Students from each of the eight Architectural Learning Sites in the country, compete to be acknowledged as the “National Architectural Student of the Year” in the annual Corobrik Competition, now in its 37th year.
Usually, only a first prize is awarded, but with the competition running so close this year a commendation was awarded to Gideon, keeping the Mandela University Architecture flag flying high, says Andrew Palframan, Director of the School of Architecture.
Mandela University has won the competition four times in the last six years and eight times in the competition’s history (Nelson Mandela University and Pretoria University are the only two schools to have won it as many as eight times).
Gideon’s project “The Design of A Citizen’s Archive for King’s Beach” is rooted in the discourse of “Architecture, Identity and Expression” – it is a novel project, which aims to “authentically” express and archive the individual identities and memories of all people of the city…
Read more: Nelson Mandela University News
Master’s degree research focuses on Muslim consumers’ financial planning needs
Nelson Mandela University Financial Planning lecturer Raaiq Pandie's master’s degree study combined principles of Islamic finance and financial planning by assessing the Zakat literacy levels among South African Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) professionals. Raaiq recently graduated from the University with his master’s degree in business management (cum laude).
Raaiq Pandie (centre) together with his supervisors Dr Jasmine Kinsman (left) and Mukhtar Raban.
The South African Muslim community, historically marginalised from the formal economy, has sought financial solutions aligned with their religious beliefs.
Exclusion during apartheid hindered their access to mainstream financial services, resulting in a lack of products and services catering to Islamic principles.
This led to the introduction of Islamic finance in South Africa.
The foundation of Islamic finance is based on an eco-system that strives to balance social equality and finance by incorporating ethics and moral standards into all economic activities.
This eco-system is governed by Shariah, which refers to a set of rules that governs the conduct of Muslims and this differentiates the Islamic finance sector from other sectors within the conventional financial services industry, Raaiq says.