Education, excursion and experience at the Shanghai Business Study Tour 2018

From left: Martha Moyo from Mancosa; Mubeen Seedat from Mancosa; Mandla Zembe; Desai Payal; Itumeleng Masemola; Waza Longwe; Lloyd Leoko; Bheki Maphisa Precious Khumalo

The business study tour combines lectures with networking opportunities and visits to some of China’s most prolific manufacturing plants and businesses. The student delegates will gain knowledge to help them understand and navigate the intricacies of China’s unique business culture. The programme also allows for some sightseeing so the southern African student contingent will have an all-encompassing experience abroad that includes local culture, cuisine and history.

Now in its sixth year, the Shanghai Business Study Tour (14–22 September 2018) is organised by Regent Business School in conjunction with Management College of Southern Africa (MANCOSA), both of which are members of Honoris United Universities.

Dr Ahmed Shaikh, Managing Director of Regent Business School

“Our students at Regent Business School are empowered with skills, knowledge and expertise that equip them to be members of a global workforce,” explains Dr Ahmed Shaikh, Managing Director of Regent Business School. “The Shanghai Business Study Tour is an additional business globalisation perspective that we offer to our students. The experience is invaluable as it complements our teaching with action-oriented exposure to globally connected business operations. The student contingent will gain a first-hand understanding of how the advances in transportation, technology, infrastructure and communication have dramatically increased the level of global interaction in China and take these key learnings and insights back home.”

Dr Shaikh adds, “Furthermore, it is crucial that high-performance individuals who are seeking an international career trajectory understand that there are socio-cultural implications in doing business abroad. Our delegates will have, albeit for a week, the opportunity to work in multi- and cross-disciplinary teams and benefit from exposure to the ideas, knowledge and skills of peers from other disciplines and cultures.”

The student delegates, all of whom are employed full-time as executives and professionals in the Management, Finance, Mining, Construction, Private Sector, Education and Local Government quarters, arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on 15 September 2018.

Mandla Zembe and Desai Payal

They will have academic insights into the business environment in China, network with some of SUIBE’s prominent thought-leaders and have opportunities to engage in academic discourse. Combining academia with hands-on experience of the manner in which business is conducted in Shanghai, the students will visit various companies and plants such as the BASF production site in Pudong, the iron and steel conglomerate, Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation, Shanghai Usky Information Technology and SAIC Volkswagen. The business study tour has been designed to also factor in time for the southern African student contingent to enjoy the sights and sounds of Shanghai including experiencing a traditional tea ceremony, visiting the Shanghai Science Museum, the Oriental Pearl Tower and the famous Shanghai Circus.

Regent Business School BCom Honours student, Precious Khumalo, is looking forward to gaining invaluable experience abroad. “I am keen to experience culture and understand globalisation in China as well experience how other companies operate,” says Khumalo, an Executive Personal Assistant at Tibiyo Taka Ngwane in Swaziland.

Final year MBA student, Diaplesa Lekhanya, is interested in the intellectual property of businesses in China. The HR executive at Stibium Mining in Johannesburg says she will be taking extensive notes. “I’m hoping to gain insight into how companies from China think outside the box. China is the most economically diverse country and I want to learn from them.”

The business study tour culminates in a graduation ceremony on 21 September 2018 where each delegate will receive a Certificate of Participation from the Dean of SUIBE. The Regent Business School delegates return to South Africa on 23 September 2018.

*About Regent Business School

Since 1998, Regent Business School (RBS) has been at the forefront of premium management education across the continent. Headquartered in South Africa, RBS’s acclaimed finance and management programmes have helped individuals and organisations build and sustain competitive advantages in a rapidly changing, complex business environment. With campuses in all major hubs including Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pretoria, as well as in SADC countries, Swaziland and Namibia, the institution’s alumni base of 5,000 is rapidly expanding. RBS’s four leading centres for excellence - The Institute of Entrepreneurship, The Centre for Islamic Finance and Banking, The Centre for the BRICS Business Schools Association, and The Centre for Public Sector Administration Management and Innovation – are popular with high performers who are serious about making positive, impactful change within the global finance and management sectors.

Regent Business School

www.regent.ac.za

**About Honoris United Universities

Honoris United Universities is the first pan-African private higher education network committed to preparing and educating the next generation of African leaders and professionals able to impact regionally in a globalised world. Collaborative intelligence, cultural agility and mobile mindsets and skills are at the heart of Honoris’ vision of higher education.

Honoris United Universities joins the expertise of its member institutions to create pan-regional profile graduates that are competitive in today’s fast-paced and demanding labor markets.

Honoris United Universities gathers a community of 27,000 students on 48 campuses, learning centres and online, in nine countries and 30 cities across Africa. More than 100 degrees are offered in the fields of Health Science, Engineering, IT, Business, Law, Architecture, Arts and Design, Media, Education and Political Science.

Honoris United Universities. Education For Impact™.

www.honoris.net