Master of Business Administration with a Digital Transformation Lens (Contact)
Our Master of Business Administration (MBA) prepares leaders for a technology-driven global business world. With a strategic focus on digital transformation, innovation and experiential learning, our MBA prepares you to lead Africa into a 4IR future.
- NQF Level 9
- Course Code: MBA19Q
- 2023 Applications Are Open
The JBS MBA Difference
When we designed our new MBA for the digitally transformed world, we were deliberate in our approach. We wanted to create the definitive learning experience necessary for you to make yourself relevant and marketable, now and into the future.
Our MBA therefore positions you for success by fine-tuning your critical thinking skills across various disciplines and helping you to harness the vast opportunities that digital innovation affords. Learning to leverage the possibilities that technology unlocks is critical to ensuring business growth, and this is prioritised both in the subjects we offer and in our approach to teaching and learning.
Themes
At JBS, our focus is simple: we want to open a digital world of opportunities for all our MBA students, equipping you with everything you need to become a business leader in the digital economy. Our MBA is attuned to this and will give you all the essential skills you require. The core themes in the JBS MBA include:
How digital technologies are enabling opportunities in business
Advanced e-commerce platforms for entrepreneurship
Ethical Leadership in the digital economy
Competitive strategy: winning in the digital marketplace
Operations and supply chain management for the digital age
Advanced digital marketing
Accounting and financial management
Critical thinking for business
People management in the new world of work
Digital Technologies including Cloud computing and mobile
Consulting skills, quantitative methods and data analytics
Economics and International Business
In addition to these core themes, you will also have the opportunity to choose from electives on offer each year – these are drawn from topics such as:
Virtual reality in a business world
Disruptive technologies in areas such as tourism, agriculture and medicine
Advanced cybersecurity for business
People management for empowerment and collaboration
Consumer intelligence
Entrepreneurship and business start-ups
Developing authentic leadership
Advanced AI, and robotics for business
Big Data and data analytics
Blockchain applications for business
Teaching Approach
Your learning experience at JBS will be intense and demanding, and will involve an engaging combination of debate, dialogue, experiential learning, simulations, and local and international case study analysis. At all times, the content, structure and medium of your studies will be relevant, practical and geared to the technological advances that drive business.
MBA Faculty
Our professors of practice are accomplished businesspeople, who bring their vast knowledge and extensive experience in the world of work to the classroom. Our cutting-edge theory combined with our faculty’s boardroom and operational perspectives offer an unrivalled academic experience.
Meet your professors and lecturers
Professor Lungile Ntsalaze
Professor of Accounting and Head of DPhil Programme at the JBS
Herman Singh
CEO of Future Advisory
Professor of Practice – Digital Technologies
Dr Dino Petrarolo
Senior Vice President of Competitive Capabilities International
Professor of Practice – Operations and Supply-Chain Management
Professor Rija Rijamampianina
Professor of People Experience and Leadership
Monica Singer
South African Lead for Consensys
Professor of Practice – Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies
Philasande Sokhela
Lecturer at the JBS in Digital Marketing
Wayne Moodaley
Lecturer at the JBS in Accounting and Finance
Valter Adao
Chief Executive Office and Digital Leader of Cadena Growth Partners
Professor of Practice – Digital Transformation and Business Innovation
Professor Alistair Mokoena
Country Director Google South Africa
Professor of Practice – Technology and Opportunity
The Capstone Consulting Project
At the end of your JBS MBA, you will bring together all that you have learnt in the Capstone Consulting Project. This is not a traditional research thesis. Instead, it is a challenging consultancy project where you will explore opportunities for solving real-world problems in a chosen business and devise a workable solution. You will be guided by a supervisor, who will help ensure your project’s success.
International Study Tour elective
As part of the programme, JBS MBA students may choose to go on an optional international study tour, conditions permitting. Potential destinations include China, Argentina, India, Kenya and Ethiopia. This tour offers two weeks of life-changing immersion in the country of your choice, and includes visits to business schools, businesses and government agencies.
Physical and Digital Campuses
At JBS, we understand that the digital economy is a global economy. Our state-of-the-art classrooms are therefore designed to connect you to the rest of the world, while our smart work areas are equipped with the latest technology to support you. As a JBS MBA student, you will form part of an international intellectual network through our close community links with international business schools. Our digitally enabled classrooms will provide access to local and international faculty, as well as guest speakers.
JBS MBA Benefits
Our emphasis is on practical, useable learning and skills development that you will be able to apply to your business or organisation in direct and immediate ways. We are focused on ensuring your success by helping you become:
A critical systems thinker who embraces complexity
An authentic leader with social and digital intelligence
A forward-thinking futurist who is in touch with global business developments
Course Structure
The JBS MBA takes 24 months to complete, including both module work and the Capstone Consulting Project. There are two streams available, namely, Saturday and early-bird lectures. Both streams have two lectures a week of three hours each.
‘Weekender’ lectures – Two lectures on the same day (Saturday) from 08:00 to 15:00
‘Early-bird’ lectures – Two mornings a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) 06:30 to 09:30, with breakfast included
Teaching blocks in 2022
The 2022 teaching year will be divided into the following four blocks:
Block 1 – January to March 2022
Block 2 – April to June 2022
Block 3 – June to August 2022
Block 4 – September to November 2022
Orientation
MBA orientation will take place on 20 and 21 January 2022.
The first ‘Weekender’ class will run on Saturday 22 January 2022, and the ‘Early Bird’ classes will start on Tuesday 25 January 2022.
Admission
The following requirements are necessary to qualify for the JBS MBA:
A four-year undergraduate degree, or an undergraduate and postgraduate degree or diploma (NQF Level 8)
A minimum of four years’ work experience, preferably some in management
A demonstrated level of maths literacy: an NQF Level 4 matriculation pass in maths or equivalent (preferred but not essential)
Proficiency in English
- Successfully completed the admissions portfolio
Study permit for South Africa if you are an international applicant
Fees
The total fee for the MBA is R215,000 (plus an additional fee for UJ IT). It will be billed over the course of the two years of study.
The cost of travel and accommodation for the optional International Study Tour is not included in the MBA fees. Optional: International Study Tour: $2500 – $5500.
