Page 31 - UNAM Annual Report 2017

l) Southern Campus Academic Centres/Units Activities
During 2017, the Southern Campus aggressively a) Namibia Business School
pursued the agenda of internationalisation, The gap between the best and southern Africa
global connectivity and collaboration. The is chiasmic and growing. NBS no longer wants
Campus strengthened its association with global to be among the majority, but has set itself
institutions to enhance its research drive, build the challenge of becoming an internationally
internal innovation capabilities and achieve accredited business school within 10 years. Of
tangible social and economic transformation. the 50 or so business schools in southern Africa,
only around six have international accreditation.
The Campus is proudly linked with the Leibniz So, it is clear that, if NBS could achieve this goal,
Association through its apex growth partner, the it will certainly be among the best.
Institute for New Materials, based at the University
of Saarland in Germany. The Leibniz Association The presence of professors at the School
connects 93 independent research institutions
that range in focus from the natural, engineering will provide academic weight and stability,
and environmental sciences via economics, and provide a foundation upon which the
spatial and social sciences, to the humanities. School can build. This is illustrated by the
Leibniz Institutes address issues of social, economic fact that the new professor/director helped
and ecological relevance. Various knowledge to facilitate the completion of four DBAs by
exchange and technology transfer platforms were the end of 2017, in addition to the 51 MBAs
presented in 2017, and supported by globally facilitated by the School’s significantly
recognised institutions, including GiZ, De Beers and strengthened administration – this is a first and
NCRST. Perhaps most notable, USC hosted an unprecedented achievement by the School.
international symposium in Keetmanshoop – a first Having doctoral students completing their
of its kind in the town and the region at large. degrees meant that, for first time, NBS students
could produce eight research articles, which
Furthermore, USC strengthened its ties with were published in conference proceedings
the globally renowned China University of and as journal articles. Notably, the new
Geosciences, with the aim of advancing aspects director published a paper on customer
of mutual interest. service research that had been conducted
in Namibia, in the highly respected European
The Southern Campus reached a significant Journal of Marketing. The research is the first
point by becoming the flagship national of its kind for Namibia and Africa, and a book
competency centre for earth sciences in 2017. on this subject is expected to be published by
UNAM Senate approved the transformation of Emerald in 2018. These modest green shoots of
the Department of Geology, currently based in success suggest a bright and optimist future for
Windhoek, into a new national flagship School the number one business school in Namibia.
of Geosciences, which will start operating from
the Southern Campus in 2019. The resolution by b) Centre for Open, Distance and eLearning
Senate recognises the growth potential of the (Online Education)
Campus, its role in and relevance to national The open, distance and eLearning section
development. The School of Geosciences, as a facilitates the production and delivery of
national flagship, will be the first one of its kind print-based learning resources and student
in Namibia, and is of utmost strategic economic support services. To cater for the diverse needs
importance to Namibia. The Campus aspires to of students, printed materials are still availed
discover more ore deposits, oil and gas reserves through CODeL stores to various CODeL centres
and various other vastly untapped and globally and UNAM campuses countrywide. Academic
renowned natural resources in Namibia. The and other counselling support services are
academic spectrum of the Campus will expand also coordinated through this section, in
to include a major focus on field geology, collaboration with student support coordinators
petrology, geochemistry, exploration and in respective faculties that offer programmes
mining geology, groundwater, and petroleum through distance mode. The placement of
geology. student support coordinators in faculties was

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