In keeping with the times, the UCT Graduate School of Business’ 2020 Alumni Reunion weekend will be hosted online and will feature talks by former Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, and entrepreneur and venture capitalist Vusi Thembekwayo. The event’s theme is The Connected World and will explore how connecting the world digitally during the COVID-19 pandemic has affected us as business leaders - and as people.
This year’s annual Alumni Reunion weekend, which takes place from 23 to 25 October, will be hosted virtually for the first time, reuniting alumni from all over the world to engage with the theme The Connected World. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, business has digitally transformed — a longstanding goal for many companies - but at what cost? What is the impact for leaders, business and society?
On Friday 23 October at 17:00, newly appointed UCT GSB Director Dr Catherine Duggan will discuss how she sees the future for the UCT GSB and its competitive edge in Africa. Dr Duggan has worked in Africa for more than twenty years and has experience in nearly two dozen countries on the continent. Her academic research focuses on institutional development in Africa, including the formal and informal institutions that support markets and commerce, as well as the dynamics of credit transactions in contexts ranging from microfinance to sophisticated banking and financial markets. She has been described as “bullish on the future of Africa” and believes the world has entered what has been called the African century.
On Saturday 24 October starting at 11:00, speeches will be heard from former Public Prosecutor, Advocate Thuli Madonsela, entrepreneur and venture capitalist Vusi Thembekwayo, Executive Manager & CMO of FlySafair, Kirby Gordon (FT MBA 2010), and visiting faculty, Professor Rasoava Rijamampianina.
The weekend will close with the traditional 3Peaks Challenge, which has been held annually for the past 41 years. Guests can join the Cape Town run or the virtual run via Strava.
As part of this weekend, alumni are raising funds for RLabs, an award-winning NGO, that has developed an in-house platform called Zlto that rewards unemployed youth on completion of micro jobs or training. The aim of the campaign is to fund 30 food parcels — or more — for those families financially impacted by COVID. You can make a donation here.
The UCT GSB’s Head of Alumni Relations and Careers Services, Morea Josias, says hosting the GSB Alumni Reunion Weekend virtually will enable more alumni to join than in previous years. “We felt it was more important than ever to give our alumni a platform to reconnect and discuss how this unprecedented period will impact our future.” She adds that it is also an opportunity to remind alumni of the school’s achievements over the past year which include highlights such as the number one ranking of the EMBA programme in Africa, an historic UCT GSB win in the John Molson International Case Competition in Canada in January, and, most recently, a UCT GSB case study win, for the second consecutive year, at the prestigious CEEMAN & Emerald Case Writing Competition.
For further information and to register, please visit the Alumni Reunion Blog.
