Change the world

The Nelson Mandela University is recognized as a “key knowledge catalyst for sustainable futures”, through a nearly century-long tradition at its George Campus in the disciplines of natural resource management, environmental stewardship, and more recently economic development and social transformation. Research that transcends social and ecological systems plays an essential role in achieving sustainable futures in an increasingly complex world.

Due to the strong tradition on the  George Campus to produce industry-employable graduates, research, although founded on scientific excellence, is mostly of an applied nature. Research conducted at the George Campus spans a number of faculties, including well-established faculties such as the Science Faculty and the Business and Economic Sciences Faculty.

The Science Faculty includes the School of Natural Resource Management and the Sustainability Research Unit. The School of Natural Resource Management, one of four schools in the Science Faculty, has a particular focus on resource management across the fields of Forestry, Wood Technology, Nature Conservation, Game Ranch Management, Agriculture, and Veldfire Management. The Sustainability Research Unit conducts research on the sustainability and resilience of social-ecological systems. The SRU focuses on the crossing point between ecosystems and society, on understanding the processes that influence human behaviour and therefore the sustainability of society and natural resources.

At the George Campus, the Business and Economic Sciences Faculty focuses on delivering cutting-edge qualifications relevant to the business sector in the Southern Cape and further afield. These include career-oriented programmes in the areas of Management, Marketing and Tourism Management, as well as professional qualifications such as a variety of BCom degree options, including the flagship BCom Accounting (CA) programme.

Other faculties, such as Law and Engineering, the Built Environment and Information Technology (EBEIT) are also making their presence felt at the George Campus, with niche programmes that serve the needs of business and corporates in both the public and private sectors.

Collectively, the diversity of disciplines practiced/offered on the George Campus provide an ideal environment for cross-disciplinary research and ‘interface science’. Any research we engage in, is highly supportive of collaborative initiatives with other research entities and with industry, either at the local, regional, national or international level. Ultimately we strive to deliver ‘value-for money’ research outputs and produce professional graduates whom are well-positioned to address the needs of various resource management and business sectors in a sustainable manner.