Many employers will feel relieved to see that a brand of new students is being trained in the best possible way by getting introduced into the world of work very early. As every cloud has a silver lining, according to the training manager of the Mauritius Employers Federation (MEF), Abendra Patten, the Mauritius International Business School (MIBS) is striving to find ways to fill the gap between the world of work and that of academic studies.

?Developing tomorrow?s business leaders? was the theme of the open day of the MIBS held at the Octave Wiehe Hall at Réduit on 9th and 10th July. In 2007, the MIBS ? a joint venture of the University of Mauritius (UOM), the UOM Trust and the MEF ? was set up to engineer a programme that would put more emphasis on learnability and employability of students at tertiary level. It is one of the first major projects undertaken by the UOM Trust to ?generate and mobilise the resources required for the advancement of Education, Research and Development, and Innovation.

The main reason for this is because present degree holders are not always sufficiently prepared and trained in work skills. Even the Minister of Education declared in his speech: ?One of the major weaknesses in our system has been the gap between the world of academia and the world of work. Most employers in Mauritius have repeatedly been expressing concern over this gap as they have been finding it more and more difficult to get the right type of skilled labour, especially among the professionals.?

The main objectives of the MIBS according to the minister of Education is firstly ?to definitely shrink out the gap? and secondly to become the premier Business School in the Afro Asian region so as to offer internationally recognised Business Management programmes. The most important innovation that the MIBS is bringing is the ?methodology?, that is the way teaching as well as learning is done. The revolutionary idea of students being independent learners is what the MIBS is proposing.

Of course, the MEF and the UOM will be there to guide the students but Abendra Patten emphasizes on the fact that there will be nothing more than that. The students will have to undertake their own efforts personally. They will have to market their talents to different industries for them to work on project works. They will have to stretch their potential and test their limits to develop into resourceful and resilient entrepreneurs.

<I>The students will have to undertake their own efforts personally. They will have to stretch their potential and test their limits to develop into resourceful and resilient entrepreneurs.</I>

Furthermore, the MIBS has devised a way in which to make maximum use of the 45 hours per week allocated to students. Compared to the UOM, where all 45 hours are spent in classes, the MIBS has broken this rule. 30 hours will be spent in the classrooms, and 15 hours will be dedicated to project work during which the students will be left on their own. They will have to adapt to being left on their own and to make optimal use of their time.

What is more, the courses will be delivered not by classroom lecturers but by industrialists. These people who are in daily contact with the world of industry will be in a better position to inculcate in those students the art of working. They will be working hand in hand with the MIBS to create for the students an atmosphere in the classroom that will give them the same atmosphere as that of the workplace. In the words of the Minister of Education ?the coming together of academics and employers will help in immersing students within a vibrant and competitive corporate environment.?

<B> A. M.</B>

<B>A. Undergraduate courses: </B>

• BSc (Hons) Creativity and Entrepreneurship

Programme duration: 3 years and 6 months

Cost of Programme: Rs 60 000 per year

• BSc (Hons) International Financial Services and Compliance

Programme duration: 4 years

Cost of Programme: Rs 60 000 per year

• BSc (Hons) Banking and Investment

Programme duration: 3 years and 6 months

Cost of programme: Rs 60 000 per year

B. Post-graduate courses:</B>