Durban University of Technology (DUT) alumnus Someleze Diko’s innovative perspective and technology skillsets has pushed him to reach for the stars and become a sterling, global digital changemaker in his field of study.
Diko is a cloud advocate at Microsoft who had graduated from DUT with a Diploma and an Advanced Diploma in Information Technology. The driven problem solver assists developers and data professionals to leverage the power of the cloud and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for their projects. For Diko, his strength lies in his passion for software development and data which has also led him to become a dynamic Data Advocacy team member, focusing his skills on empowering data communities with the latest tools and technologies for data analysis, visualisation, and machine learning using Microsoft Fabric.
As an ICT alumnus Diko has proved his ‘digi’ mettle having excelled and joined Microsoft in 2022.
He professes that his ICT journey at DUT began when he had picked up ‘high-tech’ skills of the Microsoft Power Platform by building personal and DUT projects.
“To grow my skills, I joined the Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors programme where I collaborated with like-minded students from across the globe while working closely with Microsoft employees on volunteer projects that showcased my knowledge and skills of Microsoft Power Platform and Microsoft Azure,” he shared.
Besides utilising his technology skills, he is also an active speaker, blogger, and mentor who shares his knowledge and experience with various audiences across Africa and beyond. In 2023, he was named as one of the Geekulcha top 15 young geeks in South Africa, an award that recognises the most innovative and impactful young tech leaders in the country.
His typical day begins with a cup of coffee to prepare for the day ahead, then he goes over the initiatives and projects that he is involved in to either produce blog content, documentation or code samples for Microsoft Fabric among many other tasks he has been tasked in a day. Continuing with his road to excellence 2025, Diko was recently promoted to Microsoft Cloud Advocate II.
“My responsibilities for this role remain the same as the cloud advocate I position but with an increased scope and complexity. In this role I continue to focus more on developing and maintaining technical content and end-to-end use cases on Data using Microsoft Fabric for developers and data professionals. I also enable developers and the developer community to achieve more with Microsoft Cloud while gathering feedback to improve Microsoft offerings and technologies,” he explained.
In the field of ICT, Diko shared that he works closely with the data and the AI side of ICT through Microsoft Fabric which is a software as a service platform and a suite of analytics tools. “This is the main focus of my team, the Data Advocacy team. I also work with Generative AI through the Copilot offerings inside of Microsoft Fabric and Azure AI Foundry.
Diko divulged further that DUT moulded him to become a game changer in the IT industry.
“Through the different programmes available at the university, I was able to get exposed to how the industry works as a student. One key opportunity that stood out for me was when DUT sent us to Thailand to be part of the Annual Humanitarian Affairs Peace Summit in 2020 which exposed us to people from different backgrounds and created an opportunity for me to take on a role of being a leader,” he happily shared.
Diko reiterated the importance of the right time, saying that DUT created opportunities for him to develop Power Platform solutions internally to solve some of the challenges of the university, which had set him up for success when I stepped into the industry. “I had a portfolio of real-world projects that drove impact to my university,” he said.
Talking from experience, Diko highlighted that being able to participate and involve oneself in the different extra programmes at university will set one up for success. “Be it you are part of the MICT Seta 4IR lab, VR Lab or any other one-these are places within the faculty that will expose you new opportunities for growth in both your technical and soft skills,” he elaborated.
For Diko, seeing the explosion caused by Generative AI these past few years has been one of his highlights. “Being part of a company that embraces such innovation and implements it through Copilot has been exciting to see since this enables business users, developers, data professionals to have ten times productivity when completing their work. Being able to be part of a team that contributes to this innovation through GenAI for beginners, AI Agents for beginners and Copilot Learning Hub, is another one of my highlights,” he said.
Diko shared that he has role models like Satya Nadella, the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Microsoft, who places a strong emphasis on empathy and individual empowerment.; Fanie Ndlovu, and Gomolemo Mohapi, also a Cloud Advocate and DUT alumnus, who inspired and encouraged many students to be part of the Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador Programme.
Diko made mention that the industry is always changing and evolving, with most companies ensuring to adhere to those changes in the industry. “The biggest challenge anyone could have, is how this change impacts their role and team, I’ve been able to overcome this by being adaptable and having a growth mindset when change happens because the only thing constant in this industry is change,” he said.
His practical advice to ICT students at DUT is to learn in public.
“Whatever programming language, framework or tool you are learning make sure to document your learnings through blogs/articles on LinkedIn, GitHub and/or YouTube as this will allow you to have a public portfolio that speaks for you before you step into the industry,” he expressed.
Pictured: Someleze Diko
Waheeda Peters
