I used to get raised eyebrows and looks of disbelief, when I responded to the question: ‘how long did it take you to get your PhD’ with the answer: 2 years. I could have said 14 months to submit and 22months if you include the graduation ceremony, but that would have been pushing the limits […] … learn more→

Are you often a no-show? Or one of those people who says “Maybe” on a Facebook event? I’m a veteran events organiser.  Throughout my career, planning and running events has been an integral part of the work I do. Now, as a lecturer in a researcher development unit, convening programs is a big part of my […] … learn more→

It is our final year ..  this is it pass or fail, graduate or not. Anxious times. Most of us have anxieties of some description. Be it too much weight or perhaps too little weight. Do you smash the junk food when studying hard or do you just not eat and hit the coffee. Often […] … learn more→

Until a few years ago, maybe a decade ago, the concerns parents had when their children reached adolescent age, apart from issues related to studies, focused on things like the first consumption of alcohol, flirting with drugs, risks to unprotected sex, night fights after a night of partying, etc. Nowadays, without a doubt, this continues […] … learn more→

My hunch is that I’m a lot like most thesis examiners. When we get sent a thesis we often don’t plunge in straight away. We have a bit of a look around first. That’s not an unusual response to a new text. Think about book shop behaviours. Most people usually check out the title and […] … learn more→

Media reports of findings from the latest National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey caused a stir in recent days, with some highlighting the importance of education programs to teach young people about gender-based violence. The survey of young people, aged 16-24, revealed some concerning findings. Nearly one-quarter of respondents agreed that women tend to exaggerate the problem of […] … learn more→

While I’ve been writing about it for years, and known about it for many years, it’s only recently that the general population has come to realize we have a real problem in higher education. Recent polls confirm this: A Crisis in Confidence in Higher Ed The above link is from Gallup; granted, the last election […] … learn more→

Data Science has been creating a buzzword for a while now with more people aiming to look ahead for the alluring career opportunities it comes with. In addition to this, if you are looking for a change in career to data science or you wish to build a career in it and you are extremely […] … learn more→

South Africa is a multilingual, multicultural space. As is the case for many other countries in Africa, it has a number of official languages – 11. Although the South African Constitution, other legislation and some policies promote the use and development of all 11 languages, this does not happen in practice. For instance, the country’s […] … learn more→

Of all the corrupt, money-sucking fiefdoms on campus, none is more dangerous than the Diversity fiefdoms. Most people think our campuses are divided into departments and those certainly exist, but the departments only generate revenue for the school, providing classes for students to take. Much of that revenue pours in “institutes,” little fiefdoms which few, […] … learn more→