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Dr Stephanie Cawood passionate about the women of Africa

13 August 2020 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Charl Devenish

Dr Cawood_read more — Dr Stephanie Cawood has great admiration for two women – her mother and Wagani Maathai. Both strong women from Africa.

Dr Stephanie Cawood from the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies is passionate about the African continent, its people, and especially the women of Africa. As an African studies researcher, Dr Cawood admires a pioneer of feminism in Africa, the late Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to receive a Nobel Prize.

Dr Cawood is trained in communication science and media studies; her field of specialisation is oral communication, particularly rhetoric and oral tradition. She obtained her PhD in 2011 with the thesis titled, The Rhetorical Imprint of Nelson Mandela as Reflected in Public Speeches, 1950-2004.

Some of her most recent research projects include ‘Memorialising Struggle Dynamics of Memory, Space and Power in Post-Liberation Africa’, funded by the British Academy under the Newton Advanced Fellowship.

In the Q&A below, Dr Cawood shares some of her inner thoughts.

Please tell us about yourself: Who are you and what do you do?

I am a Senior Lecturer in and Director of the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at the UFS. This means that I am engaged in teaching, research, and strategic leadership.

Is there a woman who inspires you and who you would like to celebrate this Women’s Month, and why?

There are many women I admire. I find great inspiration in ordinary people doing extraordinary things. On a personal level, my mum has always inspired me. For a long time, she was involved in labour relations; I have always admired her ability to keep calm and to think rationally and strategically in the face of adversity. From a feminist standpoint, I greatly admire the late Nobel peace prize winner, Wangari Maathai. She was the founder of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and the first African woman to win the Nobel peace prize for her environmental, political, and feminist activism. In 1971, she obtained her PhD in Science from the University College of Nairobi when it was not common for women to do so. Her life is testament to the fact that it only takes one person to start a movement and to make a change.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in your life that have made you a better woman?

I believe you should look to the future rather than get stuck in the past. I try to constantly learn from my experiences so that I don’t repeat mistakes and can learn to anticipate future challenges and circumvent them.

What advice would you give to the 15-year-old you?

Enjoy life and don’t be afraid of thinking independently. It’s a good thing.

What would you say makes you a champion woman [of the UFS]?

I’m not afraid of trying new things and thinking and doing things in unique and unconventional ways. I am a firm believer in treating people with humanity and respect and I try to live by this creed, although I’m not always successful. The key is in trying to do better every day.

News Archive

Quantity Surveying and Construction Management department aspires to excellence

2017-08-14

From the left: Prof Danie Vermeulen, Dean of the
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences;
Prof Kahilu Kajimo-Shakantu, Head of the Department
of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management;
Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor
at the UFS; and Dr Franco Geminiani, chairing the
panel from the South African Council for the Project
and Construction Management Professions.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Achieving programme accreditation from the respective professional bodies is the ultimate goal for the Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management at the University of the Free State (UFS). This is according to Prof Kahilu Kajimo-Shakantu, the head of this department. This hallmark of quality reflects the university’s aspiration towards excellence.

Construction Management programmes reviewed
The university recently received a visit by a panel, representing the South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP) to re-accredit programmes offered by the Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management. During the accreditation visit, the panel evaluated the programmes to determine whether they met the minimum requirements according to a set of pre-determined criteria.

When reviewing the programmes: BSc and BSc Hons Construction Management respectively, as well as the Project Management stream of the Masters programme in Land and Property Development Management (MLPM), the panel looked at programme design and outcomes including curriculum, study material and exam papers, institutional support, student recruitment, admission, development, retention and throughput, staffing recruitment and development, teaching and learning strategies, quality assurance, facilities, infrastructure and resources, professional development, industry and practical exposure and postgraduate policies, procedures and regulations, including research activities.

If the minimum requirements are achieved, the Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management at the UFS will receive accreditation for its programmes from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2022.

It will also mean that we are certified
as producing quality employable
graduates who are well prepared to
enter the industry and make a difference.

Currently, the department has full accreditation by the SACPCMP (until March 2017) and the SACQSP (until December 2017).

Later this month, a panel from the South African Council for Property Valuation Profession (SACPVP) will review the accreditation of the Valuation stream of the MLPM programme. The South African Council for Quantity Surveying Profession responsible for accrediting the Quantity Surveying programmes will visit the university in 2018.

Certified as producing quality students
Prof Kajimo-Shakantu said: “If we maintain our accreditation, it will reflect that the UFS is among the best, with programmes which are recognised by professional bodies that set competence standards for professional registration of students. It will also mean that we are certified as producing quality employable graduates who are well prepared to enter the industry and make a difference. The programmes contribute to the development of the much-needed critical skills in the built environment.”

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