Published: 16th October, 2019

Tata International in Africa recently awarded eight academically and financially deserving students at the University of the Free State (UFS) with scholarships totalling more than R300 000.

This Postgraduate scholarship programme was created by Dr Johan van Zyl from the UFS Department of Business Management in 2012 in collaboration with Tata. The aim of the programme is to provide final year Strategic Marketing students an opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge, by developing practical marketing strategies for any one of the Tata Group companies operating in Africa.

The students were tasked with presenting innovative marketing strategies with a goal of enhancing the business’ market share for Tata trucks and busses in South Africa as part of Tata’s Postgraduate Scholarship Programme.

“In line with the business ethos and core values of Tata, with its strong culture of uplifting society and giving back, our objective is to help increase the number of young people primed to take up leadership roles in business, government, and civil society. The Tata Postgraduate Scholarship Programme is one of our flagship education initiatives,” said Len Brand, CEO of Tata International Africa.

The amount that each student receives covers the student’s tuition fees, stipend (living costs), books and accommodation for the year of study. Tata postgraduate scholarships contribute to the country’s objective of increasing the number of postgraduate scholars primed to take up leadership positions in business, government, and civil society in the country. Scholarship recipients are not contractually bound to Tata once they complete their studies.

“Education is extremely empowering and transformative,” says Brand. “It has an amazing ripple effect, with the potential to not only uplift individuals, but the communities in which they live and work, and ultimately society at large.”

This year’s UFS scholarship recipients are: Carina Louw, Alroy Kriedemann, Sachintha Galhenage, Slindile Msweli, Megan Josephs, Mpho Mothab, Anthony Arlow and Lebo Tswala.