As we navigate the digital revolution and try to grasp the changing world of work, it has never been more important for people to develop their critical thinking skills.

“We need the courage to do new things, learn new skills and acquire new capabilities using the attributes of hard work, problem solving, communication and critical thinking as the platform. In times of change our ability to keep learning – to stay current and refresh our capabilities – is perhaps even more important than the particular things we learn. We need to harness the ability to reinvent ourselves over and over, thereby staying relevant,” says Professor Brian Armstrong, Head of the Chair in Digital Business at Wits Business School (WBS).

Wits Business School’s Executive Education has helped individuals stay current and develop their leadership skills for five decades, responding to the changing needs of business and the evolving business landscape in Africa from their campus in Johannesburg for over 50 years, and now have offerings in Durban.

“Top of the school’s executive education agenda is to ensure that teaching material is relevant to our context as an emerging economy, and underpinned by rigorous academic research”, notes Dr Sibusiso Sibisi, Director and Head of WBS.

“This is based on the premise that, while Africa has some of the fastest growing economies in the world, it lacks skilled managers to effectively oversee the growth and development of these economies. There is a dire need for quality management education both in South Africa and beyond our borders,” says Dr Sibisi.

“However, If we are to produce a new generation of business leaders who are equipped to do business in Africa, we need to understand that business education is a continuous process of interrogating and shaping our curricula, so that we remain relevant to business challenges specific to Africa and in the context of the fourth industrial revolution,” he says.

Driven by this vision, WBS Executive Education will launch a number of executive education offerings in digital business and general management in Durban in early 2019.

“This is because the digital revolution is not just about technology,” asserts Armstrong. “Managing change and effectively leading people are sought-after skills in the current climate.”

The programmes on offer in Durban in 2019 include the perennially popular Management Advancement Programme (MAP), a nine month course which gives students a firm grounding in all aspects of business. On the digital front, WBS will be running two five-day digital courses: Digital Technology Fundamentals which provides an overview of core digital technologies and their impact on business, ranging from AI to IOT, blockchain and many others; and Immersion Experience in Cutting Edge Digital Business, which combines technology fundamentals with business topics such as strategy in a digital world and digital transformation and change.

WBS Executive Education also launched, in 2018, a new International Executive Development Programme (IEDP) in Development Finance in partnership with BANKSETA. The ground-breaking programme saw 20 delegates embark on a five-month exploration of new ways to promote financial inclusion in developing countries, with study blocks in Ghana, Tanzania and Brazil. Mid-2019 will see the first IEDP in Digital Business, with some exciting new global study tour destinations.

“Wits Business School is proud to be at the forefront of a number of new executive programmes that meet the demand for both hard and soft skills to take our continent into the future,” concludes Dr Sibisi.

The WBS executive education Durban course dates are:

• Management Advancement Programme (MAP): 12 Feb - 21 June 2019
• Digital Technology Fundamentals (5 days): 25 - 29 March or 8 - 12 July 2019
• Immersion Experience in Cutting Edge Digital Business (5 days): 6 - 9 May or 16 - 20 Sept 2019

These courses will take place at the Tsogo Sun Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani Hotel.

For more information, please visit: http://www.wbs.ac.za/executive-education