GEORGE NEWS - As Nelson Mandela University kicks off its virtual autumn graduation from Thursday to Friday, 22 to 30 April, the George campus celebrates a milestone as a student and a lecturer make history for the campus.
The graduation of Gabriella Berman with her MComm: Marketing is making history for the Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences (BES), and the Department of Marketing Management.
Berman holds a diploma in marketing, a Bachelor of Commerce Honours in business management as well as a Master of Commerce in marketing management. Berman was supervised by Dr Adele Potgieter in completing her master's degree.
She is the first George student to obtain an MComm within the entire BES faculty on George campus, and it was the first time that a master student within this faculty was supervised by a lecturer of the campus.
Berman was also named the best MComm master student in the Department of Marketing Management institutionally.
The title of her dissertation was Overall experience of expatriate TEFL teachers in China using positive and negative affectivity. Her thesis investigated and proposed a theoretical framework to identify the influence that social influences, work environment, location, cultural aspects, monetary benefits and non-monetary benefits have on the overall experience of teaching TEFL in China. A total of 379 respondents took part in the study.
Berman is currently enrolled to do a PhD in marketing at the university. She has successfully published two academic articles in a local journal.
Potgieter, a senior lecturer in the BES faculty's Marketing Management Department, said this is a major milestone for the George campus.
"I am overwhelmed with joy and truly blessed to know that all the hard work, inspiration and dedication have paid off. It is an achievement and it gives you a sense of fulfilment when you have been a part of a student's academic journey from her first year. It is as if one of your children has reached this milestone," she said.
Potgieter is a brand specialist who holds a PhD in business management and focused on the influence of personal branding and employer branding on corporate branding and corporate reputation in her treatise.
She specialises in experience marketing, branding, consumer behaviour and advertising. She has successfully published locally and internationally.
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