Introduction to postgraduate study

Course Description

The module introduces and provide executive insights into postgraduate study on supply chain management. As a prospective postgraduate student, whether you’re looking to deepen your professional knowledge, formalise your existing work experience, or learn something new, postgraduate study is a great way to unlock your potential and take the next step in your supply chain career. This course therefore provide useful information about the choices of postgraduate studies on supply chain management in Africa, the types of post graduate studies (research versus course work); how do you prepare for the options, SCM career preparedness, SCM programmes offered in various universities as well as the expectations of a masters and doctoral research. Learners who successfully complete this module will gain valuable insight that will prepare them for their post graduate study.

Target Audience

This module is aimed at:

• Postgraduate (master and doctoral) students;
• Young academics, lecturers and researchers who intend to improve research knowledge of skills;
• Faculty seeking direction on supervising research; and
• Anybody who wants to develop an understanding of research.

Course Duration

The course is scheduled for 3 to hours.

Importance of the Course

At the end of this course, the learners should be able to:

• Gain mastery of the fundamentals of postgraduate studies;
• Understand the various types of post graduate studies (Research versus course work) and how do you prepare for the various options;
• Understand SCM career preparedness and paths;
• Gain knowledge of the various SCM programmes offered in various universities in the continent; and
• Know the expectations of a masters and doctoral research.

Course Facilitator

Prof. Marcus Ambe

Prof. Marcus Ambe is an esteemed Procurement and Supply Chain Management Professional. Marcus is a Professor at the Department of Applied Management, School of Public and Operations Management, University of South Africa (Unisa). He is the Chairperson of the Public Tender Committee at Unisa; Deputy Chairperson: Technical Standards and Competencies, Interim SCM Council, South Africa; President of African Institute for Supply Chain Research; Advisory Committee Member for Smart Procurement World; Chairperson of the Supply Chain Management Research Group (Unisa); Chairperson of Masters and Doctoral (M&D) Research Colloquium committee as well as Masters & Doctoral Coordinator for Supply Chain Management at Department of Applied Management. Prof Marcus Ambe served as the Chair of Department for Applied Management in 2016. He has published extensively and presented numerous papers in local and internal conferences. Marcus provides Supply Chain Management consulting and advisory services to leading organisations and institutions such as the National Treasury; Limpopo Provincial Government; National School of Government (South Africa). He has executed numerous projects in the area of Strategic Procurement Planning, Procurement Management, Strategic Sourcing, Category Management, Collaborative Procurement, Total Cost of Ownership, Procurement Analytics, Sustainable Procurement, Innovative Procurement as well as Ethics and Good Governance in Supply Chain Management.