The Part-time Post Graduate Diploma in Enterprise Management (PGDip EM PT) is a two year programme run within the Rhodes Business School starting in January each year and ending in December the following year. Students can, if they have the desire and capacity, accelerate the programme to complete it in one year.

Both options are based on the action-learning philosophy. Students on the programme will be expected to learn by doing and to develop conceptual understanding and practical skills through a process of simultaneous interaction. This means that programme differs somewhat from the typical university course.

The target group for the programme is normally postgraduate students from any faculty who havetypically  NOT majored in Management, Business Administration, Business Management or the equivalent (Although each applicaiton is judged on its own meroit and context). The Rhodes Business School wishes to bring together a rich diversity of students from different educational backgrounds to create an entrepreneurial group which is representative of the South African people.

Full Time Option:

The course begins in February (dates to be confirmed) in the Rhodes Business School Teaching room. After registration it will start with a period of orientation which will include visits to businesses to provide students with the opportunity to interact with entrepreneurs and to see how their businesses operate. Thereafter during orientation week a process of idea generation for the Alpha project will be followed by forming of groups and businesses and writing of business plans. Lectures will commence on first day of term.

The Rhodes Business School is committed to making a significant contribution to the development of an entrepreneurial culture in South Africa. In a country in which unemployment is high and in which the prospects of finding employment in established organisations appears to be diminishing, more people will have to think in terms of creating their own employment, as opposed to just seeking employment.

The programme is designed to lay the foundations for students who wish to pursue the idea of starting their own businesses, thus creating their own employment as well as employment for others. It is generally held that small businesses create far more jobs from a macroeconomic point of view, than do established, large businesses. Being an entrepreneur has its own set of challenges, agonies and ecstasies. If, at the end of the course, a student feels unsuited to being an entrepreneur, he or she will nevertheless be equipped to pursue a career in business.

Click here for the Course Brochure of the diploma information or contact the co-ordinator Tshidi Mohapeloa (T.Mohapeloa@ru.ac.za).

Part Time Option:

The programme starts in January and ends in December.

The Part Time option is designed to meet the needs of graduates in full-time employment from a wide range of job functions who wish to: 

• Develop their entrepreneurship skills within their organisation;
• Develop an intrepreneurial approach to business;
• Enhance their general management ability; and
• Deepen and update their business knowledge, understanding and practice.

The PGDip (Enterprise Management) PT is an Honours level equivalent, NQF Level 8 qualification. We are confident that it will prove a great asset to companies who recognise its merits as an internal company development qualification that you can use on your scorecards.  

It serves as a precursor qualification for those wanting to pursue an MBA. From 2016, the Department of Higher Education’s regulations require an NQF Level 8 qualification or an appropriate four-year degree or postgraduate qualification for any student wanting to enroll in an MBA programme (NQF Level 9) at any business education institution in South Africa.

Click here for the Course Brochure  or contact the PDEM PT co-ordinator Kevin Rafferty (k.rafferty@ru.ac.za)

Last Modified: Mon, 06 Feb 2023 10:58:14 SAST