The Wits Business School (WBS) has appointed Prof Brian Armstrong, the former group chief commercial officer of Telkom, to head up the WBS/Telkom Chair in Digital Business, established in 2016.
Telkom agreed last year to fund the position for a five-year period.
Armstrong will ensure that WBS develops research and teaching programmes for doing business in the digital world.
The “flagship” programme will be a master’s degree in digital business, but there will be other offerings, including a postgraduate diploma, and online and executive education courses, WBS said in a statement.
“In the past five years or so, there has been much hype around ‘digitalisation’. But while it is a very real part of our world, and applies to every aspect of business, it is a concept that is overtraded but under-researched,” said Armstrong.
“Most of the information we have about digitalisation is anecdotal: there is no body of knowledge available which is underpinned by rigorous academic research.”
He said “new and rigorously conducted research” will form the basis of curriculum development.
“Our outputs must be seen and felt in our society; the chair must have an impact on the South African and African business communities,” Armstrong added.
Armstrong, who has worked at BT Global Services, the CSIR and Telkom, is an alumnus of Wits and University College, London. — (c) 2017 NewsCentral Media
