Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
Prof C Koornhof, Dean
Telephone number: 012 420 3330
Fax number: 012 362 5194
E-mail address: carolina.koornhof@up.ac.za
Message by the Dean
The vision of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences is to be an internationally recognised and locally relevant centre of excellence in education and research in the economic, management and financial sciences, with a special focus on needs in Africa.
Although the research outputs of the faculty often reflect theoretical research, the application thereof is also visible in the number of contract and applied research reports and articles completed in order to address critical research needs, both in the public and private sectors, in South Africa.
The faculty has identified the continuous improvement of both research quality and research outputs as a key priority, by:
- developing the supervision and research capacity of members of the academic staff;
- improving the quality of writing skills of staff and students;
- improving the knowledge of research methodology of staff and students;
- activating the research culture in the faculty;
- creating sufficient and effective administrative and research support to academic staff;
- increasing the number and quality of postgraduate students in the faculty; and
- increasing the number of NRF-rated researchers.
International networking with peers at renowned research institutions is of paramount importance in achieving goals and a concerted effort is being made to establish and strengthen relationships. During 2009, 21 doctoral students and 118 master’s students graduated. Three staff members of the faculty obtained their master’s or doctoral degrees and numerous staff members are currently in the process of studying towards their doctoral or master’s degrees. At present, four staff members are studying at international research universities to complete their doctoral degrees.
In 2009, the staff of the faculty achieved the highest research output ever, which includes 104 articles and two conference proceedings. The faculty had 12 NRF-rated researchers in 2009 and, for the first time, has the expertise of two B-rated researchers, who share their expertise and experience with the faculty as the chair and deputy chair of the research committee. The faculty research award for the department with the highest number of accredited research units in the preceding year was awarded to the School of Public Management and Administration.
Faculty research awards were also made to best individual researchers. Dr Edwin Ijeoma from the School of Public Management and Administration received the award for the senior lecturer with the best research output, while Prof Rangan Gupta from the Department of Economics received the award for the best performance in the category associate professor/professor.
In 2009, the dean and heads of department conducted a management summit on research. At the summit, they shared best research practices and discussed the hurdles to the production of quality research and the strengthening of a research culture in the faculty. Several departments conducted research seminars and brown bag sessions that were attended by staff and students.
The research committee also coordinated a number of workshops and training sessions for academic staff members that covered important aspects of research.
I would like to thank the members of the academic and administrative staff, postgraduate students and, in particular, members of the faculty’s research committee, postgraduate committee and research ethics committee for their contributions in making 2009 an exceptional research year.The aim of the faculty in 2010 is to continue to build its research capacity and expertise, to foster a research culture, and to improve both the research output and impact of the research of staff and graduates.
Prof Carolina Koornhof
Dean: Economic and Management Sciences
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