Tata Africa joins hands with University of the Free State, South Africa
November 10, 2015
Tata International in Africa came together with the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Business Management to give students a chance to win academic bursaries totalling R275,000.
The Strategic Marketing students were granted the opportunity to take their learning beyond the textbook, by developing practical marketing strategies for any one of the Tata group companies operating in Africa. The students, in their self-selected groups, presented their ideas to a panel of judges, comprising past winners, industry experts as well as UFS representatives. Based on the panel’s scores, the top achievers were invited to participate in the final round.
The final round of presentations took place on October 15, 2015. A range of diverse ideas were presented by the students, including: market research for Tata Motors, the development of a mobile application for the Taj Hotel, the creation of a registration software for Tata Consultancy Services for South African Universities – RegiQuick, as well as innovative social media and guerrilla marketing strategies were recommended to the organisation.
A prize distribution function was hosted in the evening, to commemorate and showcase the students’ ideas and hard work. Ten individual winners were selected by the panel. The top three presenters were awarded academic bursaries valued at R40,000, R30,000 and R25,000, respectively. Based on the first round of presentations, four best group presentations were selected, where each team was awarded academic bursary funding to the value of R10,000.
This collaborative partnership between Tata International in Africa and UFS has provided the UFS students with an opportunity to learn from key players in the industry and, in turn, gain practical exposure into real-life industry happenings. Through its support and investment in these UFS students, the company has helped pave the way in ensuring that sustainability, creativity and greatness can one day be realised by the students.
