, which aims to create a

vision and confidence for a better future

through initiatives that promote ecological

sustainability, economic prosperity and

growth, community wealth creation and

social upliftment.

There are gaps

in local schools,

in terms of en-

trepreneurship

offerings

On the 23rd and 24th of

May, Knowledge Re-

sources held a book

exhibition at the Busi-

ness School Library.

Book exhibitions are held

on a regular basis at the

South Campus Library,

but this exhibition was a

first for the Bird Street

campus, which makes it

a big milestone

achieved.

The exhibition was a

huge success, with a

wide variety of business

books that were dis-

played. All the stakeholders played a positive role in order-

ing books for the library. A total of 33 new books was or-

dered, which included an order from the Leadership Acade-

my and the Family Business unit.

The Business School Library needs to build on its collection,

and the book exhibitions are a constructive way of doing it.

The positive role that the Business School staff played by

helping make this exhibition a success, shows the commit-

ment of staff towards the Business School library. The new

books are still being catalogued, and will be sent to the

library shortly.

First Book Expo for Business

School

Book-worms...Business

School staff supporting the

book exhibition

London Business School Professor visits

NMMU Business School

Above...Prof Piet Naudé, Prof Michael Hay, Prof Kobus

Jonker, Mr Leon Mouton.

Open Day 2011 - For a better U

>Photo Gal lery

Industrial Psychology

Human Resource

Management

Tourism

Business Management Economics

Marketing Management

Logistics Accounting

Management &

Entrepreneurship

Development Studies

Faculty of Business & Economic Sciences

>Second Avenue News

Woudi Von Solms, a Masters student in Business Management, and her promot-

er, Professor Madéle Tait, HoD: Marketing Management, got first year Marketing

1 students from 2nd Avenue Campus hunting for treasures around the Board-

walk on the 11-14th of April. The students were used as part of Woudi’s re-

search into geocaching and how it can be used to reduce obesity and increase

tourism.

Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is worldwide game of hiding and seeking

treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache (treasure) in the world, pinpoint its loca-

tion using GPS technology and then share the geocache’s existence and location

online. Anyone with a GPS unit can then try to locate the geocache.

A geocache, in it’s typical form, is a container that is hidden in a particular place in the

world. This container will usually have a logbook inside of it, in which finders/visitors

write their name, details and date that they found the geocache. The container will

also have some sort of treasure in it, for the person who finds it, turning the geo-

caching into a sort of treasure hunt. The treasure can be anything, and once you find

the treasure, you need to replace it with something similar or greater in value for the

next person to find.

Woudi placed 3 geocaches around the boardwalk, and groups had to use GPS coordi-

nates to find them. Students were taken to new places, as well as got some exercise

in. Woudi is going to use the results of this research to show how geocaching can

promote tourism by taking people to places they have never been before and because

geocaching is quite psychical (as many include hikes, trails etc) how this activity can

reduce obesity in children and young adults.

This research field is still new in South Africa, as it has only been introduced in the

USA in the year 2000.

Hide and seek to boost tour ism and reduce obesi ty

TREASURE HUNT...Woudi van Solms (left) and promot-

er, Prof Madéle Tait (right) holding a map of the board-

walk, where the geocaches (treasures) are hidden.

Management lecturer, Mr Paul Tai-

Hing met with Olive Leaf Founda-

tion representatives on Friday the

20th of May, to discuss the possibil-

ity of a partnership between the

department and the foundation.

This initiative was brought about

after a group of 3rd year manage-

ment students selected the organi-

sation as part of a community up-

liftment project given to them by Mr

Tai– Hing.

The Olive Leaf Foundation, which is

situated in Walmer, provides social

support for children and care-givers

in the area. The foundation is, however, at a threat of being closed down as

funding from the US government has been withdrawn.

The partnership would involve an annual challenge given to students to

come up with creative ways to help the foundation, and would also involve

staff teaching basic management skills to care-givers.

Partnership...Management Lecturer, Mr

Paul Tai-Hing (middle) with Olive Leaf

Foundation Representatives, Kaya

Ngcelwane (right) and Lawrence Gans

(left),

A heart-felt helping hand WILL YOU BE SEEN IN THE COLOUR GREEN?

