MUBAS
MUBAS
School of Business and Economic Sciences
SOBES
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Executive Dean, SOBES
Dr Rabiya Hanif
The Office of the Executive Dean, School of Business and Economic Sciences provides the strategic academic and administrative leadership for the School of Business and Economic Sciences. Acting as the chief academic and operational officer, the Executive Dean reports directly to the Deputy Vice Chancellor and is responsible for leading the Heads of Academic Departments and Centre Managers within the school.

Dr. Rabiya Hanif is the Executive Dean and Senior Lecturer in Accounting at the School of Business and Economic Sciences, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS). Since joining the university in 1999, she has held several key positions, including Assistant College Finance Officer (2003–2007), Head of the Accountancy Department (2007–2009), Deputy Dean (2014–2019) and Executive Dean since 1st August, 2023.


Dr. Hanif earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from the University of Malawi in 1997, a Master of Science in Supply Chain Management from the University of Bolton, United Kingdom, in 2009, and a Doctorate in Economic and Management Sciences from North-West University, South Africa, in 2022.


She is a qualified Associate Chartered Management Accountant with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), United Kingdom, a Chartered Accountant (CA) with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi (ICAM), and a member of the Malawi Institute of Procurement and Supply (MIPS).


Dr. Hanif has published research in Finance, Accounting, and Procurement and Supply Chain Management. She has also contributed her expertise as a board member for the Malawi College of Accountancy and the Malawi Institute of Journalism.


Before joining academia, Dr. Hanif worked as an Inspector of Taxes with the Income Tax Department, now the Malawi Revenue Authority. She brings extensive managerial, financial, and strategic expertise to her role as Executive Dean.



Full Biography – Executive Dean, SOBES
0111871637
rhanif@mubas.ac.mw

General Information

School of Business and Economic Sciences is a multi-professional School that offers training across the business and economic sciences spectrum through its professional teaching and learning. The school also plays a crucial role in shaping research activities in the field and also carryout consultancies, and outreach services in commercial areas such as accountancy and business administration and management studies with a view of providing home grown solution to the industry. The School functionally transfers knowledge and skills in various specialties including accountancy; internal auditing; marketing, business management, procurement, and supply chain management; banking and finance; entrepreneurship; tourism management; taxation; economics; and law. In addition, the School serves programmes across other schools in the University. 

Structurally, the School of Business and Economic Sciences, houses the Management Development Centre (MDC) and three academic departments; Accountancy and Finance; Business Management and Economics and Law. 

The programmes offered by the School are at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The postgraduate programmes include doctorate degrees in commerce in specialisations of Entrepreneurship, Financial Management, Strategic Management and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). The School continues to expound on its faculty and programme offering profile so that it responsive to demand and industry need and consequently contributes to national goals.

Academic Members of Staff 

The academic members of staff in the School of Business and Economic Sciences are engaged across all sectors of the economy of Malawi. They are among the most enterprising and entrepreneurial academic staff at the University.  Staff in the School undertake consultancies, conduct research for both corporate and public institutions.  

Centres 

The Management Development Centre is mandated to offer solutions to challenges that managers and officers face in the private and public sectors. The Centre is a premier destination for professional programmes, leadership and management development, and is a trusted consulting partner, all while maintaining profitability. 

Professional programmes are formal, structured courses that lead to certification like Certified Internal Audit (CIA), The Chartered Governance Institute (previously known as The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, ICSA), and Certified HR Practitioner. 

Further, the Centre is engaged in leadership and Management development. These are short courses and seminars, tailored training programmes, made to deliver practical skills and knowledge necessary for a specific professional job. The courses are in the following areas: Business development, growth and management, Sales and Marketing Management, Communication, Finance and Accounting, Banking, Internal Audit, Risk Management, Customer Service and Customer Care, General Management Systems, Supervisory and Management Skills, Management Information Systems, International Business, Small and Medium Business Management, Human Resource Management, Transport Management, Management Control Systems, Leadership, Taxation, Commercial Law, Industrial Relations, Project Management, Corporate Governance, Business Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Procurement, Front Office Management, Creative Thinking and Innovation and other business-related areas.

The Centre provides Consultancy services to both the public and private sectors to address issues ranging from organisational performance, research, and strategy development to process improvement and technology implementation.