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13 December 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Johan Roux
Dr Thandi
After nearly seven years Dr Lewin finally graduates with a PhD.

Dr Thandi Lewin has spent the past six-and-a-half years of her life on her PhD.  It was only in the final year of the process that the thesis came together. “I had a few chapters and had done literature reviews and some theoretical work, as well as a little initial analysis, but none of it actually added up to a coherent thesis. The moment when I realised that I actually did have a thesis was a great feeling and a huge relief because it was only then that the end was in sight,” she said. 

On Wednesday 11 December 2019 her diligence culminated in a graduation ceremony at which she obtained her PhD in Higher Education Studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of the Free State (UFS). Dr Lewin formed a part of the pioneering cohort of the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) Chair in Higher Education and Human Development Research Programme, under the leadership of Professor Melanie Walker

Through the twists and turns

Working on her thesis on Early career women academics: A case study of working lives in a gendered institution, Dr Lewin struggled with time constraints. “I could not work on it every night or every early morning like some people do. My job was demanding, so I worked most nights and often went to bed quite late. Hence, I failed to focus on it during the week,” she explained.

When she began her PhD her youngest child was one year old. In addition to her job becoming more and more challenging over the years, Dr Lewin also had to maintain a morning and evening routine in order to make the most of the limited time she and her family had together. Yet after all was said and done, her research still beckoned.

Reaching the stage of walking across the stage

Given the rigorous process of completing a PhD, one of the major motivators was her supervisor. “Prof Walker was loyal and never gave up on me. She was also pragmatic and understanding. The commitment from a supervisor who is considerate of your personal circumstances, but is also as dedicated to your research project as you are, is quite something to find.”

For much of the past three years of her doctorate, Dr Lewin’s father was ill. He eventually succumbed to his illness in January 2019. The graduate struggled with managing her emotions as she felt guilty about not spending enough time with him due to work and research. “Being a mum and a daughter meant that if I wasn’t at work or working on my PhD I was with my kids or with my dad. But I must also acknowledge that my partner, nanny, and part-time housekeeper provided critical support which I couldn’t have done without.”

On gender and organisational cultures

The Chief Director for Institutional Governance and Management support in the university education branch of the Department of Higher Education and Training found the experience garnered in the system-level of higher learning enormously helpful in her research process.   “I have really enjoyed working in an area that interests me, and engaging with a topic that is policy-relevant,” she said.

Content
Melanie Walker (right) reading the PhD appraisal for Dr Thandi Lewin at the Graduation Ceremony.
(Photo: Johan Roux)


Cultivating culture change

Enabling women to rise through the ranks would require more effort to improve gender equity. “Organisations and universities can never really achieve gender equity without fundamentally changing their structures and cultures, which are deeply gendered. This also cannot happen without social change, which needs to take place in broader society and not only within organisations,” said Dr Lewin.

What this means for society and organisations is a shift from focusing solely on individual women. According to Dr Lewin: “Universities, in addition to their inclination towards slow change, are also experienced by many as exclusionary – not just by women, but by people of colour and those from working-class backgrounds, and others who have been traditionally marginalised in higher education. This is a critical issue for South African higher education – it is going to take a lot of time and focused commitment to change the cultures of universities to be more inclusive.”

News Archive

Minister praises MUCPP initiative
2004-10-04

The Minister of Labour, Mr MMS Mdladlana, singled out the Mangaung University of the Free State Community Partnership Programme (MUCPP) for high praise during a conference at the MUCPP complex on 30 September 2004 .

“I am very pleased with what the partnership of different stakeholders can do and I thank all stakeholders for contributing to this initiative. This is the kind of energy that our country needs,” the minister told delegates to the conference.

He said the MUCPP was a very unusual and important partnership that is related directly to the mandate of government and supports two strategic objectives of government, namely halving poverty and halving unemployment.

The MUCPP was launched in 1991 as a partnership between the University of the Free State , the local community of Mangaung, local and provincial government and the private sector, in an effort to develop skills and contribute to fighting poverty.

Some of the existing projects of the MUCPP include:

  • Health centre (including a 24-hour maternity ward)
  • Dairy producing yoghurt and amasi
  • Sewing and knitting project
  • Indigenous food production (Tsa se tso)
  • Bakery
  • Bed and Breakfast accommodation
  • Etsa phapang (a hydroponic facility growing various vegetables)
  • Welding project
  • Low cost housing project
  • Sport and recreation facilities and programmes

According to the Minister, hundreds of young people, adult learners and people with disabilities have benefited from training and skills development and have become involved in carpentry, welding, painting, cleaning services, gardening and HIV / AIDS awareness programmes.

Minister Mdladlana said he was pleased that through partnerships with several Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) which fall under the Department of Labour, the MUCPP could access hundreds of thousands of rands for such training and development.

“I can just salute those that have made it possible, and to encourage you to keep up the good work,” the minister said.

The MUCPP also provides a means for students of the UFS to render community service. The UFS was one of the first universities in South Africa to adopt a comprehensive community service policy in 2002. In terms of the policy, community service is integrated into curricula through service learning modules.

It is therefore of great importance that the UFS should support community sites such as the MUCPP where a holistic and integrated approach to mutual and reciprocal development of all partners is followed.

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