It was a proud moment for Dr Blessing Kanyumba and Dr Lindiwe-Memory Ndaleni-Sibiya where ‘girl power’ was evident with both dynamic lasses proving their academic mettle, receiving their Degrees of Doctor of Philosophy in Management Sciences Specialising in Human Resources.
The adaptive graduates received their degrees at the DUT 2024 Autumn Graduation ceremony which took place at the Olive Convention Centre, Durban on Saturday, 25 May 2024.
Dr Kanyumba’s thesis focuses on: Leadership development linked to succession planning and talent management for female academics at a selected University of Technology in South Africa.
“The under-representation of women in the top leadership echelons of Higher Education is a global challenge. Therefore, through this study she had investigated Leadership Development linked to Succession Planning and Talent Management for female academics at a selected University of Technology in South Africa as tools to improve female representation in leadership positions,” she said.
Dr Blessing found that the institution of higher learning does not have female-only leadership programmes which assist in developing female leaders’ capabilities. Furthermore, Succession Planning and Talent Management initiatives are both neglected. Therefore, Dr Blessing has recommended through his research that the management of the institution under study should formalise both Succession Planning and Talent Management to retain talented females for future leadership positions.
She further recommended reducing teaching and administration workloads so that female academics can engage in research activities that are crucial for promotional purposes.
Dr Lindiwe-Memory Ndaleni-Sibiya gave insight into her research thesis which tackled: Job satisfaction amongst employees in the Department of Education in eThekwini Region, South Africa.
“It is common in the Umlazi and Pinetown districts of the Department of Education (DoE) that employees resign before their retirement age. Available data showed that 1 310 employees of the DoE in the two districts have resigned in the past five years. This is an indication of a sharp rise in staff turnover, with its impacts on the quality of education and service delivery,” she replied. Dr Lindiwe-Memory explored this phenomenon where she had examined how the working environment of the districts influences job satisfaction. She noted the need to create a safe working environment where employees equally enjoy the benefits, within the context of requisite legislative frameworks.
Giving his congratulatory message and vote of thanks to the all graduates in this session was Professor Fulufhelo Netswera, Executive Dean: Faculty of Management Sciences.
“We are confident that these graduates will make a difference in the lives of many and in the economy. I believe that most of you will move into your households to think about your master’s degree, to think about your outcomes of your PhDs and how you can turn that into viable businesses and meaningful products that can make a difference to our society,” he said.
Pictured: Dr Lindiwe-Memory Ndaleni-Sibiya and Dr Blessing Kanyumba are all smiles at their DUT 2024 Autumn Graduation ceremony.
Waheeda Peters
