Regent Business School is committed to using education to drive significant change in the communities and lives of previously disadvantaged students. As part of its commitment to ensuring that young South Africans have the skills they need to join the 21st Century’s world of work, Regent Business School , in partnership with the Iqraa Trust, Durban, is proud to announce the launch of a fully equipped iLeadLAB, or “Makerspace”, at Mandla MthetwaSchool of Excellence in Ndumo, KwaZulu-Natal.
AcademicMakerspaces are seen as a way to engage learners in creative, higher-order problem-solving and active learning skills through hands-on design, construction, and iteration.
“Makerspaces provide powerful contexts and opportunities for students to learn and develop new skills and draw on the innately human desire to make things, using our hands and our brains. Student-centred learning in a Makerspace can also empower students, helping them to shift from being passive consumers of information and products, to active creators and innovators. The goal is to increase practical educational opportunities for the students at Mandla Mthetwa School of Excellence,” says Regent Business School, MD Dr Ahmed Shaikh.
“The iLeadLAB provides students with opportunities to bridge the gap between secondary and tertiary learning, thus reducing the mismatch between education and available jobs, and increasing employability in the future. Consequently, the interdisciplinary, collaborative and empowering nature of these Makerspaces helps to prepare students for a future that one cannot imagine. Regent Business School has met this need by combining formal discipline-centric education with the experiential learning of flexible in-demand skills. This project will provide many opportunities for the students of the Mandla Mthetwa School of Excellence,” he says. The establishment of the iLeadLAB at Mandla Mthetwa School of Excellence will benefit students, staff, and the entire community in many ways,” says Shaikh.
