GetSmarter Blog

By Yvonne Nhuta

Non-fiction writing has become an increasingly popular form of writing that has seen the emergence of some very popular best-selling novels. It covers everything from self-help, cooking and travel to biographies, essays and memoirs.  Writing a successful book means making sure your book will meet or even exceed industry and reader expectations. Before you embark on your own non-fiction story-writing journey, take a leaf out of these genres:

By Robert Volker

Management and leadership are sometimes seen as synonymous, however, there are several differences between the two. Good managers are not necessarily good leaders, and good leaders do not necessarily make good managers. Understanding the differences between management and leadership is a great way to identify ways to either improve your leadership skills in management or add management skills to your leadership.

By Claire Butler

Christel Opperman is a past student of our University of Cape Town Payroll and Tax Administration short course, which she completed in 2012. Christel is the epitome of the working mom: the 40-year-old mom-of-two works full-time as a Payroll Manager at an accounting practice. She qualified as a secretary in 1994 but has since moved into a position that focuses more on accounting and tax-related tasks. As such, she decided to complete the UCT Payroll and Tax Administration short course to validate her skill set and acquire the necessary knowledge to advance her career. Read her story below.

By Claire Butler

Stuart Innell is a past student of our UCT Tourism Management short course, which he completed in 2012. Based in Johannesburg, Stuart currently works in advertising as a Senior Strategic Planner at Boomtown Strategic Brand Agency. With a largely tourism-focused client base, Stuart decided to register for the UCT Tourism Management short course to equip himself with the necessary knowledge and expertise to improve his understanding of his clients needs and make better brand decisions for them.

By Claire Butler

Klara Loots is a past student of our UCT Feature Writing and RHS Creative Writing short courses, which she completed during 2011. After teaching for a number of years, the 29-year old made the decision to make a career change and focus on her other passion: writing.  After completing the short courses, Klara and her husband, Matthew, started up their own business, Lotus Media, combining the work they both loved doing – graphic design, music production and content creation – with the writing skills she gained from the courses. When Klara isn’t working hard at growing her business, she enjoys being mom to her 7-year-old daughter.