Flower Power… Tourism Lecturer, Gary Fisher, creating aware-ness, at 2nd Avenue campus, for the “Green Friday” initiative which encourages people to live out the NMMU value of Respect for the Natural Environment. So what can you do to play your part? Besides wearing GREEN on Fridays, you can turn your office lights off for the day, walk between South and North cam-pus, give someone a lift or go paperless.

>Staf f News

Made of Iron

Iron Girls...Management and Entre-

preneurship lecturer, Tandiswa

Ngxukumeshe (left), and Human Re-

source Management Lecturer, Bridget

De Villiers (right), showing off their

medals received for running the 10km

Iron Girl. The race took place on the

8th of April and forms part of a se-

quence of events leading up to the

famous “Iron Man.” Our ladies placed

in the top half of the 800 participants of

the race. Well done to Bridget and

Tandiswa!

Faculty’s Youngest Ph.D Chantal (Williams) Rootman received her Ph.D in Business Management on 19 April at the Post-Graduate Graduation Ceremony. Chantal, who is only 29 years of age, is currently the youngest recipient of a Ph.D in the Faculty of Business

and Economic Sciences of NMMU.

Her thesis was entitled: “An international comparative study on the relationship marketing and customer retention of retail banks: lessons for South Africa.” She received all of her previous qualifications Cum Laude at NMMU. She was also runner- up of the Faculty teacher of the year in 2009 and runner-up of the Faculty Emerging re-searcher of the year in 2009.

“She has always been a hard worker since her first year, but had to work extra long hours during the day (and night!) to get her Ph.D. Chantal knows that when you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses – only results,” said promoter, Professor Madéle Tait. “I am very proud of her”

Husband, Steve Rootman, and 2 year old son, Durandt, are also extremely proud of Chantal and her achieve-ments as well as all the colleagues in the Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences.

“Chantal is a very good researcher and teacher. She has the rare ability to excel on both areas and her PhD is just the beginning of many more extraordi-nary achievements” said Director of the School of Management Sciences, Prof Struwig.

Proud Moment… Dr. Chantal Rootman

(right) with Prof. Miemie Struwig (left).

Congratulations to

our staff graduates:

Andrew Marriott

BCom Hon Business Management.

Anton Botha

BA Hon Philosophy Cum Laude

Bomikazi Zeka

BCom Financial Planning

Chantal Rootman

PhD Business Management

Danai Tembo

M.A. in Development Studies.

Elaine Grobler

Btech Human Resources

Farhaan Lorgat .

NDip: Human Resources

Francine Du Plessis

MCom Business Management

Kerryn Lloyd

NDip: Public Relations and Communications Management (Cum Laude)

Marlẻ Van Eyk

Dtech Marketing

Noluntu Stella Dyubhele,

DCom

Nuraan Agherdien

B-Tech HRM (Cum Laude)

Osmond Ngalo

DTech: Human Resources

Richard Beck

M-Tech: Cost and Management Accounting

Rorisang Sigenu

NDip: Human Resources

Runyararo Mutsinze

NDip: Tourism Management (Cum Laude)

Suzanne Vermeulen

BTech Public Relations Management

Tony Matchaba-Hove

Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning

The Ultimate

Human Race

Management Accounting and Fi-

nance lecturer, Johnathan Dillon,

completed the Comrades on the

29th of May in Durban

Johnathan decided to take part in the

86km race, in remembrance of his

belated father, John Edward Dillon.

He chose the Comrades, which is

also termed “The Ultimate Human

Race” as he believed his father en-

dured the ultimate human race, after

fighting Motor Neuron Disease. Sadly,

Johnathan’s father passed away in

2008 at the age of 64.

After 2 years of training, Johnathan

can now proudly say he completed

the comrades with a time of 9 hours

and 58 minutes. What an accomplish-

ment! Well done Johnathan!

Above: Johnathan

after just completing

the comrades.

Below: Johnathan

and his Father, John

Edward Dillon

Business Woman

MadéleTait, HoD:

Marketing Man-

agement, was

one of three final-

ists in the Profes-

sional Category of

the Business

Women's Associ-

ation and

Nedbank's Re-

gional Business

Achiev-

ers Awards.

