For Edward Makua, it took him enduring many sleepless nights and non-existent weekends in order to submit his final thesis for examination in less than a year and ultimately being one of the top achievers. He graduated Cum Laude for his Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering on Monday, 20 May 2024 at the Olive Convention Centre in Durban.
The 29-year-old Mpumalanga born ventured into the gates of the Durban University of Technology (DUT) in 2013 after being accepted for a National Diploma in Industrial Engineering. He completed his Diploma in 2015 and graduated the following year with 15 distinctions out of 27 modules and only 2% less of his aggregate to make it to Cum Laude.
In the midst of completing his Diploma, Makua became a part-time lecturer for Production Engineering 2 module. He then went further embarked into his Bachelor of Technology Degree in Industrial Engineering from July 2016 to the end of 2017.
“After gaining much needed experience in the industry, I then decided to challenge myself with a Master of Engineering Degree in Industrial Engineering in July 2022. I am proud to say with the mentorship and supervisory support I received from the institution, I was able to submit my final thesis for examination in less than a year and ultimately being one of the top achievers,” he excitedly shared.
Apart from his excellent academic journey, Makua became a bit anxious due to funding matters.
“I did not have any financial back-up or aid to pay for my fees. I was fortunate to have found out that if your aggregate is above 75% you will receive remission for your fees and that motivated me to study hard, and through remissions, I overcame my study fees challenges. Going higher into my postgraduate years, maintaining the balance between work and school was my biggest challenge especially in my BTech degree,” he said.
Makua is currently busy with final touch-ups for his proposal for a PhD in Industrial Engineering and will soon be embarking on another exciting journey. He is dedicated in challenging the status quo and limitations to which many mindsets subject Industrial Engineering to, as he is currently working as an Engineering Specialist in Maintenance, a path which many think is not associated with Industrial Engineering.
“I want to continue proving capability and otherwise. A greater part of me wanting to change the current mindset around Industrial Engineering is to venture into part-time lecturing as well. I believe with the multi-disciplinary careerpaths I have embarked on, I will have a great impact on building the practical sphere of Industrial Engineering into young minds in various modules. In a nutshell, I want to continue growing in industry and academia, continue publishing articles, and share a tenth of my wealth of technical, practical and theoretic knowledge about Industrial Engineering,” he elaborated.
Makua emphasised the importance of respect, saying it was the DUT ENVISION2030 Living Values and Principles that he mostly associated with. He urged first year students to respect the elderly in industry, as their experience, coupled with theoretic knowledge will make them the sharpest people in the field.
Pictured: Edward Makua.
Photographer: Mnqobi Ngobese.
Thubelihle Dumakude
