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11 December 2024 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Dr Busisiwe Ntsele
Dr Busisiwe Ntsele earned her joint PhD from the UFS and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Looking ahead, her mission is to equip graduates with the skills to conduct research that addresses community needs with and by the community, highlighting the mutual benefits of true collaboration.

Dr Busisiwe Ntsele, a first-generation interdisciplinary scholar with a rich background in law, sociology, and human rights, returned to South Africa this year after completing a joint PhD degree between the University of the Free State (UFS) and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA) in the Netherlands. Her mission is clear: to plant seeds of hope and drive transformative change in her community.

“My purpose is to share transformative narratives of change by spreading pockets of hope for young black girls who are often perceived to be at the bottom of the barrel in any given society,” says Dr Ntsele.

Her encounter with gender-based violence and involvement in advocacy and mobilisation of communities to stop gender-based violence sparked her passion for human rights and social justice.

Recognised for her contributions to building a just society, Dr Ntsele was awarded the prestigious Desmond Tutu Fellowship by the National Research Foundation, which supported her in pursuing this dual-degree opportunity. The title of her PhD thesis is A Critical Study of Community Engagement at a South African University.

Walking across the stage on Monday 9 December 2024 to receive her PhD during the UFS December Graduation Ceremonies on the Bloemfontein Campus marked the second time Dr Ntsele has celebrated this achievement in 2024. Earlier this year, in June, she defended her PhD in Amsterdam. In addition to her PhD, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Law (UNESWA), a BA Honours in Industrial Sociology (UJ), and an MA in International Human Rights Law (Wits).

A double-barrel PhD

Speaking about her PhD, Dr Ntsele says the focus of her work was to critically study community engagement in South African universities using the UFS as a case study. “This case study equips us to understand community engagement (CE) and engaged scholarship (ES) within South Africa's higher education context,” she adds.

Her research explored how CE aligns with the UFS vision of supporting social justice, while addressing its broader role in post-apartheid South Africa. Through document analysis, interviews, and observations, she investigated the experiences of community members, students, staff, and policy makers involved in CE programmes.

Completing a joint PhD with four supervisors across two institutions not only exposed her to different skills, experiences, and varying personalities, but also offered a range of benefits. “In my case, it provided access to diverse expertise, research facilities, and methodologies, enriching the academic experience and strengthening innovative, interdisciplinary thinking.” The collaboration expanded her professional networks and connected her with global academic communities.

“As a first-generation student, I was never confident about my capabilities, but such exposure to varied academic systems and cultural perspectives improved my adaptability,” she explained.

“For the first time I saw myself as black, and I was not ashamed of my blackness. Instead, I was determined to put my community on the map by telling stories of hope. This hope inspired me to showcase the rich narratives of communities, highlighting how co-creating solutions alongside them can lead to epistemic justice, decolonisation, and the breaking down of knowledge hierarchy,” she reflects.

Decolonising education

Central to her study is the Meraka community, which beautifully tells the story of students, teachers, and community members who came together to build an indigenous cultural village using traditional methods combined with academic and scientific knowledge. “Meraka is not just a construction project; it’s about building relationships and valuing humility. The Meraka project is a typical example of how we can decolonise education by centring indigenous knowledge and supporting it with scientific research and lived experiences of the community,” she notes.

“By hearing the voices of the people in the community and treating them as equal contributors, my study contributed to an understanding of CE and its potential for co-creative and socially just outcomes in a rapidly evolving South African higher education context,” she states.

In the future, Dr Ntsele plans to pursue postdoctoral research, publish her findings, and advocate for the importance of integrating different forms of knowledge. Her goal is to educate graduates on the value of conducting research that addresses community needs with the community and by the community, emphasising the mutual benefits of such collaborative efforts.

Engaging with communities from start to finish of the project, Dr Ntsele found that universities must recognise the critical role academics play in addressing the invisible power dynamics that hinder engaged scholarship from reaching its full potential. “If universities are to break down institutional cultures, they need to confront normalised power structures and embrace partnerships that are mutually beneficial. They must also start treating communities as equal partners who have their own voice, rather than as blank slates or vulnerable groups in need of empowerment,” says Dr Ntsele. 

Also read and listen

Click to view documentMeraka Blog

Click to view documentNarratives of Change Podcast

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News Archive

Winning culture helps Kovsies Tennis team claim ninth gold
2015-12-09


Ruben Kruger of the University of the Free State in action at the 2015 USSA tournament in Cape Town.
Photo: Janine de Kock

A winning culture in the Kovsies Tennis Team, combined with good planning, contributed to the University of the Free State (UFS) USSA success recipe.

This is what Janine Erasmus, one of the team's captains, had to say.

According to her, this is why the UFS were able to handle the pressure of being the favourite so well, and this is what helped her team to achieve a ninth consecutive gold medal in Cape Town on 4 December 2015.

This was the sixth year in a row that the UFS triumphed in the combined USSA format since its inception in 2010. In 2007 and 2008, its Women's team won gold, and in 2009, it was the Men's team.

Erasmus was full of praise for the Kovsie coach, Marnus Kleinhans, and Janine de Kock, manager of KovsieTennis.

“We had a build-up of a few months to the USSA tournament, and they (Kleinhans and De Kock) already knew exactly what to do,” she said.

Erasmus, who won a third gold medal, believes her team had great depth this year.

Four in select squad

Kovsies and Maties played in the USSA Tennis Finals for a fourth consecutive year.

Erasmus and her team beat the Stellenbosch team 7 - 3 on 4 December 2015, after they defeated Tukkies 8 - 0 in their semi-final.

 

Mareli Bojé is one of four tennis players of the University of the Free State included in a 2015 USSA tournament team.
Photo: Janine de Kock

Arné Nel, Cornelius Rall, Duke Munro, and Mareli Bojé are the four Kovsies included in the USSA tournament team.

Nel, the other captain from the UFS, won all his matches for the third successive year. Munro won a gold medal at USSA for the seventh year in a row.

Gold for Table Tennis


Three UFS sports teams made it to the USSA finals, all against Maties. The tennis and men's table tennis teams were both winners, but the Sevens rugby team got stuck.

The Kovsie table tennis team beat Maties 3 - 1 in Kimberley.

Silver for Sevens rugby

The Kovsie Sevens rugby team, third at USSA for the past two years, walked away with silver in George on 1 December 2015.

The team was defeated by Maties 10 - 31 in the final. This was after they won 24 - 14 against Pukke in the semi-final, and 28 - 12 against the Central University of Technology in the quarter final.

Tukkies, the 2014 USSA Sevens champions, together with several other teams, did not take part  because the tournament was postponed because of the nationwide student protests.

The Kovsie swimming team took part in the USSA tournament in Johannesburg from 28 November to 30 November 2015.


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