College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2020 52 First in South Africa to adopt Xero Learn, a cloud-based accounting software teaching platform that enables both teachers and students to get to grips with utilising cloud software. Prof Amanda Dempsey Senior Director School of Accounting overview The Fourth Industrial Revolution, or 4IR, where digital technology influences so much of our daily lives, is here to stay. UJ prides itself on being the 4IR University and is leading the 4IR teaching revolution in Accounting. The School of Accounting has embraced this wave of development and is implementing pioneering digital teaching techniques to better prepare accounting graduates for a career in accounting in the 21st Century. We aim to prepare students for the real-world experience of a global economy that puts digital first. As part of this dynamic approach, the University is the first in South Africa to adopt Xero Learn, a cloud-based accounting software teaching platform that enables both teachers and students to get to grips with utilising cloud software. From 2021, undergraduate students are also exposed to #4IR in Accounting with the introduction of a new year module. Another offering is the online accounting degree that allows prospective students to work virtually, and to register for the different modules at different times of the year on a rotational basis, allowing a seven-week period for a single module before moving onto the next. We are incredibly proud of this revolutionary method of teaching. There is no other university in this country, and few in the world, that offer an accounting degree in this way. The school does not only offer programmes to students but also offers short learning programmes as CPD to members of professional bodies and business professionals. These are presented as 100% online where applicants can be admitted, pay and register within 10 minutes. The SLPs are offered in a flexible way in the sense that applicants are admitted and registration can happen 24/7/365 days per year. Modules can be completed at a flexible pace during the 8 weeks allowed. An e-certificate is issued after completion. Modules offered are 4IR Perspectives, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. We are aware of the added pressure that technology and 4IR have on the job market, and that only highly skilled and adaptive graduates will
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