5 The UJ College of Business and Economics (CBE) addresses wicked 4IR-related problems through five questions: Who generates data? Who owns data? To what purpose? How do we equip graduates for the future? Reflecting on the future of learning and research, Anna McKie writes that interdisciplinarity is required to mitigate these challenges as AI raises a host of issues stretching across computer science, law, ethics and social policy (www.twitter.com/annamckie). She cautions “that the interdisciplinary spirit has typically penetrated less deeply into teaching”. How do we improve society’s techno-savvy beyond the level of falling prey to exploitation, especially in Africa and our part of the continent? It is reported that 44% of Africa’s population is connected by cellphones when compared to the world average of 66%. This gap impacts on users and firms wanting to do business in Africa and emphasises the need to tackle the impact of technology to benefit South Africa. Moving closer to home, President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his 2019 State of the Nation Address, elaborated on 4IR impact and announced the establishment of the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He linked this major policy intervention directly to South Africa’s future prosperity as a nation, saying that the commission must “ensure that our country is in a position to seize the opportunities and manage the challenges of rapid advances in information and communication technology”. South Africa clearly does not want to be left behind. The CBE, cognisant of this national urgency and agency, is purposed to develop critical thinkers and problem solvers who address business, economic and societal challenges. Our initiatives are clearly aligned to the recently approved UJ Global Excellence and Stature 4.0 Strategy. The CBE 2018 Annual Report reflects a counterdisruptive strategy built on the strengths of its School of Accounting (SoA), the Johannesburg Business School (JBS), the School of Consumer Intelligence and Information Systems (SCiiS), the School of Economics (SoE), the School of Public Management, Governance and Public Policy (SPMGPP), the School of Tourism and Hospitality (STH), and an agile academic governance force directed by the Deanery. The CBE community progresses by using technology to educate more people than ever before in business and economics. We impact by generating knowledge, adding value to learning, and teaching how to be better informed, to be healthier, to be safer, to behave better, to connect, and to learn faster. In so doing, we ensure that the ‘black box’ is not as mysterious as first feared. In the following we report on highlights and key trends from the College’s activities during 2018.
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