​Last Friday saw the official launch of the Futures Alumni Special Interest Group (SIG) for alumni of the Futures Studies programmes at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB).

The event was attended by alumni, including the interim chairperson of the group, Thys Pretorius, and USB's Alumni manager, Christelle Cronjé. Also present were USB's Marketing and Stakeholder Relations director, Dr Marietjie Theron-Wepener, and the director of the Institute for Futures Research (IFR), Dr Morne Mostert.

The Futures Studies SIG interim committee consists of Pretorius, Michael Lee, Charlene Mulder, Imke de Kock, Boy Janse van Rensburg, Samantha Diedericks, Deborah Spicer, Charl Harding and Isaac Nkama.

Dr Mostert states that the biggest value of the establishment of the SIG is that it strengthens the relationship between the IFR and alumni. The IFR is the only institute of its kind on the African continent – for that reason the continent has very few professional futurists.

The upside is the following: "We have a number of high-profile alumni who are leading thinkers in business and society," says Dr Mostert. He says Futures alumni distinguish themselves by offering a fresh perspective and a wider range of options to anticipate risk and access opportunities.

The intention of the SIG is, from an IFR business perspective, to create a platform to give greater exposure to the Institute's clients.