College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences
Unisa grows footprints in Africa
The Unisa Marketing team embarked on an African marketing drive, and exhibited at the Windhoek Industrial and Agricultural Show, as part of student recruitment from the 24th September to the 1st October 2021. The Department of Institutional Advancement, the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, the College of Human Sciences and the College of Law, all represented Unisa at the exhibition.
The Windhoek Industrial and Agricultural Show is an annual trade fair in Windhoek, Namibia. It combines an agricultural exhibition, several industrial and retail offerings, and a range of entertainment facilities. The Show was first held in 1899, and then was conducted annually since 1966. Held during last week of September, the Windhoek Show is the biggest industrial and agricultural exhibition in Namibia. The exhibition which is held at the last week of September, is the biggest Industrial and Agricultural exhibition in Namibia and attracts close to 100,000 visitors annually.
As Africa's leading Open Distance e-Learning Institution, we offer internationally accredited qualifications, and have world-class resources that inspire learners to create meaningful futures on their own terms. We are the African University shaping futures in the service of humanity, therefore, the exhibition was a good platform to grow Unisa’s footprint in Africa, as per the institutions’ 3rd objective which is “To recruit a diverse student population and increase student enrolment at both national and international level in line with Unisa enrolment management plan.”
The aim of participating in these kinds of exhibitions is to; position Unisa products to be competitive in a globalized Africa, by attracting and increasing new enrolees from African countries;, to enhance Unisa’s reputation and its relevance , and chiefly to position it as the university of choice on the African continent.
The Unisa stand was inundated with visitors who were current Unisa students. These students were pleased to meet with Unisa staff members, expressed their challenges, and were assisted with queries related to their studies. Prospective students on the other hand, enquired about qualification offerings, application processes and closing dates.
Unisa Alumni, governmental officials, university administrators, directors of research centres were among many people who also visited the stand, and mostly shared their experiences of studying through Unisa, and expressed their gratitude to the University for helping in shaping their careers and futures.
One of the major challenges expressed from both current and prospective students was the need for the University to improve on servicing students in African countries. Due to lack of adequate service delivery, students expressed that they were well serviced when Unisa still had licences offices in their areas.
During our stay in Namibia, the marketing team was also invited to the South African High Commission in Namibia to explore areas where the Embassy could assist students with. The Embassy highlighted that have in fact assisted several students from Namibia with relevant procedures to follow when pursuing higher education in South Africa and many other countries.
The team was further invited to visit other regions of Namibia by prospective students from Rundu, Kavango East, for their November 2021 career exhibition. In addition, Oryx Properties Limited in Namibia proposed that in future, the team uses their four shopping malls as part Business to Business marketing. This is due to a high number of prospective students interested in studying with Unisa according to their position.
Publish date: 2021-12-02 00:00:00.0
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