Professor Nirmala Dorasamy from the Department of Public Management and Economics at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), shares her thoughts on winning the prestigious accolades as the Senior Researcher of the Year award, (Platinum) for Faculty Researcher of the Year Award and (Silver) for Top University Journal Publishers for Accredited Outputs at the 2020 DUT Staff Awards and Annual Research and Innovation Awards.
Dorasamy is a NRF rated Professor and an award-winning researcher at the university. Her research focuses on ethics and public sector management, with an emphasis on enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of public service delivery. She has established international linkages in collaborative research with Swinburne University of Technology, Federation University, and Monash University, Australia, the American University in Cairo, MUST University, Kenya, and Mendel University, Czech Republic.
“I recognise immense institutional support for all my research activities. Research is my passion and I dedicate the awards to my colleagues who have been working with me and sharing the same passion. Collaborative research activities and engagement both locally and internationally has significantly contributed to advancing the frontiers of knowledge,” she said happily.
Also giving her a congratulatory message is the Head of Department (HOD) for the Department of Public Management and Economics Dr Strinivasan S Pillay.
“Well done on the achievements and accolades this augurs well for the department and faculty,” he said.
She relayed her thoughts on why DUT academics needed to be part of such awards saying that the core responsibilities of the university are teaching. research, and community services, and that academics are at the forefront of discharging these responsibilities.
“Thus, academics must be actively involved in research activities. This is a culture bestowed on all of us as a collective contribution in the quest for societal advancement in development,” she stressed.
Prof Dorasamy also highlighted on some of her distinguished work, having published journal articles and book chapters that have been widely consulted and cited globally as evidenced by her citation indexes.
“I have been involved in the three core responsibilities of the university. Recently, Palgrave Macmillan just published the book I co-edited with a colleague, Public Procurement, Corruption and the Crisis of Governance in Africa. There are four other books I am co-editing and currently with publishers. We have also initiated the establishment of the Centre for African Governance and Development, which would serve as a research hub for multidisciplinary research in the African continent,” she said.
Explaining the importance of having a NRF rating and why the rating is such a vital component to academics like herself, Prof Dorasamy said that a NRF rating is a form of recognition of the quality of research outputs of academics among their peers in the country.
“Thus, it is a means of motivating and challenging everyone to be productively engaged in research. It is also a means of national recognition of outstanding academics,” she said.
In terms of Envision 2030, Prof Dorasamy explained how her academic work can enhance or speak to the strategy.
“Research being one of the core pillars, has played a pivotal role in our global ranking, testifying to the fundamental importance of multi and inter- disciplinary research. Global recognition of research from DUT builds on our focus of building sustainable and resilient communities, strengthening our value systems, and creating robust systems to support research at DUT,” she relayed.
Prof Dorasamy said in terms of her academic goals, going forward, she has challenged herself to increase her research outputs and postgraduates in 2021.
“I hope to see the collaboration with CareAfrica and AEDs materialise with livelihood projects in South Africa, Ghana, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” she said.
Pictured: DUT’s Professor Nirmala Dorasamy from the Department of Public Management and Economics.
Waheeda Peters
