For most South African students receiving an internship in Europe is something they could only dream about receiving, but for Tetlanyo Lekalake, Sizwe Ndlovu and Thembeka Setlogile from UCT, their dream is about to become a reality.
The trio entered The International Business Game, a competition hosted by Pernod Ricard Internationally targeted at final year and post-grad students, where teams of three (3) had to create a digital marketing strategy for one of Pernod Ricard’s most dynamic brands, Absolut Vodka. Business Science students Tetlanyo Lekalake and Thembeka Setlogile and Computer Science major Sizwe Ndlovu of the Faculty of Science of UCT were chosen to represent South Africa at the International Final in Paris against the world’s top marketing students, and were selected joint winners with the students from Russia.
Noel Adrian, Deputy Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Europe was particularly impressed with the South African team, commenting; “We were very impressed by the quality of the presentations and ideas. We selected two winning teams: Russia and South Africa. The South African winning team was simply outstanding both in terms of content and presentation skills. We were blown away by their understanding of African trends and consumer insights, their ability to present their pitch (at agency standard) and by their creative idea. When forming the team, they thought about the power of heterogeneous teams combining different skills; marketing, finance and IT/Digital. We are delighted to offer the opportunity to 3 bright talents to express their passion and ideas, and are looking forward them to join one of our teams abroad.”
Conor McQuaid, Managing Director of Pernod Ricard South Africa echoed Adrian’s sentiments, stating; “We are extremely proud of Tetlanyo, Sizwe and Thembeka who have proven themselves to be amongst the top graduates in the world. What makes their win even more exciting is that that are not traditionally trained marketers but comprehensive business students. The international internships they will receive will most certainly set the foundations for extremely successful careers. We look forward to seeing them grow not only within our organisation but in the business world at large.”
Tetlanyo, Sizwe and Thembeka will start their international internships in January 2014, after completing their honours degrees at UCT.
“This is an opportunity we would like to offer many more South African graduates, and we will be rolling out another national campaign at the end of this year. Interested final year and post-grad students can keep an eye out for more information on the Spirit of Entrepreneurs website, www.spiritsofentrepreneurs.com,” concluded McQuaid.