Above: Prof Tait

at the gala dinner

held on 2 June

2011 at the Sum-

merstrand Hotel

A Final Word from Prof Naude

“I will always think back on my time in this

Faculty with great fondness. The transfer

of the Ethics Unit to the Business School

with its extended teaching and re-

search, was the right thing to do at the

right time. My surprise appointment as first

full time Business School director was a

great honour. We have a very able team

and could establish a base-line which au-

gers well for the future. Prof Kobus Jonker is eminently

equipped to lead this transition to a new Director, and we are

fortunate to bring Prof Steve Burgess on board in October. I

am now DVC: Academic of all faculties. It will be difficult to

be completely objective regarding matters affecting this fac-

ulty, but I will try…My sincere thanks to Prof Niekie Dorfling

and FMC colleagues for their leadership and support.”

Piet Naude

>Student News

Creating Awareness...Industrial Psychology Students show off their bare feet in support of the “One Day without Shoes” campaign held in April. By doing this, it was hoped to create awareness of the millions of children in Africa who walk barefoot daily...and not by choice.

Students go barefoot Thuthuka students mark SAICA Olympiad

papers.

On Tuesday, 17 May 2011, the first and second year Thuthuka

students marked The SAICA Accounting Olympiad that was writ-

ten by grade 12 learners across the country. The Thuthuka stu-

dents from NMMU volunteered to help SAICA with the marking of

the scripts as they wanted to give back to the profession is some

small way.

SAICA (South African Institute of Chartered Accountants) is the main

sponsor of the Thuthuka Bursary Programme and makes it possible for

these students to become future CA’s.

Under the watch of Marina Chalmers and Lorelle de Villiers, School of

Accounting lecturers, the Thuthuka students marked 500 scrips from

50 schools in the Eastern Cape in 1 hour. The marks will be captured

and then sent back to SAICA.

“This is the first time we engaged with SAICA in such a way”, says

Elize Naude, coordinator of the Thuthuka programme. “We hope to

make this an annual event.”

Giving Back...2nd year

Thuthuka Student, Nata-

sha Xulu, excited to help

SAICA out by marking

Grade 12 Accounting

Olympiad scripts

IOP Honours students

give back to community

Soup, stationery, paint and plush toys re-

placed case studies, correlations and treatis-

es, as Honours students in Industrial and Or-

ganisational Psychology got involved in a so-

cial responsibility project as part of their

course in International Organisational Behav-

iour. Students were required to develop, ad-

minister and manage the project from start to

finish. A number of projects were undertaken

by three groups of students including two

school upliftment projects and a community

project aimed at assisting HIV/AIDS patients.

One group of students have implemented a

feeding scheme at Lovemore Park Primary

School, providing food to the 113 scholars

twice a week. They are in the process of start-

ing a vegetable garden at the school, which

can be used to feed the children once they are

able to harvest the vegetables. They aim to

give each child a packet of vegetable seeds to

take home and start their own garden, having

been taught valuable skills in the development

and upkeep of the school’s garden. This

group also involved other junior school teach-

ers to donate their old teaching aids to

Lovemore Park Primary. Other projects includ-

ed fixing up a school classroom and donating

toys and books, while the third assisted the

Walmer clinic through arranging food parcels

for HIV/AIDS patients. They also taught them

to make earrings as a skill for self develop-

ment and to sell and make a small income.

Honours in Accounting is difficult enough as it without taking on any extra-mural activities,

but for Honours Accounting student, Kerry Norden, nothing is too much. The 21 year old is

off to Shanghai, China to represent South African Synchro (Synchornized Swimming) at the

World Aquatics Championships in July.

The SA Synchro team consists of 12 ladies, of which

Kerry is one of only two EP athletes selected. The World

Championships serves as the continental Olympic qualifi-

ers, which means if South Africa finishes as the top Afri-

can team, they qualify for the London Olympics 2012.

The aspiring CA started competing at the young age of 7

years old, and has been ranked in the top 3 in SA in

each age group she has competed in. When asked what

she loved about her sport, Kerry was not hesitant to an-

swer. “It pushes you to your limits mentally, as you al-

ways need to focus during a routine, and physically as

every muscle of your body gets worked,” said Kerry.

Throughout her years of synchronized swimming she has

travelled to Egypt, Greece and Singapore to compete in

a multitude of events.

