Industry-Academia relations with Henkel SA
Industry-Academia relations with Henkel SA
Puleng Maphisa
Ms Shemica Bipath a Roots to Consumption presenter
The Marketing and Sports departments hosted Henkel South Africa (PTY) Ltd for an industry academic campus visit.
Henkel and the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) joined hands to form a public private partnership that would benefit applied marketing and retail management students through the programme called #TagAlong2HENKEL. The programme is designed expose them to “practical work experience” and equip them with both soft and critical thinking skills.
Students must select one product from the range of Henkel products, conduct market research as part of their curriculum and develop a product launch strategy for the product of their choice.
The launch will be treated as a competition and successful students stand a chance to sign a contract with Henkel which will last for a period of eight months. They will also be expected to report to the Henkel offices as and when required to do so for the duration of the project.
Students can choose products from three categories, namely: Roots to Consumption, Taxi Pack or Informal Workshops. Participants will be expected to create a brand pitch to present to the Henkel panel of judges.
Ms Mulalo Mutheiwana who is registered for master’s degree in marketing and works as Sales and Marketing support staff member for Henkel, made a short presentation to explain what students are expected to do in order to complete the challenge.
In closing, lecturer Mr Lehlohonolo Masitenyane advised students to take the project seriously as it will not only benefit their marks but will expose them to the real day-to-day work experience.
Henkel, which was founded in 1876 will be celebrating 144 years of success this year. It has 188 manufacturing and 22 major research and development sites around the world and specialises in three business areas: adhesive technologies, beauty care, laundry and home care.
