New International Masters program kicks off at CPUT

The partnership between Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and Germany’s Hochschule Wismar University of Applied Sciences, Technology, Business and Design finally came to fruition last week, when the first group of students of the Master of Business Systems (MBS) dual programme attended their inaugural lectures. The course is offered by the partners as MTech: Business Information Systems and Masters of Business Systems respectively, with graduates obtaining both degrees on completion.

Dr Roger Silberberg from Hochschule Wismar University in Germany, with a student during the first contact session of the Master of Business Systems (MBS) dual program at the Granger Bay Campus of CPUT.

Dr Chris Nhlapo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Technology Innovation & Partnerships at CPUT and Prof Uwe Laemmel, Head of the MBS program, delivered opening addresses at the Cape Town Hotel recently to mark the first contact session for the dual qualification. Nhlapo described the course outline, which touches amongst other things, on knowledge management, data management, and business informatics as very impressive. He sees the venture as a special vehicle to accelerate staff development with about twelve CPUT staff members participating in the programme.

During his presentation, he gave facts and figures in terms of where we stand as a country in human resources development. “Indications are that we are sliding down. We need more initiatives geared towards supporting the new generation of academics.” Nhlapo added that, “the element of internationalisation is going to give our staff a totally different dimension and advantage in being taught by some of the best researchers in Germany. We also commend the initiators of the program for the part they played”.
 

Great enthusiasm and appetite for knowledge were written in the faces of the students as Dr Roger Silberberg, their lecturer from Hochschule Wismar University, guided them through the coursework. Silberberg said in the 21st century the focus is on business processes and underlying information systems and technologies. “We are getting people to understand how business is run and how to use information assets optimally,” he said. Silberberg said they expect graduates of the innovative course to walk into employment anywhere in the world as “the number of employers needing these skills is accelerating every day.” The course work and dissertation will take two years to complete.

by Thami Nkwanyane