School education is the foundation for academic success, believes Dr Mohamed Shahiem Patel who credits his high school English teacher his ability to reason, analyse problems and communication skills.
Born and bred in Johannesburg, Dr Patel spent most of his childhood playing sports and being an ordinary young boy. He schooled at Fordsburg Primary School and Johannesburg Muslim School where he enjoyed English, particularly literature.
Dr Patel holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Law, an Honours degree in Business Management, a Master of Commerce in Leadership Studies and a Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership.
He joined Regent Business School in 2019, leading the institution’s flagship Master of Business programme on a new journey towards innovation, technology and making the students happy.
“I am glad of the accomplishments and see forward to a proceeded recharging of the programme in reaction to changing industry requests and understudy desires.
“I have moreover been named the Head of School: Commerce and Administration. I have delighted in the opportunity to reinforce the center of the institution and to plan its development. In this role, I have the privilege of leading some of the greatest minds in education on the continent, and this inspires me to constantly reinvent myself, as this is the only way I will reach my goal of reinventing the industry,” he said.
In March this year, Dr Patel had the honour of conducting an analysis of the Finance Minister’s National Budget. Dr Patel presented at the Honoris United Universities Academic Summit 2022 held in Tunisia where the focus of his presentation was the integration of Work Directed Learning into academic programmes at Regent Business School.
“The only way to truly empower students and graduates is to provide an enabling environment that speaks to the innate human propensity to design, create, fail, recover, and ultimately to triumph. These are what makes a true entrepreneur and, therefore, I see it as my duty to promote these ideals in every interaction with students, especially those from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Leadership is a transversal force for change. I must stress that empowerment through leadership skills development need not be restricted to lectures, books, assessments and so on. I believe that the most profound and impactful leadership skills are shared in dialogue, conversation, debate and discourse,” he said.
Dr Patel hopes to leave a legacy of self-worth behind. In much the same way the spirit of Ubuntu promotes togetherness and a sense of communal progress, he hopes to shine a light on the impact that helping others has on oneself.
His greatest strength lies in self-confidence and self-belief.
Dr Patel’s message of support to young and aspiring career women and men is to be positive, proactive, and patient.
“My long-term goal is to ensure that rich and poor people have access to the same quality education and that everyone can earn a living because of that education.
“My short-term goal is to elevate Regent Business School to be the undisputed leader in higher education in Africa,” he said.