Professor Zaheer Hamid, Ms Bakhetsile Mangena and Mr Paresh Soni attended the National Association African American Studies (NAAAS) Conference in Dallas, Texas.
The trip to the United States of America came as result of a partnership between MANCOSA and the NAAAS organisation. Mr Paresh Soni who is also a board member at NAAAS, presented a paper on “The political economy of Food Security in Africa”. The conference proved to be a very interactive experience and the team managed to network with a number of academics from different institutions.
The conference was attended by over 100 delegates from all over the world. Delegates from The Ghandi Development Trust, led by Ms Ela Ghandi, were also present and the team was invited to attend a private dinner function with Ms Ghandi. There were also members from the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board and fellow colleagues from the KZN Department of Education.
According to Ms Mangena “Some of the noted themes from the conference alerted us on the ever changing educational environment, the process of learning, the use of technology in teaching and learning and the importance of transferring knowledge in to our communities and societies at large”.
Ms Mangena and Prof Hamid also visited Philadelphia where they met with fellow academics from Wharton Business School and Fox Business School (Temple University). The purpose of the visit was to engage with business school experts, establish relations with regards to faculty and student exchange programmes, to coordinate international study tours, develop case study writing units, sharing of technology usage for teaching and learning and joint executive education programmes. MANCOSA’s commitment on international relations will look in to coordinating and establishing relationships with Wharton Business School and Fox Business School; develop and review of MANCOSA’s formal bilateral and multilateral relations with overseas universities and other strategic partners, and also look in to the development and strengthening of international funding, networking and mobility opportunities.
MANCOSA has strong research and partnership links with professional bodies, industry and government. The partnerships have provided our students opportunities for internships, work placements and industry-based learning. The trip will also open up opportunities and exposure for both staff and students through the exchange programme. The trip also played a vital role in the professional development of the staff with the exposure they received while engaging with academics from different institutions. MANCOSA also recognised the best practice approach while at Wharton Business School and Fox Business School. This included; the technology used for facilitating teaching and learning, student professional development departments, the use of space to facilitate student learning, global and social impact initiatives and the use of career guidance counselling for assisting students to structure their degrees alongside with their goals and talents.