YK Business School: Celebrating 15 years of excellence: New faculties coming soon

This year, the YK Business School (YKBS) is celebrating its 15th year in the local tertiary education. The institution opened its doors in 2002 and started with the delivery of MBA and Certificate programmes on a supported distance learning mode. The School became popular since the programmes were offered on a distance learning mode along with being greatly affordable. Many students have had the opportunity to enrol in these programmes. 

“YKBS is celebrating its 15th anniversary with the firm intention to showcase its contribution to the community in particular and mostly to be known by the public. Many events will accompany this celebration and it is the desire of Management to welcome the public at large to be present and appreciate what YKBS has to offer to Mauritians in terms of quality education,” says the Chairman Professor Reshad Jaumally. 

The School has so far produced more than 2,300 students in various fields of Business Management and Administration at various levels. The bulk of students graduating from YKBS originate from various backgrounds and they are representatives of the major economic drivers of Mauritius. Many students are already working professionals and occupy middle to top management positions in the private and public sector. 

Due to this unexpected growth, YKBS had to move to new and bigger premises for the delivery of its programmes. Three location moves were made from 2002 to 2012, from Pamplemousses to Quatre Bornes and then to Belle Village and finally to a campus-based operation in Highlands to be able to accommodate students. YKBS can boast of its contribution towards the empowerment of a significant number of students in the field of Business and Management during the last decade. 

Life-changing educational experience

According to the Chairman, YKBS has as mission to endeavour to create a life-changing educational experience through quality, research and education to individuals and society. YKBS seeks to contribute to the changing education demands of Mauritius and neighbouring countries through learning programs responsive to the needs of students, the government and the private sector. “The vision of YKBS is to be recognised as a premier higher education institution that is committed to quality education in a caring environment. YKBS will deliver transformational education and research by nurturing expectations and creating opportunities for people, nationally, regionally and globally.”

It started with the representation of the Management College of Southern Africa (MANCOSA), an institution specialised in dispensing tertiary education programmes on a supported distance learning mode in Southern Africa and most of the Southern African Development Communities (SADC). As part of its regional growth and expansion strategy, Regent Business School (RBS), another popular tertiary institution from South Africa has also established a collaborative partnership with YKBS to roll out a series of business and management related programmes to students in the Indian Ocean. All programmes offered by YKBS are designed by its training partners and are benchmarked internationally to ensure the highest academic standards. YKBS runs the programmes of its partners and all programmes on offer are accredited by Educational Authorities in the country of origin and by the Tertiary Education Commission of Mauritius (TEC) and the Mauritius Qualifications Authority (MQA).

The market demand for alternative modular programmes from the UK being very high in Mauritius, the LLB Honours programme was introduced in 2015 from BPP University in the UK. YKBS is desirous to maximise its new structure and offer more diverse structured programmes to Mauritians and Africans. 

The programmes offered by YKBS have become very successful due to their affordability, accessibility and accreditation. Besides, the programmes are competitive and their delivery is practical to businesspersons and industrials alike. It gives an equal opportunity for the growing youth to empower themselves through business education at an affordable price. The programmes respond to the aspirations of most people. 

The success of YKBS programmes emanates from core activities directed to satisfy the requirements of the students. Academic support offered to students is conducive to the target market, which is generally working people. The strength of YKBS rests on its ability to provide pastoral care to students on an individual basis.

Target achieved

Accordingly, the major goals of the institutions have been achieved over the past years.  The building comprises of 12 classrooms with a total capacity of 600 students at any one time. The classrooms are equipped with modern facilities and latest interactive methods of learning are also available. A fully-fledged administrative section, computer lab and library, along with recreational spaces are also available. Students can enjoy the gym and indoor games available on campus. The building is equipped with WiFi accessible to all students. 

Moreover, YKBS is now geared to pave the way into bringing more accessible and affordable full-time programmes in addition to the distance learning mode. It is also the desire of YKBS to launch new in-demand postgraduate programmes and fruitful discussions are ongoing. Academic activities of YKBS will aim at opening up to a wide array of students both in Mauritius and abroad. These actions are in line with Government policy to making Mauritius an Educational Hub.

Introducing new faculties 

The institution has the following upcoming projects:

• It is the intention of the Institution to expand and offer programmes to the countries of the Indian Ocean rim;
• The institution plans to increase its training portfolios and move from the Management programmes to new faculties such as Social Sciences, Law and Accountancy;
• To offer accommodation facilities to full-time students of neighbouring islands to embark on full contact programmes; and
• YKBS is envisaging merging with multinational platforms and being able to project itself to continental Africa.

Activities planned for 8 July

To mark the 15th anniversary, YKBS is organising various activities on its campus on Saturday 8 July as from 10am to 4pm. The activities include:

• Several companies will be present for a Job Fair.
• Health checks will be performed notably diabetes screening and sensitisation on breast cancer. An ayurvedic platform will be present. Blood donation session will also be held.
• Electronic gadgets will be on display for sales to the public
• Books sales by ELP
• Art Gallery – showcasing Mauritian talent.

On the same day, the winners of the YKBS Essay Competition 2017 will be awarded. The first prize winner will win a Full Scholarship for three years from MANCOSA. The second prize winner will be awarded a Partial Scholarship for three years from MANCOSA. The third prize winner will be presented with a Smartphone (sponsored by Maurisystem Ltd).