Kerry has been training intensely with the rest of her SA

Synchro team for the upcoming World Aquatics Champi-

onships. The team has 4 training camps before they

leave to China, of which 2 have already been completed

earlier in the year, and the remaining two to be complet-

ed in Durban in the months of June and July.

We wish Kerry the best of luck and will proudly support you all the way.

Honours Accounting student swims her

way to world champs

Water Baby...Kerry competing in

Greece at COMEN Cup

Post-Graduate Financial Planning student, Greg Louw, has taken the South African paddling world by

storm. At the young age of 24 years old, Greg has already claimed multiple titles, including Fastest

200m Singles (K1) in South Africa, 2 x Liffey Descent Winner (Ireland) and has made the 2011 Olympic

team trials in the categories of 200m singles and 1000m K4 (four people in a kayak). The PE local took

some time out of his busy schedule to tell us a little more about his ventures.

At what age did you start paddling?

I started paddling with my father when I was about 9 years old.

So you have been paddling for 15 years, what is it about

paddling that you enjoy so much?

It is the paddling lifestyle that is so addictive, to be able to trav-

el, train and race on pristine lakes and rivers all over the world

has always been my dream and now I’m living that dream.

I see you from your titles that you canoe competitively,

what are you training for at the moment? At the moment I

am in the South African Olympic squad and we are focusing

purely on the World Champions which are being held in Hun-

gary in August this year. The goal is to qualify for the 2012

London Olympics – K4 1000m Canoe Sprint.

What does a canoe sprint race entail? Canoe Sprint events are head-to-head races conducted on still water, as opposed to the white water time trials of the Canoe Slalom competition. Athletes race over distances of 200m, 500m or 1,000m, either solo, in pairs or in teams of four. Athletes in kayaks steer using a small rudder, the competitors sit in the boat and use a paddle with two blades. Athletes in canoes use a single-bladed paddle from a kneeling position in canoes, which are steered by the athlete making corrective strokes with their paddle. Where will this race be held? The 2012 Olympic Canoe Sprint competition will be held at Eton Dorney in London, one of the best still-water courses in the world with a wonderful location close to Windsor Castle. Races will be held over distances of 1,000m, 500m and, for the first time at the Games, 200m: with the fastest races taking just 30 seconds to com-plete, it’s bound to be very popular with spectators and athletes alike. How does one qualify to represent South Africa in the Olympics? In Kayaking you have to achieve a certain position at the World championships the year before the Olympics. In our case we will need to either be in the A final (top 9) or be the first boat out of the America’s, Asia and Africa. Training must be intense, what does your training programme look like at the moment? At the moment we do a running session in the early morning, one paddling session in the morning and one in the evening and gym at lunch time. As we get closer to August we will ease off and start peaking for world champs. With so much focus on your paddling, how do you find time for your studies? I have been lucky this year in that I only have 4 x One week lecture blocks. The rest of the course is self-study and assignments. How are you feeling about your upcoming races, and ultimately the 2012 Olympics? We are currently in Europe racing the World and our times have improved. We are at a good enough level to qualify it will come down to BMT on the day. We wish you the best of luck and congratulations on your achievements. We will be looking out for you on TV at the Olympics next year!

Who sponsors

Greg?

Number one...Greg Louw shows off

his two gold medals won at the West-

ern Province Sprints Championships,

just one of the many races he has

competed in.

South African K4...Greg Louw (Back) is part

of the Olympic Trial team for the 1000m K4 in

the Canoe Sprint Competition.

Student Profile -Greg Louw

A Word from the Editor

A big thank you to all the staff who sent in their contributions for this edition of BusEc. From social responsibility projects, to outstanding student and

staff achievements, to having good fun at Open day, I think we covered it all!

Unfortunately this will be the last newsletter designed and edited by me, as I will not be working at the Faculty as from the 1st of July. I would like to

thank all staff members for the kindness and helpfulness I experience during my time here. A special thanks to Prof Dorfling for this opportunity, I have

learnt so much from working in the Faculty and am so grateful. Also a big thank you to Ronel for all the help, lessons, smiles and laughs!

I hope you all have a wonderful second half of the year! Please contact Kim Weatherall-Thomas if you have any news for the next newsletter!