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16 February 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Unique PhD Journeys
Prof Liezel Lues and her two doctoral students on graduation day. On the left is Dr Modeni Sibande, who is looking forward to ensuring that Public Administration and Management remains relevant to contemporary evolving issues in society. On the right is Dr Maréve Biljohn, who as a student has always shown commitment to do her best in every aspect of her PhD journey.

In nature, one often comes across cool and surreal phenomena. Experiencing rare happenings in the academia is an altogether different encounter. One that Prof Liezel Lues, Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Management at the University of the Free State (UFS), explains as winning the lottery.

Two of Prof Lues’ doctoral students – representing two different institutions – graduated in 2018. Four years later, on the exact same date, 1 March 2022, Drs Maréve Biljohn and Modeni Sibanda will take up their new positions, respectively as Head of the Department of Public Administration and Management at the UFS and Head of the Department of Public Administration at the University of Fort Hare.

 

Social innovation and service delivery

Dr Biljohn, currently Senior Lecturer in the department, did her thesis on the topic: Social innovation and service delivery by local government: a comparative perspective. With work experience in local government, Dr Biljohn had a good idea of the problems that underpin poor service delivery in this sphere of government.

Public participation in integrated development planning: a case study of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, was the title of Dr Sibanda’s thesis. The study revealed how individuals and communities navigate forms of power and raise the critical consciousness of municipal residents, communities, and public officials.

According to Dr Sibanda, his study was motivated by the need to explore how public participation power dynamics influence Integrated Development Planning outcomes.

He believes by doing so, the complexity of how individuals and communities navigate forms of power in public participation platforms and spaces would be unravelled. Unravelling such public participation power dynamics, he says, would raise critical consciousness and address and challenge visible, hidden, and invisible forms of power on these public platforms and spaces. “Often public participation platforms and spaces neglect and ignore the capacity of such spaces to manage the pervasive, complex power dynamics among stakeholders in municipal strategic development planning processes. This focus to my PhD therefore sought to fill that knowledge gap,” adds Dr Sibanda.

Prof Lues says the value link to their research is buoyed in the South African Local Government. “They have both established a niche area that addresses the challenges South African municipalities face,” she adds.


“There is no doubt that they are suitable for the position of head of department at this point.”


Achieving a coveted status in their careers

On experiencing this unique journey, Prof Lues says: “Of all the relations, a relation between a promoter and a student is the most inspiring and admirable one. Any promoter takes the utmost pride when his/her taught students achieve coveted status in their respective careers. To me, it feels like winning the lottery – twice.”

News Archive

Knowledge sharing key to community building
2015-03-19

From the left: Prof Mabel Erasmus (UFS Service Learning) and Dr Ruth Albertyn (Stellenbosch University).
Photo: Mamosa Makaya

The Office of Community Engagement facilitated a workshop and book launch attended by NPO partners, PhD students, and university staff from various departments, on 11 and 12 March 2015 on the Bloemfontein Campus.  The book entitled Knowledge as Enablement between higher education and the third sector, written by Prof Mabel Erasmus from the Service Learning office and Dr Ruth Albertyn from Stellenbosch University, was the centre of discussion, during which the authors opened the floor to the audience to do a chapter-by-chapter analysis and discussion session.

The book makes a significant contribution to research concerning third-sector organisations, and highlights the value which they bring into engagement work.  Dr Choice Makhetha, Vice Rector: External Relations, officiated at the book launch. She applauded the valuable research and hard work that had gone into the project. Some of the workshop topics include ethics and knowledge sharing, technology and communication, social entrepreneurship and the challenges of shared value systems faced by NPOs.

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