UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB) MPhil Course

GSB MPhil

The MPhil Inclusive Innovation is a one-year modular programme designed to be a collaboration between GSB faculty and pass innovators. The MPhil curriculum is structured around three main components: learning, engaging, and reflecting and creating – this can be referred to as praxeology (the study of purposeful human action).

1. Learning

The programme provides a grounding in the fundamentals of inclusive innovation, as well as the challenges facing those working on social and environmental issues in Africa today. A typical class flows from student presentations and group feedback to focusing on topics such as values-based leadership and business model innovation, integrative thinking and design thinking.

2. Engaging

From the start of the programme, innovators identify a problem of interest and start developing a deep understanding of the context behind the issue they’d like to address. They conduct independent research, including a literature review, field studies, interviews, observations and assessment of market needs. This scholarly approach leads to a fuller understanding of the practical possibilities for contributing to the issue concerned.

3. Reflecting and creating

Personal reflections and peer-to-peer feedback all help to spur on the intellectual development of inclusive innovators and their ideas.

The MPhil’s desired outcomes are:

A practical outcome or artefact – prototype, framework, business model, etc.
A research thesis that has a strong narrative around the artefact development and clearly illustrates a contribution to knowledge.
An embodied experience of business model innovation (entrepreneuring)

Inclusive innovators who complete the MPhil will be skilled at:

Undertaking and managing complex innovation-focused projects.
Identifying and coping with the internal experience of entrepreneuring.
Using systems thinking, design thinking and integrative thinking to take on business-model innovation.
Planning a new venture or process, including a detailed strategy and feasibility.

MPHIL ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

The MPhil Inclusive Innovation has the following requirements:

Applicants must hold at least a NQF level 8 qualification in Applied Science, Commerce, Humanities, Health Sciences, Arts, and other related degrees. Alternatively applicants who have a three-year degree with three or more years of work experience may apply as an RPL candidate (Recognition of Prior Learning). All applicants are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Applicants must have already demonstrated a desire for solving problems within the key themes of education, health, finance and digital inclusion; or have a passion to pursue an area they have already researched substantially.