For Nomvuselelo Nomzamo Mbatha, academic excellence has never been defined by accolades, qualifications, or titles, but by purpose, meaning, and a quiet promise carried through the years. Her journey to graduating Cum Laude with a Dean’s Merit Award in Master of Health Sciences is deeply rooted in family and an unwavering commitment to improving public health in South Africa.
On Saturday, 23 May 2026, she walked across the stage at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Autumn Graduation ceremony, held at the Olive Convention Centre, marking not only an academic achievement, but the culmination of years shaped by perseverance, sacrifice, loss, and deeply intentional work.
As a little girl, she would often tell her grandmother that she would become a doctor one day. She meant a PhD, though she now smiles at the thought that her grandmother likely imagined a medical doctor instead. Today, standing just one NQF level away from doctoral studies, she carries that memory with tenderness, as though somewhere between their two understandings, a shared dream quietly came true.
“I was born in Newcastle, though I spent my early childhood in Edlebe eMahlabathini with Gogo before returning to Newcastle to live with my parents and complete my schooling. In every meaningful sense, I am my grandmother’s child. I always told Gogo I was going to be a Doctor one day. I meant a PhD. I suspect she imagined a medical doctor. Well, Gogo, I am now only one NQF level away from proving us both right. Growing up, I was relentlessly inquisitive and solution-driven. I believe it is precisely those qualities that ignited my passion for research and have carried me to where I stand today,” she said.
Her journey at the Durban University of Technology began in 2017 when she enrolled for a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Environmental Health, completing the qualification at NQF Level 8 in 2021. Although she initially intended to proceed directly into a master’s degree, professional opportunities intervened, allowing her to gain practical experience in occupational health and environmental health before returning to academia full-time.
She worked as an Occupational Health and Safety intern at DUT, completed her community service at the Lebombo border post as an Environmental Health Practitioner, and later joined an approved inspection authority as an occupational hygiene assistant. Yet despite these achievements, research continued calling her back.
In 2024, she made the decision to register as a full-time master’s student. It was a year marked equally by ambition and heartbreak. It was also the year she lost her grandmother. Rather than derail her, the loss deepened her sense of purpose.
Supported through the Nurturing Emerging Scholars Programme (NESP), She immersed herself fully in her research, pursuing it with exceptional discipline and urgency. The result was not only a Cum Laude qualification, but a Dean’s Merit Award recognising the outstanding quality of her academic work.
Her dissertation, titled Perceptions of Primary Healthcare Workers on Injectable HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in Campus Health Clinics in KwaZulu-Natal, addresses one of South Africa’s most pressing public health challenges.
The roots of this research are deeply personal. Nomzamo recalls listening to her mother, who worked for years in a communicable disease centre clinic, speak about the persistently high number of new HIV infections despite decades of prevention campaigns and medical advances.
“The answer begins with my mother. She has spent years managing a communicable disease centre clinic, and she would come home and speak about the numbers: the relentlessly high volume of new HIV cases, despite everything we know, despite every prevention measure available. That troubled me in a way I could not set aside. I kept asking: Why are we still here? With everything we know and everything we have, where is the gap? What are we failing to address? That question became my research. My dissertation is my attempt to find part of the answer to examine the delivery side of HIV prevention and interrogate whether our healthcare systems, and the workers within them, are genuinely equipped to meet people where they are,” she explained.
What makes her achievements particularly remarkable is the scale of scholarly output she produced within an exceptionally condensed timeframe. Her research has already extended beyond her dissertation into multiple academic publications and conference presentations.
She presented at the DUT Postgraduate Conference and has contributed to manuscripts across three respected journals. One article has already been published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH), another has been accepted by PLOS Global Health, and a third is currently under review with Frontiers in Public Health.
Beyond the classroom and laboratory, Nomzamo also contributed meaningfully to student development and campus life. As a CELT Peer Tutor and DUT Living Values Champion, she embraced service as an extension of her academic journey.
Her long-term vision extends far beyond publication metrics or institutional recognition. She wants her work to shape healthcare systems, influence HIV prevention policy, and contribute meaningfully to communities both within South Africa and internationally.
Besides Nomvuselelo Nomzamo Mbatha, 14 other master’s graduates were also celebrated during the Faculty of Health Sciences session. Graduating with the Degree of Master of Child and Youth Care were Nkosingiphile Khumalo, Ngcobo Nonkululeko, and Sinolizwi Ntlokwana.
Receiving the Degree of Master of Health Sciences in Clinical Technology was Ndlela Nombuso, while Dineo Rankwana graduated with the Degree of Master of Health Sciences in Environmental Health.
The Degree of Master of Health Sciences in Chiropractic was awarded to Alberts Jessica, Jonathan Blackburn, Ching-hsuan Chen, Sachin Govender, Mayibongwe Hlongwa, Amina Kolia, and Jason Vermaak.
Meanwhile, Johan Fourie and Genista Goorchuran graduated with the Degree of Master of Technology in Chiropractic.
Pictured: Nomzamo Mbatha.
Photographer: Khulasande Tshayile
Thubelihle Dumakude
