When our students embark on their two-year journey of the GIBS manufacturing focused MBA on the Toyota Wessels Institute for Manufacturing Studies (TWIMS) campus, they arrive excited, apprehensive and slightly overwhelmed. They have chosen to do something which takes courage and commitment to achieve their dreams.
These students have demanding jobs already and family responsibilities, but they have bravely elected to invest in their development. Each individual student has an extremely personal reason as to why they are pursuing the degree. But all students want a quality, transformative learning experience, not simply letters to their name. Graduations are a celebratory culmination of this deeply personal learning journey.
The manufacturing focused MBA comprises two years of study: the first, the PGDip which is the equivalent of an Honours year, which then enables students to proceed to the Masters year. The programme is offered by GIBS on the TWIMS campus in Kloof, Durban. In the two years, students learn general business leadership skills infused with manufacturing specialised subjects which expose them to a range of critical issues in the sector, such as: sustainability digital disruption, lean operations and resilient supply chains. In partnership with GIBS, the degree has been offered on the TWIMS campus for the past five years.
On 16 April 2024 we celebrated the fifth cohort of manufacturing students reaching their first milestone in their journey – the manufacturing focused PGDip. The sun was shining of the University of Pretoria campus and the atmosphere was jubilant.
As faculty attending, it is an honour to witness students you have taught walk across the stage and receive the degree they have worked so hard for. In its short five years, the manufacturing focused PGDip and MBA has produced some outstanding results, claiming several overall top student awards, research awards and subject prizes. The PGDip class of 2023 lived up to the standard with three of the manufacturing students achieving distinctions: Shiraz Dawood, David Frew and Siphathisiwe Sibanda.
Graduation day reflects the personal accomplishment for each and every student, not forgetting their families behind the scenes who have supported them on the journey. But as a class of manufacturing students on the TWIMS campus, these students are part of something bigger. The leadership lessons learnt on the programme will play a role in shaping teams, organisations and the manufacturing industry which they are part of. These graduates are ambassadors of responsible management in a sector which is critical to the prosperity of our country and the continent. Having achieved this first milestone we know they have what it takes to join our alumni in making an impact.
Congratulations PGDip manufacturing class of 2023!
For more information visit www.twims.co.za