IUM hosts annual graduation

Junior Kapofi
  • 10 Months Ago
This past week, the International University of Management (IUM) held its oath-taking ceremony and annual graduations at the university’s main campus in Windhoek. This was the university’s sixth oath-taking ceremony and 19th graduation ceremony.

IUM held their oath-taking ceremony for the 6th cohort of nursing graduates; 38 graduands from the faculty of sciences took their oath on the day. Professor David Namwandi, founder and council chair of IUM, addressed the students, commending them for the great work that they have put in during their studies as well as contributing to the upliftment of the institution.

Inga-Foibe Ashipala, a recent nursing graduate, expressed gratitude to the school for its excellent service and the valuable lessons it taught her.

Graduation ceremony

This year, the institution graduated 1 972 students; this is a 38% increase from last year’s graduations that took place during the same time. This year, the university awarded 888 honours, 77 postgraduate diplomas, 75 master's degrees, and one doctor of philosophy (PhD).

In addition, the university awarded eight graduates with a master’s degree in nursing science and postgraduate diplomas in environmental science to six graduates for the very first time.

Examining business growth

The only candidate to receive a PhD that day was Mary Onjefu, who received a PhD in business administration.

Her study examined the factors influencing small and medium-sized business growth in Namibian towns and suggests the adoption of a revised growth model to support the expansion of small and medium-sized businesses.

A mixed-methods research approach was used in the study.

Additionally, the study's findings show that some entrepreneurial traits have a favourable effect on the development of SMEs.

Particularly, past experience among the demographic traits examined has a favourable relationship with the expansion of SMEs.

Regarding entrepreneurial orientation, risk-taking has a weak positive effect, while some characteristics of entrepreneurial preparedness have a good impact on the growth of SMEs in the five towns in Namibia. Additionally, a specific component of the owners' or managers' innovativeness has a favourable impact on the growth of SMEs.