By: Mmafatse Ndlebe
For the 10th summer, the IPED commons had witnessed a cacophony of activity that directly corresponded with the arrival of 15 South African delegates, to our picturesque Rose Hill campus. The delegates, consisting of Economics students from the University of Pretoria and young professionals working in the private and public sector, were selected to attend Fordham IPED’s flagship advanced certificate in Emerging Markets and Country Risk Analysis program.
Throughout their six week in New York, the 22 delegates undertook two rigorous courses in Strategic Finance Management and Political Risk Analysis, taught by Professor Rengifo and Entelis respectively, which provided them with the opportunity to engage and network with local IPED students. Beyond interacting with faculty members, the Student Representative Council and Res Life leaders, the South African’s were afforded the opportunity to network and engage with business leader and policy makers through numerous organized site visits in New York and Washington D.C. These visits included multinational institutions such as ICBC, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and large institutions at the World Bank and South Africa’s Consulate.
After returning to South Africa, the delegates alongside the Fordham IPED and Economics graduate students completed the third and final course, Emerging Market at the University of Pretoria, which was instructed by Professors Schwalbenberg, Themeli and Odra.
