BIUST Centre for Business Management, Entrepreneurship and General Education
The Centre
Technical/ ScientificWriting and Academic Literacy are a must in every institution, especially in higher learning. The aim of this course is to introduce Science, Engineering and Information Communication and Technology students to the concept of Technical and Report Writing, Basic Research and Information Literacy skills.In this course, we introduce you to important aspects of writing skills and structure of written texts. Students are expected to write in a scientific manner such as Lab reports and Scientific projects. In addition, students will be introduced to basic research methods in Scientific and Technical fields. Activities in this course are designed to provide students with key competencies for academic life, and the enhancement of life-long learning skills, such as confidence in written work and effective oral presentation.We are at your service!
The Department of Academic Literacy and Social Sciences(ALSS)
The department teaches Technical Writing and Academic Literacy courses to undergraduate students. The modules are designed to develop the students’ Academic and Professional communication skills within the context of the specific needs of Science, Engineering and ICT students. The skills emphasised are those that are intended to enhance life-long academic and professional skills. The modules focus among others on Scientific and Technological Academic Writing, such as Report Writing, Scientific projects, Research Techniques and Written Professional Communication such as meetings, notices and posters.The department also has a Unit called the University Writing Centre (UWC) which provides a range of writing services to all students-undergraduate and postgraduate, as well as staff.The services are designed to help clients to improve in all areas of their writing. The UWC offers writing assistance through one-on-one consultations,tutorials and drop in sessions.It also assists different directorates within the University with proofreading and editing of documents.
- The UWC offers the following services:
- Report Writing (e.g. Accident, Lab, progress reports etc.)
- Preparations for assignment writing:
- Question analysis (e.g. identifying key words)
- Identification of relevant sources
- Pre-writing activities (e.g. planning & sorting out ideas)
- Avoiding plagiarism (e.g. paraphrasing, quoting, referencing and citing)
- Clarifying grammar, spelling and punctuation
- Draft revision
- Assisting students in addressing issues of:
- Coherence and cohesion
- Using well-documented evidence to support an argument
- Writing style and tone
- Research Writing (e.g. research proposal and dissertations)
- Professional Communication (e.g. application letters & curriculum vitae, résumé, minute-taking and writing)
- Oral Presentation Techniques
- And many more!
- Furthermore, the ALSS department offers courses in Chinese culture and language and intends to add other international languages.
The Department of Business, Management and Entrepreneurship(BME)
There is a high youth unemployment rate in Botswana, especially young university graduates. Employment in the public sector has reached its threshold hence lacks employment opportunities for young university graduates. On the other hand, the private sector is not well developed to absorb new university graduates who cannot find employment in the public sector. Therefore, there is the need for graduates to be self-employed; hence the need for a programme in Business, Management and Entrepreneurship skills for STEM students.The Department of Business Management and Entrepreneurship offers courses in Management, and Entrepreneurship to all students in the two faculties.
These courses help to build entrepreneurial and management skills is all BIUST students, who are expected to become future managers of public or private enterprises in the country. They are also expected to start and grow their own businesses. The department also helps current students transform innovative ideas into the realities of a sustainable STEM businesses.
The courses include, but not limited to, Introduction to Entrepreneurship, Introduction to Accounting and Financial Management, Principles and Concepts of Business and Entrepreneurship, Starting and Sustaining a Business, Developing a Strategic Business Plan, Entrepreneurship in a Specific Context, Innovation Commercialisation and Intellectual Property, Risk Management and any other courses which can be developed in response to national policy and university requirements.
Courses
Introduction to Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship affords people the opportunity to follow their passion and serves as a solid foundation for employment creation and industrial development, thus can be a remedy to a high…
Management & Entrepreneurship: Concepts and Principles
This tutorial will introduce you to PHP, a server-side scripting language you can use to make dynamic websites and web applications.
Starting & Sustaining a Business
COURSE DESCRIPTION The module acquaints students with the fundamentals of owning a business, legal and regulatory dynamics and frameworks, the importance of market research, competitors analysis, product, feasibility analysis…
Developing a Strategic Business Plan
COURSE DESCRIPTION There is a need for entrepreneurs to know and be able to develop their business idea into a business plan as it serves as the road map…
Entrepreneurship in a Specific Context
COURSE DESCRIPTION Entrepreneurship is a broad discipline face with many challenges and this module is intended to afford both masters and completing undergraduate students the opportunity and skills to…
Engineering Project Management
COURSE DESCRIPTION The module presents an overview of the engineering project management. Topics include Introduction to Engineering and Technological Projects; Responsibilities of a Project team; Project Identification; Statement of…
Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship
COURSE DESCRIPTION Micro- and macro-economic concepts and their applications; Market structures, Efficiency and social welfare; systematic evaluation of benefits and cost of projects involving engineering design and analysis; consumer…
Sociology, Technology and Society
COURSE DESCRIPTION Basic notions in sociology of technology; Social production, diffusion, and appropriation of new technologies; Social and organisational impacts of new technologies implemented in enterprises; Social impacts of…
Engineering Business and Society
The nature and scope of engineering: origins and evolution of Science and Engineering: Engineers’ roles in business and society. Engineering versus economics technical feasibility and operating control. Economic feasibility…
ALSS: 102: Technical Writing & Academic Literacy II
COURSE DESCRIPTION This module introduces students to the world of writing and teaches them a systematic method for producing effective technical communication. Credits 2: BQA 6
ALSS 201: Technical Report Writing
COURSE DESCRIPTION In this module students learn to write reports using standard report formats. The intention is to teach desirable qualities of a good report and to encourage clarity…
ALSS 202: Professional Communication
This module sets forth the basic components of effective, professional communication. Students are then taken through various types of communication: such as written, oral, and graphic. All these skills…
ALSS 101: Technical Writing & Academic Literacy I
HTML is the language of choice for structuring and presenting content for the World Wide Web. In this free online course you will learn about the latest features of…
ALSS301: Technical Communication & Basic Research Methods
COURSE DESCRIPTION This module focuses on the fundamentals of quantitative research and also explores qualitative research. Students learn how to identify problems to study, develop hypotheses and research questions,…