Retail Business Management Department hand over W&RSETA bursaries

The Wholesale and Retail Leadership Chair (WRLC) has awarded bursaries to four undergraduate and three postgraduate students to cover their educational and living expenses.

The bursaries were awarded to academically gifted students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds. The bursaries were awarded to six Retail Business Management students and one Business Administration student. The bursary winners were: Sbabatso Emihle Sofute (1st Year), Likhona Lukholo Mtiya (2nd Year), Caylin Amber Louw (4th Year), Ziyanda Qwase (5th Year), Innocent Tumelo Ntuli (Master of Retail Business Management), Anushka Benjamin (Master of Retail Business Management) Bongani Bango (Master of Technology – Business Administration).

The first year up to fifth year students get a total of R50 000 each student and master’s level students receive R150 000 each, paid into their student accounts.

Head of Department & Wholesale and Retail Leadership Chair at CPUT, Prof Virimai Mugobo, said the awarding of bursaries to deserving students was one of the deliverables in the partnership agreement between the W&RSETA and CPUT.  Mugobo said one of the key deliverables of the WRLC was to establish international partnerships with universities across the world that offer wholesale and retail-related qualifications. Currently the WRLC has partnerships with universities in countries such as Germany, France, and Sweden.

Caylin Amber Louw, a 4th-Year student,  said: “I am really grateful to W&RSETA for selecting me, the bursary helped me financially  because I was a lot pressure[financially] because my single mother is unemployed and could not afford to pay the fees.”

“We congratulate the bursary recipients and sincerely hope that the bursaries will go a long way in assisting them to complete the 2022 academic year without any financial challenges, thus enabling them to concentrate on their studies,” said Mugobo.

The WRLC has also fully financed two students and one staff member who will be visiting Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg (DHBW), Ravensburg, Germany as part of the international exchange programme. The students will be in Germany for about three months whilst the staff member will spend two weeks in that country.  The students are Moemtaaz Manual and Aviwe Tapuko who are both third-year Retail Business Management students. The lecturer is Eric van Zyl.

“The purpose of the international exchange programme is to expose our students to international wholesale and retail trends. The programme affords them the opportunity to observe and learn how wholesale and retail businesses operate in the specific country they will be visiting. Upon their return, they [will]share their experience and knowledge with fellow students and staff in the department,” Mugobo continued.

“We wish them well during their stay in Germany and we hope that they will be take the opportunity to learn not only about how wholesaling and retailing are conducted but also learn more about the Germany culture.”

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
Email: boyceap@cput.ac.za