DA VINCI EXPERIENCES HIGH GROWTH IN WORKSHOPS

INTRODUCTION

The Da Vinci Institute is a private provider of higher education with a focus on socio-economic transformation. As a school of managerial leadership, The Institute offers under-graduate and post-graduate qualifications with a strong emphasis on new knowledge creation and solving actual work based challenges.

This approach serves to cultivate managerial leaders who are able to think creatively, make informed decisions and find solutions to complex problems. Through this refinement, students are equipped with the appropriate tools to go out in to the workplace and contribute toward the development of a sustainable society.

The Institute has experienced immense growth in 2016. In review of the first and second quarter performances for 2016, the growth observed is in terms of actual workshops held. The increase in workshops highlights The Institute’s success in enrolling interested students in managerial leadership programmes.

FIRST QUARTER

The first quarter revealed substantial growth in workshops held, and as February 2016 concluded, a total of 47 workshops were held. In comparison with February 2015, the figure increased by 88% for this period and increased by 67% compared with February 2014.

The month of March 2016, concluded with 44 workshops held and exceeds the amount of workshops held in March 2015, with a 26% increase, and a 46% increase in comparison to the previous year.

SECOND QUARTER

The second quarter showed growth in actual workshops held from month to month, as 49 workshops concluded in April 2016, 53 workshops concluded in May 2016 and 56 workshops concluded in June 2016.

In comparison with actual workshops held last year, this translates to a 36% increase from April 2015, an 18% increase from May 2015 and a 37% increase from June 2015. This is enormous growth if compared with the actual workshops concluded in 2014.

	JANUARY	FEBRUARY	MARCH	APRIL	MAY	JUNE
2016	36	47	44	49	53	56
2015	32	25	35	36	45	41
2014	32	15	24	18	30	25

Table 1.0. Number of workshops: 2014 – 2016 (First and Second Quarter)

Mrs Sharlene Vania, Key Account Manager at The Institute commented on the growth, “The one source of growth is from our existing clients that continuously send us more students. The other source of growth is the on-boarding of new students who are sent from new clients.”

Mrs Vania further stated that, “The support that I receive from my administrator, Mrs Luendri Chetty, allows me to keep all of my focus on both my students’ needs as well as my clients’ requirements.”

Client Engagement Manager for The Institute, Mrs Carin Stoltz-Urban commented on the growth, “The reporting period saw a number of all-time records in the history of The Institute, in terms of the number of students, the number of workshops, and the number of Post Modular Assignments (PMAs) administered.”

Mrs Stoltz-Urban further stated that, “A total of 473 new students enrolled for programmes at The Institute during the period January to June 2016. While this growth put considerable pressure on the Client Engagement team, excellent service levels were maintained throughout, even resulting in a considerably increased Customer Service Index (CSI) rating from students and clients.”

CONCLUSION

The world is experiencing a time where economic downturn is a reality for many organisations, and higher education institutions find themselves in a fast-paced environment filled with numerous challenges.

In such a challenging environment, The Institute continues to remain agile in its ability to customise and align its requirements with that of its clients’ needs. In addition to this, The Institute continues to remain engaging and relevant. This approach of maintaining the standard for remarkable client service should not be comprised.

Therefore, it follows that it is imperative that The Institute continues to cater to all of its students’ needs. This includes the academic quality and integrity, as well as the commitment to a conducive learning environment, an environment that promotes engagement, critical thinking and mental stimulation.

Compiled by Storm Thomas

July 2016

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