2017-01-17Staff Report 2 Windhoek - As part of the International University of Management (IUM)’s growth strategy, the privately owned university plans to transform its Swakopmund campus into a Research, Consultancy and Short Course Centre of high repute and construct a regional academic campus in Walvis Bay, which has a larger student population and is better equipped to handle a greater number of students. IUM public relations officer Meke Nambili says the envisaged regional campus will cater for students from Swakopmund, Henties Bay, Arandis and Walvis Bay. Swakopmund and Walvis Bay have thusfar been operating as individual campuses. Initially, she said, IUM had hoped to implement the strategic policy decisions immediately. However, due to time constraints, the transfer of the academic programes from Swakopmund campus to Walvis Bay Campus is scheduled to be gradually implemented and only finalised by 2020. “IUM wishes to clarify here, however, that the transfer of the said programmes from the Swakopmund campus to that of Walvis Bay will not take place this academic year, 2017. For this academic year the status quo remains as it is,” she noted. Nambili further said students who are already enrolled and or are enrolling with the Swakopmund IUM campus this year are not affected in any way by the decision. She said this year’s academic enrollment at the Swakopmund IUM campus will be the last. She said there will be no first-year academic enrolment at IUM’s Swakopmund campus, except for the short courses under CIIP, as Swakopmund IUM campus is earmarked to become the IUM Centre of Research, Consultancy, Short Courses and other tailor-made programmes for the whole country, the SADC region and beyond. IUM is in the process of strategic expansion of its academic programmes, research and consultancy services to the different regional clusters of the country. The expansion involves growth in the Kavango Regions, as well as the northern and coastal regions of the country. IUM recently completed construction of a campus at the Nkurenkuru, which now has ultra-modern facilities to cater for the two Kavango regions, Zambezi Region, Oshikoto Region, as well as neighbouring countries, such as Angola and Zambia. She further said the additional renovation and expansion of Ongwediva campus in the Oshana Region will be completed and handed over to IUM by the end of this month. The Ongwediva campus will cater for Ohangwena and Omusati regions. The university resumed its 2017 academic year on Monday and offers various programmes accredited by the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA), including including certificates, diplomas, bachelors or honours degree and masters programmes. Registration has since Monday started for senior students. 2017-01-17Staff Report 2
