Latest updates – Thursday, 25-Apr-2013 9:13

 

WSU GEARS UP FOR 8th ANNUAL ICABR

Impassioned discussions and interrogations about the intricacies of business and its effects the world over are set to have a few people hot under the collar at an international research conference set to take place in East London this week.

In what is a first for the country, the eighth annual International Conference on Applied Business Research (ICABR), themed ‘Globalisation and Regional Development’ will be jointly hosted by Walter Sisulu University (WSU) and the Czech Republic’s Mendel University in Brno in collaboration with 14 other universities from around the world, and is to be held at the East London Health Resource Centre from 23-26 June.

Over a hundred experts from all of the world’s seven continents, representing countries such as Nigeria, China, Australia, Germany, United States, The Czech Republic and South Africa, amongst others, will come together to deliberate on the latest developments and newest techniques in all areas of business and business applications – scholarly contributions dealing with issues related to regional and global consequences and impacts of financial and economic crisis will be interrogated at this particular juncture.

A close eye will be cast on a plethora of issues, including Economic Development & Globalization, World Financial and Economic Crisis & Impacts, Sustainable Development & Resource Management, Rural Development & SME Development, Environmental Resources & Potential/Limits to Economic Development, Capital Resources & Financing, Entrepreneurship, amongst many others.

In line with the Conference theme, organisers hope that the academics, consultants and experts in the various fields of proficiencies will be given a great opportunity to subject global topical issues to intense debate, with the hope of coming out with workable and sustainable propositions towards solving a myriad of global challenges.

WSU’s Head of Tourism and a member of the International/Local ICBAR organising committee, Dr Kofi Acheampong is particularly buoyed with the opportunity to participate in a research conference of this magnitude as it helps the university enhance its research trajectory.

“This Conference, like all other international conferences, further offers academics of WSU the opportunity to interact and network with their counterparts from different cultures and persuasions, all over the world, with the hope of collaborating in common areas of interests. The ramifications of such interaction and collaboration will help enhance WSU’s research trajectory,” says Acheampong.

The conference comes as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding between joint-hosts WSU and Mendel University, who signed an agreement in June last year to facilitate cooperative linkage agreements towards the exchange of information and shared knowledge, students and scholars/staff exchange, collaborative research and any activities that may deemed to be of mutual benefit to both institutions and the communities they serve.

The wheels have already been set in motion in honour of the agreement, with a team from Mendel visiting and actively participating in the WSU Annual International Research Conference last year.

In turn, Mendel extended an invitation to Dr Acheampong, to which he duly obliged. This opportunity saw Acheampong assisting Mendel by teaching students about Rural Agro Tourism, as well as reviewing the University’s tourism syllabus, to which he made some tangible inputs.

WSU Spokesperson Angela Church lauded efforts by the two institutions in bringing the conference to the Eastern Cape.

“The active and fruitful partnership between WSU and Mendel University is proving invaluable. To be able to host a global conference of this stature and bring such wealth of knowledge to the Eastern Cape in so many areas of interest is indeed rewarding,” says Church.