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18/03/2015

Guest lecturers, Todd Davey and Victoria Galan-Muros, both from Munster University of Applied Sciences (Germany) and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (The Netherlands), visited The School of Management Sciences from 9 February until 6 March 2015.

Todd and Victoria, both in the closing stages of the PhDs, are experts on how universities and business can cooperate for mutual benefit and for impact in the economic and social development of their communities and regions. Having performed the largest European study into the topic, their consulting and academic research takes them around the world, exposing them to many good practice examples in university-business cooperation, as Victoria describes.

"Our interest is in discovering the different ways in which universities and business interact and cooperate through collaborative research, joint curriculum development and delivery, entrepreneurial activities or management". Victoria adds, "Our research and experience shows that people, cultures and the right ecosystems are important success factors".

From their experience, they say that NMMU have a claim to having a best-practice example within its midst.

"The student projects carried out by Paul Tai-Hing in the Management Practice Department, in which students involve business, gain practical experience and apply the knowledge they have learned in the classroom, is one of the best educational cooperation we have seen," Todd says. "The need for students to combine a business and entrepreneurial mindset through business development and project management and business negotiation in addition to the sheer number of projects is very impressive", he continues.

Both Todd and Victoria have been lecturing Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Management, Marketing and International Marketing at South, North and Missionvale campuses during February. They also shared some of their knowledge at an event hosted by the Regional Innovation Forum the 4th of March.

ABOVE: Paul Tai-Hing, Todd Davey and Victoria Galan-Muros