29 January 2025 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Kaleidoscope Studios
From the left: Philangenkosi Shabangu, Lecturer in Curriculum Studies and Higher Education; Sibongile Mlotya, Office Manager in the Office of the Dean within the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) at the UFS; and Stefanus Scheepers, Senior Assistant Officer in the Faculty of Education at the UFS.

Subsequent to completing what they describe as a ‘rigorous but worthwhile’ programme, five staff members from the University of the Free State (UFS) recently graduated from the Wits-Edinburgh Sustainable African Futures (WESAF) Doctoral Programme

These staff members include Philangenkosi Shabangu, Lecturer in Curriculum Studies and Higher Education; Stefanus Scheepers, Senior Assistant Officer in the Faculty of Education at the UFS; Sibongile Mlotya, Office Manager in the Office of the Dean within the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) at the UFS; Tsalalemang Thinane, Research Assistant for the Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures at the UFS; and Mashford Zenda, Research Associate at the UFS. The above graduates were selected to represent the UFS as the only institution in South Africa apart from Wits University involved in the programme.  Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation at the UFS, who was instrumental in securing UFS participation on this prestigious programme, said, “The university is extremely proud of the achievements of this cohort.” 

 

The WESAF Doctoral Programme

The initiative is a doctoral programme in Sustainable African Futures made possible by the collaboration between the University of Edinburgh (UoE) and Wits University, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. According to Prof Reddy, the programme is about advancing research capacity, “and the idea is that those who go through the programme will ultimately be earmarked as academics at their respective institutions”, he said. 

As such, the five graduates joined a total of 48 students from 11 African countries such as Ethiopia and Uganda for a Master of Science by Research in Sustainable African Futures programme, which ran online from September 2023 to August 2024. Shabangu’s thesis focused on ‘Exploring the integration of sustainability education into initial teacher education with focus on social justice’, making it into the top 24 of the programme because of his thesis. Mlotya on the other hand, focused on the ‘Rationing dialysis policy in South Africa and how it affects human rights’. In addition, Scheepers – who undertook this programme as a second master's degree – focused on ‘Investigating the perception, adoption, and utilisation of generative artificial intelligence in South African higher education institutions’. In fact, Scheepers achieved a dual record, as he graduated from the UoE at the end of November 2024 and two weeks later from the UFS.

Scheepers, Mlotya, and Shabangu described the programme as competitive, inspiring, and interesting. In fact, Shabangu highlighted that, “For me as an individual, I have learnt a lot about issues of interdisciplinarity, sustainability, as well as social justice”.

 

A bright future for these academics

Several of these academics are hitting the ground running, with preparations to pursue their doctoral degrees. Scheepers has already begun his PhD at Wits University, which he plans to complete in a record two years. 

Consequently, Prof Reddy commended them, indicating that, “The staff who were selected for this programme have demonstrated excellence in research-intensive degrees aligned to Vision 130’s priorities for academic excellence. We are exceptionally proud of our colleagues who are actively directing their dedication to postgraduate qualifications and a career focused on the Academic Project.”


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