An outcome of the international collaborative project between Nelson Mandela University, the University of Pretoria and Ghent University (Belgium) titled: Improving student entrepreneurship support at South African universities in order to mitigate youth unemployment and funded by VLIR-UOS, was the development of a Student Entrepreneurship Support (SES) Assessment Tool. Prof Shelley Farrington (Department of Business Management) and Mr Riyaad Ismail (University of Antwerp; NMU Alumnus), together with the Madibaz Youth Entrepreneurship Lab (MYEL) and ICT Services have teamed up to implement the SES Assessment Tool at Nelson Mandela University. The tool will enable the university to gauge itself in terms of best practices relating to seven elements in a university-based student entrepreneurship ecosystem. Because the use of the Tool is longitudinal in nature, the university will be able to administer the survey annually and compare its current results to those of previous year’s and with national averages. By using the SES Assessment Tool and the survey results generated, stakeholders at Nelson Mandela University will have access to data that can assist them in improving and structuring the implementation of entrepreneurial support for students at the university. An annual survey by staff and students will increase awareness of the support that is available to student entrepreneurs at the university, and will encourage an awareness of entrepreneurship in general. All Nelson Mandela staff and students are encouraged to assist in implementing the SES Assessment Tool by participating in a short survey of approximately 10 minutes, which can be accessed here: https://busman.mandela.ac.za/Research/Improving-Student-Entrepreneurship-Support-at-Nels

Prof Shelley Farrington (Department of Business Management) and Mr Riyaad Ismail (University of Antwerp, Belgium) were invited to showcase their project relating to Student Entrepreneurship Support (SES) at South African public universities during the recent State Visit to the Republic of South Africa of Their Majesties the King and the Queen of the Belgians. Their project, funded by VLIR-UOS, was done in collaboration with academics from the University of Pretoria and the University of Ghent (Belgium). With the help of Mr Tiaan Gerber, a recorded TED talk of the SES project was made and subsequently shown during the royal state visit as part of a seminar titled “Strengthening social entrepreneurship as a model for change and the corresponding role of universities”. The seminar took place on the 23 March 2023 and aimed at showcasing the role of universities in the realisation and promotion of a stronger eco-system for social entrepreneurship and the value of the partnerships between Belgian and South African universities. The recorded TED talk can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/QfQyScbxgrA

The excellence of 22 top students and graduates were recognised at Nelson Mandela University’s annual student Academic Awards ceremony on 28 November 2022 together with the VC’s Excellence Awards for staff.

On the 8th of November 2022, Prof Shelley Farrington and Mr Riyaad Ismail presented the findings of the international collaborative project, titled 'Improving student entrepreneurship support at South African public universities in order to mitigate youth unemployment', to the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation. They also discussed the way forward in terms of the Student Entrepreneurship Support (SES) Self-Assessment Tool to be piloted and launced in 2023.

Prof Shelley Farrington and Mr Riyaad Ismail recently attended the 33rd Annual Southern Africa Institute for Management Scientists (SAIMS) Conference, which took place at Mpekweni Beach Resort (close to Port Alfred), from the 11th to the 14th of September 2022.

The 6th Annual EDHE 2022 Lekgotla was hosted by Nelson Mandela University from the 19th to the 22nd of July at the Boardwalk Conference Centre, Gqeberha. Professor Shelley Farrington (Department of Business Management) and Mr Riyaad Ismail (PhD student and Research Assistant, Department of Business Management), together with Dr Alex Bignotti (University of Pretoria) showcased the outcomes of their international collaborative project with Ghent University (Belgium) focusing on student entrepreneurship support at South African public universities.

Mr Riyaad Ismail, a PhD student in the Department of Business Management and lead researcher for the international project titled �Improving Student Entrepreneurship Support at South African Universities in order to Mitigate Youth Unemployment�, recently travelled to Europe to work with team members from Gent University, Belgium. During his visit, they worked on an article, as well as a Student Entrepreneurship Support (SES) Assessment Tool.

Prof Shelley Farrington and Mr Riyaad Ismail from the Department of Business Management at Nelson Mandela University (NMU) have released the results of their project titled �Improving Student Entrepreneurship Support at South African Public Universities in order to Mitigate Youth Unemployment�. The project got underway in 2020 and is a joint initiative between NMU, the University of Pretoria and Ghent University (Belgium). Funds for the project were provided by VLIR-UOS, an organisation that supports partnerships between universities in Flanders and the Global South. The project�

Mr Riyaad Ismail, a PhD student in the Department of Business Management and lead researcher for the international project titled 'Improving Student Entrepreneurship Support at South African Universities in order to Mitigate Youth Unemployment', recently visited entrepreneurship stakeholders at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Stellenbosch University (SU) to share some of the project�s findings. At SU, Mr Ismail met up with Ms Leana Kotze (SU LaunchLab: Business Development & Marketing Director), with whom he shared some of the project�s findings and who also gave him a�

Prof Shelley Farrington of the Nelson Mandela University and Family Business Unit was a keynote speaker at the First Global Entrepreneurship Catalyst Symposium 2022, held from 26-27 February. The event was hosted by IIHMR University, Jaipur (India) and coordinated by CGM Training and Consulting (South Africa). The global event saw 28 speakers from 9 different countries presenting their entrepreneurship research and projects. Prof Farrington�s keynote address focused on �Improving student entrepreneurship support at South African Public Universities��

Congratulations to Mr Riyaad Ismail, who completed his Master of Commerce degree cum laude! Riyaad is a Research Assistant in the Department of Business Management and will be graduating at the ceremony held on Wednesday, 15 December 2021. Riyaad has shared his experience and elaborated on his interesting and extremely relevant research topic. In his school-going days, Riyaad was always an �average student�, putting in just enough effort to get an acceptable pass without having to sacrifice too much of his sport and social life. However, things all changed when he began his�

Prof Shelley Farrington (Professor in Business Management) and Mr Riyaad Ismail (Masters student and Research Assistant in the Department of Business Management), together with Prof Mirjam Knockaert (University of Ghent, Belgium), presented their collaborative project at the 5th Annual EDHE 2021 Lekgotla held from the 11th to the 14th of October 2021 in Pretoria. Mr Ismail presented the project at the Lekgotla in person, while Prof Farrington and Prof Knockaert joined the presentation virtually. The project, funded by Vlir-Uos, aims to�

In 2019, an international collaborative project between Nelson Mandela University, University of Pretoria and Ghent University in Belgium was initiated. The project is funded by Vlir-Uos* and is titled 'Improving Student Entrepreneurship Support at South African Universities in order to Mitigate Youth Unemployment'. The aim of the project is to identify and disseminate best practices in university-based student entrepreneurship support and to create a student entrepreneurship development tool. Prof Shelley Farrington from the Department of Business Management is the local promoter�

Prof Shelley Farrington and Dr Riyaadh Lillah from the School of Management Sciences were invited by colleagues from the University of Ghent, Belgium, to assist them in preparing a proposal for submission to VLIR-UOS. VLIR-UOS is an academic cooperation between the Flemish universities of Belgium, which provides funding for projects initiated and undertaken in partnerships between universities in Flanders (Belgium) and in the South (e.g. South Africa). Funding is specifically given for projects that are looking for innovative responses to global and local challenges. The