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#WomenOfKovsies: UFS scientist navigates her way to academic success

22 August 2019 | Story Zama Feni | Photo Charl Devenish

Innocentia working in the lab — UFS academic, Innocensia Mangoato, doing her work in the laboratory.

Born as the only girl among boys in the Tanzanian capital city of Dar es Salaam in 1992, the University of the Free State (UFS) academic Innocensia Mangoato says she feels inspired by women who strive to break the barricades of patriarchy.

“I am inspired by resilient women who are able to overcome everyday challenges, even in a world that treats men as superiors,” she says.

At the tender age of 27, Mangoato has achieved more than many of her peers. Last year, she won a Women in Science Award (WISA) for her research on the use of cannabis in cancer treatment. She is now a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) candidate in Pharmacology and also a researcher and lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology – a job she started in May this year.

Early years

Mangoate’s dad was in exile at the ANC base camp outside Morogoro in Tanzania and met her Tanzanian mother during his stay there; she returned with her parents to South Africa in 1994, as political organisations were already unbanned at that time.

One of the factors that Mangoate attributes her academic success to, is her parents. “Both my parents valued education, and I believe this greatly contributed to my development. Coming from a rural upbringing, one of the lessons I learned is that perseverance and hard work always pay off.”

On her navigation of life – trying to determine what exactly could mould her to become what she wanted to be, Mangoate hailed her father as her pillar of strength. “When the going gets tough, my father has always been there to remind me to “keep on keeping on, no matter how hard it may be, because there’s always victory on the other side.”

Academic success

Mangoate obtained her master’s in Pharmacology at the UFS June 2019 graduation ceremony, one month before South Africa celebrates Women’s Month. She brands herself as “a representative of all women in science” and is enjoying empowering young scientists through lecturing and research at the university.

Asked about what nobody else knows about her, Mangoate hesitated for a moment and then beamed, “I am an academic at heart.” There is no doubt about this, as her academic achievements really attest to that.

On how she envisions the UFS in future, especially with regard to women’s issues, she boldly states: “More women will be running departmental affairs, working towards progressive change within the UFS for both the academics and other programmes.”

She interprets success as something that is measured by happiness, being able to help other people reach their goals, and the ability to achieve all one wishes for, while making sure that it’s both impactful and beneficial to others.

Mangoate’s advice to other would-be academic achievers is that they should be focused and determined when it comes to achieving their goals, working diligently in everything they do, “irrespective of whether you like it or not”.

“Being the only girl among boys has taught me to always strive to be better than myself and not to compete with anyone,” says Mangoate.

“Just show up and give it your all.”

News Archive

UFS boasts with world class research apparatus

2005-10-20

At the launch of the diffractometer were from the left Prof Steve Basson (Chairperson: Department of Chemistry at the UFS), Prof Jannie Swarts (Unit for Physical and Macro-molecular Chemistry at the UFS Department of Chemistry), Mr Pari Antalis (from the provider of the apparatus - Bruker SA), Prof Herman van Schalkwyk (Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS), Prof André Roodt (head of the X-ray diffraction unit at the UFS Department of Chemistry) and Prof Teuns Verschoor (Vice-Rector: Academic Operations at the UFS).

UFS boasts with world class research apparatus
The most advanced single crystal X-ray diffractometer in Africa has been installed in the Department of Chemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS).

“The diffractometer provides an indispensable technique to investigate compounds for medicinal application for example in breast, prostate and related bone cancer identification and therapy, currently synthesized in the Department of Chemistry. It also includes the area of homogeneous catalysis where new compounds for industrial application are synthesised and characterised and whereby SASOL and even the international petrochemical industry could benefit, especially in the current climate of increased oil prices,” said Prof Andrè Roodt, head of the X-ray diffraction unit at the UFS Department of Chemistry.

The installation of the Bruker Kappa APEX II single crystal diffractometer is part of an innovative programme of the UFS management to continue its competitive research and extend it further internationally.

“The diffractometer is the first milestone of the research funding programme for the Department of Chemistry and we are proud to be the first university in Africa to boast with such advanced apparatus. We are not standing back for any other university in the world and have already received requests for research agreements from universities such as the University of Cape Town,” said Prof Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS.

The diffractometer is capable of accurately analysing molecules in crystalline form within a few hours and obtain the precise geometry – that on a sample only the size of a grain of sugar. It simultaneously gives the exact distance between two atoms, accurate to less than fractions of a billionth of a millimetre.

“It allows us to investigate certain processes in Bloemfontein which has been impossible in the past. We now have a technique locally by which different steps in key chemical reactions can be evaluated much more reliable, even at temperatures as low as minus 170 degrees centigrade,” said Prof Roodt.

A few years ago these analyses would have taken days or even weeks. The Department of Chemistry now has the capability to investigate chemical compounds in Bloemfontein which previously had to be shipped to other, less sophisticate sites in the RSA or overseas (for example Sweden, Russia and Canada) at significant extra costs.

Media release
Issued by:Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
19 October 2005

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