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22 December 2023 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Mondelez International
Annelize’s workplace, Bournville 3, located in Birmingham, UK.

It happened nearly two hundred years ago in the beautiful village of Bournville, Birmingham in the United Kingdom (UK) – Cadbury Dairy Milk was born. And today, Annelize de Wet is living her dream job as a consumer scientist for Mondelez International right there.

“My number one focus is to bring the consumer’s voice to everything we do,” says Annelize, a Food Sciences alumna in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development. In the company – an incorporation of Cadbury and the Kraft Food Business (since 2012) – she is leading a team of sensory and consumer scientists. They are supporting the business agenda for chocolate in Europe and North America.

The team plays a critical role in decision making for new product innovations, quality improvements and renovation programmes, as well as productivity/margin projects.

Offering the right snack, for the right moment

She says it is very rewarding to work in a positive environment with multicultural, skilled professionals, working towards a common goal. “We are leading the future of snacking around the world by offering the right snack, for the right moment, made the right way,” Annelize remarks, excited about her role in this process where they have access to state-of-the-art facilities and the newest advancements in digital tools and techniques. She is proud of the scientific rigour they apply to their decision making processes – “this is very satisfying for any scientist, I would say”.

Passionate about the field in which she has been working for the past 23 years, Annelize believes that studying Food Science at the UFS has set her on the path to her specialised career in consumer science. Being introduced to the world of quality sensory evaluation as an exchange student in Virginia in the United States (US) in her third year and receiving a recommendation for a position in consumer science at Clover SA by one of her lecturers, Dr Carina Bothma, were key in her decision to pursue this career.

For Annelize, the epiphany of success is working in a role where you have a strong sense of belonging, feel passionate, stretched, and motivated, and are making a difference in reaching common goals. She built a successful career, guided by the words once shared with her, ‘When you decide to do something, do it well and finish it.’

Strong sense of belonging and satisfaction

In her profession, she has experienced a number of highlights, but says it is difficult to single out one. She is, however, very proud of her team’s recent achievements, winning the prestigious Global Research and Development Award for best execution of a renovation programme on the Milka Chocolate brand, competing among more than 2 500 employees. Furthermore, she enjoys the opportunity to travel to interesting, beautiful, and rich cultural destinations such as Egypt, Nigeria, Botswana, Swaziland, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, France, Poland, Belgium, Russia, and the US.

“Being in the UK, I am experiencing a strong sense of belonging and satisfaction. Working in this environment is really encouraging. Themes such as diversity and inclusion, work-life balance, health and wellness, mental health, careers and development are being prioritised in the UK,” she says.

Overall, it has been exciting, yet challenging to relocate to the UK, states Annelize, who has made England her home for the past seven years. “While we miss the warm, friendly culture and people in South Africa, we wouldn’t have it any other way, as we see a promising future for our family,” Annelize concludes.

News Archive

Council on Higher Education LLB qualification review not yet complete
2017-05-16

The reaction from various stakeholders following the ‘Outcomes of the National Review of the LLB Qualification’ by the Council on Higher Education (CHE) on 12 April 2017 requires the CHE to clarify that the national review process has not been completed and is ongoing.

The peer-review process conducted under the auspices of the CHE is based on the LLB Standards Document which was developed in 2014-2015 with input from higher-education institutions and the organised legal profession. Following self-review and site visits by peers, the process is now at the point where commendations and shortcomings have been identified, and the statement of 12 April reflects those findings. All law faculties and schools have been asked to improve their LLB programmes to meet the LLB Standard, and no LLB programme has been de-accredited. All institutions retain the accreditation they had before the Review process began and all institutions are working towards retaining their accreditation and improving their LLB programmes.

The South African Law Deans’ Association (SALDA) has issued a set of responses regarding the LLB programme review. The following questions and answers were published to give more clarity on the questions raised.

1.    What is the effect of a finding of conditional accreditation?
The programme remains accredited.

(“Accreditation refers to a recognition status granted to a programme for a stipulated period of time after an HEQC evaluation indicates that it meets minimum standards of quality.”)

The institution must submit a progress report by 6 October 2017 that indicates how short-term aspects raised in the HEQC reports have been addressed and an improvement plan to indicate how longer-term aspects will be addressed.

2.    What is the effect of a finding of notice of withdrawal of accreditation?
The programme remains accredited.

The institution must submit an improvement plan by 6 October 2017 to indicate how the issues raised in the HEQC report will be addressed, including time frames.

3.    How does the finding of notice of withdrawal affect current students?
Students currently enrolled for the LLB programme at any institution are not affected at all. They will graduate with an accredited qualification.

4.    How does the finding of notice of withdrawal affect new applicants?
The programmes remain accredited and institutions may enrol new students as usual. This also includes students completing BA/BCom (Law) programmes who wish to continue with the LLB programme.

5.    How does the finding of notice of withdrawal affect prior graduates?
Degrees previously conferred are not affected.

6.    What happens when the improvement plans are submitted in October 2017?
The CHE will evaluate the plans when they are submitted, and the programmes remain accredited until a decision is taken whether the improvement plan is sufficient and has been fully given effect to or not. The institutions will have to submit progress reports to the CHE indicating implementation of measures contained in the improvement plan.

Should a decision at some stage be taken that a programme’s accreditation must be withdrawn, a teaching-out plan would be implemented so that all enrolled students would have the opportunity to graduate with an accredited degree.

For more information on the CHE’s pronouncement please contact Moleboheng Moshe-Bereng on MosheBerengMF@ufs.ac.za.

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