For the first time ever, Sol Plaatje University’s (SPU) School of Economic and Management Sciences had the privilege to serve as host for the annual meeting of the South African Commerce Deans Association (SACDA), which took place on 2 and 3 November 2023. The event was attended by representatives from 17 universities who discussed various topics including micro-credentials, postgraduate supervision, workloads, entrepreneurship funding, class attendance, artificial intelligence, tools, professional bodies and postdoctoral fellowships. Working groups were formed to address a number of issues with a report expected once tasks are completed.
Dr Jody Cedras, the University Registrar, commenced the proceeding with an official welcome. Following this, Prof Pierre Joubert introduced delegates to Sol Plaatje University and its campuses as Head of School. A gala dinner at the Protea Hotel provided a chance for attendees to witness Kimberley’s iconic Big Hole while enjoying keynote speeches from Professor Joubert who compared the discovery of diamonds with university founding and developmental efforts in adjacent communities.
On the afternoon of 3 November, the meeting came to an end and those in attendance – many of whom had never been to Kimberley or SPU before – were highly impressed with our stunningly beautiful and meticulously clean campus. They also found our community and staff members exceedingly friendly, noted the significant progress made towards building up our institution, and commended the School of Economic and Management Sciences for their tremendous hospitality as well as superb coordination efforts amongst support functions.
