The Trade and Development (TRADE) research entity in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the North-West University (NWU) met online to plan the entity’s strategy for the next five years.
Prof Danie Meyer, director of TRADE, says the planning session on 26 June was held to update TRADE’s five-year strategic plan. “The vision of the entity is to become an internationally acclaimed centre of excellence for research in the international trade and development economics arena,” says Prof Meyer. He says they updated their strategic plan in line with the TRADE slogan of thinking global, acting local.
TRADE has more than 70 members, which include 15 extraordinary professors, 48 full-time staff members and postdoctoral candidates. The majority of these members and various international members attended the workshop.
Their five main strategies for the next five years are:
- Strategy 1: Improved research output (quality versus quantity)
- Strategy 2: Improved outcomes and focus from postgraduate studies
- Strategy 3: Expanded networks and collaboration
- Strategy 4: Increased external income/funding/projects
- Strategy 5: Acknowledgement of achievements, awards, marketing
“The entity published 111 papers in 2019 and achieved 78 outputs (A/E). More than 66% of papers were published in the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) or Scopus journals.”
According to Prof Meyer, TRADE members attended 20 conferences and presented 60 papers last year.
“The implementation of projects from the five main strategies is ongoing and has led to increased research success stories.”
He says the workshop also included public and special lectures. One of the highlights was a talk by Bruce Fordyce, known as the King of the Comrades, on motivation in difficult times.
Two other presentations were also delivered: one by Dr Clive Coetzee on the measurement of regional economic development through the use of satellite technology, and another by Mr Francois Fouché on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on international trade.
For more information on TRADE, contact Prof Danie Meyer at 082 850 5656 or daniel.meyer@nwu.ac.za.
