'A key differentiator'
Sunday, 9 May 2010
Running a programme for high school pupils is an unusual activity for a business school.
The Spirit of Youth has nothing to do with the Gordon Institute of Business Science's core business education and management courses. It is, however, a key differentiator, boasts director Nick Binedell.
"I haven't come across other high-quality business schools running such programmes," he says.
Spirit of Youth is one of a number of Gibs programmes that Prof Binedell says helps to bridge the dangerously wide gaps that continue to separate the population of South Africa
16 years into democracy. It provides a forum for young people to argue and listen across racial and class divisions in a way that is crucial if the country is going to heal.
However, there is another aspect. By hosting Spirit of Youth, which is free to the students from state and private schools, Gibs gets early exposure to some of the country's future leaders. Some will doubtless return to Gibs for their MBA. And it is not just Gibs that gets an early bite at the cherry - its corporate clients do as well.
For a business school that derives most of its income from a range of customised programmes for clients such as banks and investment houses, an additional benefit is that Gibs can offer its corporate customers access to these future leaders through Spirit of Youth's two-day career expo which is scheduled for July.
This is not a link Gibs overtly promotes but it clearly adds to the value proposition for potential clients - giving companies the opportunity to start building relationships with these future leaders before they even hit university campuses.
The benefit is apparent:
Bafana Ntuli, who grew up in Dobsonville, Soweto and went to a state school on Johannesburg's industrial West Rand, was a Spirit of Youth participant in 2006.
He is now a third-year law student at the University of Johannesburg, on a scholarship paid for by Investec Bank - having been introduced to Investec through Gibs.
The Spirit of Youth has nothing to do with the Gordon Institute of Business Science's core business education and management courses. It is, however, a key differentiator, boasts director Nick Binedell.
"I haven't come across other high-quality business schools running such programmes," he says.
Spirit of Youth is one of a number of Gibs programmes that Prof Binedell says helps to bridge the dangerously wide gaps that continue to separate the population of South Africa
16 years into democracy. It provides a forum for young people to argue and listen across racial and class divisions in a way that is crucial if the country is going to heal.
However, there is another aspect. By hosting Spirit of Youth, which is free to the students from state and private schools, Gibs gets early exposure to some of the country's future leaders. Some will doubtless return to Gibs for their MBA. And it is not just Gibs that gets an early bite at the cherry - its corporate clients do as well.
For a business school that derives most of its income from a range of customised programmes for clients such as banks and investment houses, an additional benefit is that Gibs can offer its corporate customers access to these future leaders through Spirit of Youth's two-day career expo which is scheduled for July.
This is not a link Gibs overtly promotes but it clearly adds to the value proposition for potential clients - giving companies the opportunity to start building relationships with these future leaders before they even hit university campuses.
The benefit is apparent:
Bafana Ntuli, who grew up in Dobsonville, Soweto and went to a state school on Johannesburg's industrial West Rand, was a Spirit of Youth participant in 2006.
He is now a third-year law student at the University of Johannesburg, on a scholarship paid for by Investec Bank - having been introduced to Investec through Gibs.