New Study Programmes at the University : viability of Studies for Sustainable Development of the National Economy

For its 2018 intake, the University of Mauritius is offering new undergraduate programmes to students, such as Food Science and Technology, Aquaculture, Crop Technology, English Studies, Historical Studies, Marketing with Digital Technologies, and Finance (Minor Taxation). These new areas of study definitely offer new visions and prospects to students, but how far are these in demand and how far are they viable? News on Sunday talks to stakeholders in the different fields so as to obtain an outlook whether these studies will prove successful or not.  

Applicants for undergraduate courses at the University of Mauritius will have the opportunity to enroll for new fields of studies. Indeed, the intake for 2018 features new programmes in different faculties. At the Faculty of Agriculture, the new entrants will be able to choose from four new undergraduate programmes, namely Food Science and Technology (Minor: Food Entrepreneurship), Aquaculture, Agricultural Science and Technology, Crop Technology and Diploma in Agriculture.

At the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, two new areas, namely English Studies and Historical Studies while three new ones are on the list of the Faculty of Law and Management, namely Finance (Minor Taxation), Marketing with Digital Technologies and Marketing with Business Management. 

According to the Faculty of Agriculture, the new fields of studies offered this year would offer career prospects to students as Research Scienctists/Extension Officers in Food/Agricultural Institutions like FAREI and MCIA, prospects in Agri/Food industries, laboratories, technical officers/managers in agricultural enterprises, in the hotel sector, consultancy firms, and medical establishments, among many others. 

For the undergraduate programme on Aquaculture, a 6-month internship is offered. According to the Faculty’s objective, following the successful completion of the Aquaculture courses, students will be able to develop business plants for aquaculture projects, among many others.

As for Crop Technology, students will be able to identify technological and non-technological problems encountered in current crop production systems, plan and carry out research in the various fields of crop agriculture, etc. 

“All our programmes are in line with Government vision for the sustainable development of the national economy, and are meant for capacity building of in key sectors related to agriculture, aquaculture, horticulture, biosecurity issues, food, etc.  In particular they are as per the priority areas identified by the HRDC,” explains the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture Professor S. Facknath. 

At the Faculty of Law and Mangement, areas such as Finance (Minor: Taxation) is said to provide prospects in the banking and financial services and those who are looking forward to becoming Chartered Financial Analysts. The programme aims to allow graduates to have sufficient knowledge of taxation to understand its impact on the decision making processes in enterprises. Regarding the Marketing with Digital Technologies field, it is underlined that the job market is blooming in order to cater for the rise in a more technology-cum customer-friendly world.

On the other hand the Part-Time programme of Marketing with Business Management is being offered, given that marketing is one of the most dynamic sectors around the globe and forms an integral function of many organisations. This programme targets those who are interested in a career in marketing, have a passion for business and an aptitude for management.

“The objectives of the Marketing with Digital Technologies Programme are to combine marketing and digital media in an integrated program that will allow students to pursue their careers in both Marketing and Digital Marketing areas. One of the objectives of the Marketing with Business Management Programme is to foster the spirit of flexibility, creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation and ethical practices in the modern business environment,” says Mrs Roubina T D Juwaheer, Associate Professor (Marketing & Tourism).  She underlines that “as per employment forecasts, skills in digital marketing and new trends in management and marketing will be required in the foreseeable future.”

Food entrepreneurship vital

Regarding viability and career prospects of these courses, stakeholders in different sectors share with us their views. Asked about the Food Science and Technology (Minor: Food Entrepreneurship) programme, Jessyca Joyekurun, HR Professional, states that Mauritius is one of the countries in Africa where obesity and diabetes are topping alarming records and the population is growing more conscious about their health, weight and the quality of the food intake.

“Some people tend to be ill-advised by ‘ancestors or cultural traditions’ as to how to cure illnesses related to weight. People are growing more aware of running medical blood tests to monitor their health issues as well. I believe that these fields will be equipping the students who wish to qualify as nutritionists, dieticians and related fields so as to better counsel patients suffering from weight problems and other diseases, which are indirectly related to food intake.”

The HR Professional trusts that there is definitely the need to include these studies in their curriculum. “But most importantly, it is to create campaigns relative to health and weight issues and even showcasing success stories of weight loss or health improvement, either through proper nutrition, exercise, cooking habits, etc.” Regarding the viability of the programmes, Jessyca Joyekurun utters that she strongly believes that such fields are viable.

“The food entrepreneurship is a vital one, as someone should approach the market as an entrepreneur and try to revolutionise ways of creating a well-planned diet and adopting a healthy lifestyle. Tailor-made solutions accompanied by medical tests will help in formulating more realistic than commercial approaches to the field,” she utters. 

High demand overseas for Agricultural Science and Crop Technology

For Anibal Martinez, Founder of CareerHub, career prospects in Mauritius as well as overseas is high for the Marketing with the Digital Technologies programme. “Candidates with this profile are highly in demand,” he states. For the Finance (Minor: Taxation) one, he explains that the demand is medium in the island while being high overseas.

“The Financial Services sector is currently overcrowded with candidates with Banking & Finance degrees. The sector might grow in the near future following current changes brought by FSC, which might attract new operators,” he explains. 

Anibal Martinez explains that there is an average demand for candidates opting for the Marketing with Business Management programme, both in the island and overseas. “We would advise students to specialise in the Digital areas after graduation in order to become more employable.”

However, for programmes like Food Science and Technology (Minor: Food Entrepreneurship), Aquaculture, Agricultural Science and Technology (Minor: Biosecurity) and Crop Technology (Minor: Landscape Management), the demand is high overseas while there is average or low demand in Mauritius.

“There is a clear high demand overseas for this kind of profiles since these sectors are being highly impacted by technology. Regarding the domestic employment market, currently these profiles are also in demand but not in large numbers i.e. considering the size and number of operators in this field, they might not require over a couple of hundred graduates. This might obviously change in case Mauritius attracts offshore laboratories and R&D farms willing to establish themselves here. These courses might suit as well domestic small entrepreneurs in agricultural business.” 

English and Historical Studies too generic

For the Diploma in Agriculture, Anibal Martinez states that the demand is low on the overall. “They might suit future entrepreneurs in agricultural field, however. We would therefore recommend this for future entrepreneurs in this field.” As for English Studies and Historical Studies, the founder of CareerHub states that the demand is low both in Mauritius and overseas.

“These are way too generic courses. Students will need to specialise on a secondary programme like Journalism, Marketing, among others, to get the best out of it and become more employable,” underlines Anibal Martinez.