“This is a long overdue innovation,” says Henley Africa dean and director Jon Foster-Pedley. “We have been under increasing pressure from our MBA graduates to let them take their studies to the apex qualification of a doctorate in business administration, but the travel expenses and logistical difficulties associated with actually studying at Henley UK have been challenging.”
“Now, thanks to a combination of factors, particularly the technological innovations we implemented and perfected during lockdown, developments in the UK and a good availability of experienced supervisors in South Africa, we are now able to affordably support the Henley DBA from South Africa.”
Henley Africa will also extend its extensive scholarship scheme to the DBA programme, further facilitating access to deserving candidates.
African students will be advised and supported in South Africa, but recruited, taught and managed via the UK. The degree will be conferred by Henley UK, with all contact sessions occurring either face-to-face in Britain, or virtually. Each doctoral student will be assigned two supervisors and one mentor, with one supervisor ultimately being recruited locally. Students will have full access to Henley Africa state-of-the-art South African campus in Johannesburg with its student lounge, syndicate rooms, catering, controlled access and free secure parking and Wi-Fi.
Henley Africa currently provides more than 66% of the entire Henley MBA intake, which includes the UK, Finland, Denmark and Malaysia. It is also the first and only business school on the continent to be quadruple accredited, being awarded accreditation after a tough quality assessment process by the Association of African Business Schools, over and above the coveted triple crown of the EFMD from Europe, the AMBA from the UK and AACSB from the US.
“We have been on an exponentially upward trajectory over the last 10 years, which has increased at almost warp speed over the last two years. We have been accredited as a fully-fledged African business school in our own right, rather than just a satellite operation of a global brand, establishing our own unique research department and appointing our first professor.
“We have developed inventive short courses and expanded our existing programmes, but the development of a Henley Africa post-MBA doctorate in business administration will be the ultimate achievement for all of us. Opening a satellite doctoral office on campus is the penultimate step to reaching that milestone and I have no doubt that the doctoral candidates we produce will be the equal of their peers anywhere in the world, if not better – just as our MBA graduates consistently shine in the international Henley community.”
The closing date for DBA applications is June. For help on how to apply to the UK, please contact Zara Cupido on az.ca.asyelneh@caraZ.
Henley Business School Africa is a leading global business school with campuses in Europe, Asia and Africa, and the only business school in Africa to hold quadruple international accreditation. It was ranked as the number one business school alumni network in the world for potential to network (Economist 2017); and is the number one African-accredited and -campused business school in the world for executive education (FT 2018, 2020), as well as the number one MBA business school in South Africa as rated by corporate SA (PMR 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021). It is the first and only leading business school in the country to hold a level 1 B-BBEE rating.
