The Southern Africa Institute for Management Scientists (SAIMS) will present their 34th annual conference in co-operation with Akademia this year. The conference will take place from 10 to 13 September at the Leriba conference facility in Centurion.

SAIMS was established in 1988 with the purpose of promoting the interests of management scientists in Southern Africa and also to serve as a forum to discuss management education and research.

The role of SAIMS is also to promote research by means of gathering and processing relevant information in the management field. The role of the institution further is to make this information available via publications, an annual conference and to establish interaction among local and international management scientists.

Conference participants are mainly management scientists of South Africa’s higher education institutions, as SAIMS is held in high esteem as a powerful academic conference with a focus on improvement and expansion of management as a science. The focus of the conference this year is also to engage more people who are employed in the management industry. Anyone with a passion for management science is, however, welcome to attend the conference.

What makes this year’s conference unique, is the fact that for the first time it will be presented at a private institution and it is also the first time that workshops will form part of the conference programme.

Participants in this year’s conference can expect a dynamic programme offering many insights, with speakers from academic circles and the industry. Participants can also enjoy delicious food, make use of fantastic network opportunities and pay a cultural visit to King Price. One of the speakers at the conference this year is Boshoff Grobler, former chief executive officer of Ashburton Investment Management.

According to Salomien Boshoff, co-ordinator of the SAIMS conference and lecturer in Business Management at Akademia, conference participants will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to aim towards a better future in management science.

This year’s topic is Management Potential P³: Possibilities, Pioneering and Progress. The topic blends perfectly with the values of Akademia, the host of the conference, including a pioneering spirit.

Boshoff mentioned that potential is like a precious metal and that one should delve deeply to unlock this potential. “Management potential is a challenge that we wish to set for our management scientists in 2023. The business world is moving fast and we must share our pioneering ideas with one another to ensure progress in our industry,” Boshoff said in closing.

Dr Rachel Maritz, dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at Akademia, said that the institution is very excited about hosting this year’s SAIMS conference, as the conference is in line with the values of Akademia as well as its approach to training. “Akademia strives to blend research and lecturing as one, and this is being carried out in practice by means of the SAIMS conference. Excellent academics from over the whole country will participate in the academic discussion by presenting their research to others at the conference,” she concluded.

If you are interested in attending the SAIMS conference or want to give a presentation at the conference, please feel free to visit the web page here.