The Unisa Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL) will produce an innovation hat-trick as it hosts its third Research and Innovation Day as part of the University of South Africa’s (Unisa) fourth annual Research and Innovation Week. SBL will once again present an energising and thought-provoking day at its Midrand campus on Thursday, 5 March. The focus of the day is on “Developing Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent” and will challenge people to consider entrepreneurs as a mainspring to driving innovation in South Africa. This is a fitting follow-up to last year’s gathering which contemplated how innovation could be the step change needed for South Africa’s socio-economic outlook.
SBL’s innovation day will present two keynote speakers that are both accomplished trailblazers in their own right within the public and private sectors.
S’onqoba Maseko is one of a handful of black female actuaries in South Africa. As an embodiment of the independent, entrepreneurial spirit, Maseko has previously founded a non-profit organisation for youth development and driven the strategic direction of a black-owned start up investment company as Chief Operations Officer. She currently provides right-hand support to FirstRand Limited’s Group CEO, Sizwe Nxasana. Named as one of Destiny Magazine’s top forty trailblazers under the age of 40 in 2011, Maseko is also Head of FNB’s League of Innovators Graduate Programme. Maseko is passionate about youth and education and can relate, from personal experience, the value that the entrepreneurial ethos can bring to South Africa’s corporate sector.
The second speaker hails from the Public Sector. Pierre Schoonraad is Chief Director: Research and Development at the Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI), an entity reporting to the Minister for Public Service and Administration. His responsibilities include investigating service delivery challenges and finding – or developing - innovative solutions to improve service delivery. Current projects under his supervision include a large-scale cooperative water integrity initiative, household and community alarms for crime prevention in informal settlements and energy efficiency in government facilities such as hospitals.
He serves as an adjudicator of the ICT Innovation Competition of the Gauteng Accelerator Programme, an initiative of The Innovation Hub and the Gauteng Department of Economic Development. He is also a member of the Ad Hoc Expert Group that advises the United Nations on the Transfer and Adaptation of innovative practices for improved public service delivery in least developed countries (LDCs) and regularly participates in international engagements on Public Sector Innovation.
SBL’s Research and Innovation Day forms part of a series of events that run in parallel to Unisa’s Research and Innovation Week from 2-6 March. The overall theme of the week is “Serious about Research” and is a testament to Unisa’s inclusive approach to research as a dynamic and enriching university-wide enterprise, rather than being the sole domain of academics and postgraduate students. SBL will continue its focus on research with various events scheduled throughout March.
“Living by its philosophy to be innovative, socially responsible, ethically engaged and globally informed, the SBL has a demonstrably successful education approach,” says Dr Renosi Mokate, SBL Executive Director and CEO. “This is sustained through strategic alliances with international academic institutions and strong partnerships in the local business sector. The School is well-positioned to support African entrepreneurs by providing access to cutting-edge management thinking, while at the same time throwing down the gauntlet to become forerunners of African innovation.”
Further information can be found at www.unisa.ac.za/sbl . Members of the public who are interested in attending should please RSVP to Thina Gwiliza at (011) 652 0334 / gwilita@unisa.ac.za.
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