Nadine Farao, Stakeholder Relations Manager at the MiDO Foundation (far right), joins some of the YES graduates in celebrating their success.

The local non-governmental organisation, the MiDO Foundation, and Entersekt, a global fintech company based in Stellenbosch, have once again combined their efforts to help another 10 young, unemployed adults soar with the opportunity to complete a 12-month mentorship and information, communications and technology industry-based paid internship through the Youth Employment Service (YES) programme.

YES beneficiaries obtain digital skills and digital citizenship skills through the foundation’s Digital Citizenship Programme. Some of the soft skills they acquire through digital citizenship skills training include communication skills, access, digital literacy, etiquette, and rights and responsibilities.

One of those youth to complete the programme and obtain immediate employment is Kaylan Gideons who lives in The Ridge in Idas Valley, Stellenbosch, and started working as a receptionist at the law firm Smiths and Associates in Stellenbosch.

“I started studying Human Resources at CTU Stellenbosch two years ago and after completing the course, I started looking for work, but everywhere I applied, I was told that I did not have the necessary work experience to be considered for the job. I had only completed two weeks of practical training in human resources during my studies,” explains Gideons.

While looking for work, Gideons met Michelle Swartland, Senior Project Administrator at the MiDO Foundation, who encouraged her to apply for the upcoming YES programme. Gideons applied and was accepted into the programme. During the 12 months, she worked as a receptionist at Acu-Temp where she was responsible for taking calls, dealing with queries, issuing quotes and invoices, and ensuring that administrative systems were put in place at the small business.

“I was really excited about working at Acu-Temp and it was a huge learning opportunity for me. I got so much experience while working here and was able to put the knowledge I acquired while completing the YES programme to use, and for the first time use some of the skills I learnt through my course at CTU at Acu-Temp.”

“It helped me to also create a good filing system for the business.”

Acu-Temp specialises in providing temperature-controlled monitoring instruments from local and overseas suppliers and performs calibration, repairs, and support services in the cold chain industry.

According to Nadine Farao, Stakeholder Relations Manager at the MiDO Foundation, the foundation believes in not only empowering unemployed youth through the YES programme, but small businesses as well.

“Interventions should not only be focused on one aspect of a challenge, in this case youth unemployment, but rather, where possible, respond to various challenges in our society. This is a philosophy that we believe in, as strongly as we believe in forming partnerships with various organisations.”

To this end, the foundation has not only worked with Entersekt, but organisations like the Stellenbosch Network and the Ranyaka as well as the CoCreate Hub in Stellenbosch.

“We want to ensure that SMMEs in need of employees with digital skills and other soft skills needed for administrative and financial tasks can also benefit from the foundation and Entersekt’s collaboration, and the YES programme. We are therefore increasing employment while capacitating SMMEs that are considered the engines of our economy due to the sector’s potential to create jobs.”

Gideons explains that when she first started working at Acu-Temp, she “made lots of notes on how to improve some processes”, handled the company’s payroll, and accounts.

“It was hard work, because I had to manage it all, but I was able to cope because I would plan my tasks for the day each day,” said Gideons.

She also learnt a lot about good time management and organisation skills at Acu-Temp and the Director of the company, Garnet Christians, she said, allowed her to also participate in business management training offered at the CoCreate Hub in Stellenbosch, where the business’ office is based.

“This programme and the internship at Acu-Temp meant so much to me because there was a time in my life when I thought I would never get work. I had a diploma, but no work experience, so when I heard about the MiDO Foundation and this programme, I felt that there were people who would help me. I had a lot of hope, but it was the foundation that opened many doors for me.”

According to Gideons, the programme helped her to improve her confidence as a person, but also in the workplace. When she went for her interview at Smith and Associates, she felt a lot calmer and was well-prepared for the questions she was asked.

The interview panel was so impressed with Gideons, that when she finished her interview, they asked her how soon she could begin.

The YES programme was launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018 to address the youth unemployment crisis in South Africa. The programme offers unemployed youth a 12-month work placement, which equips them with a toolkit of skills that may assist them in future employment opportunities, as well as becoming role models in their communities.

“This is our third group of YES graduates to have been sponsored and mentored by Entersekt and trained by the MiDO Foundation since 2020. We are super excited that five of the third group of graduates are now in permanent employment,” said Farao.

Of the 10 graduates who have completed the YES programme since 2020, five have found permanent employment during and straight after they completed the programme.

“The unemployment rate in South Africa is frighteningly high, with 46.5% of the youth between the ages of 15 to 34 without work. For many, a lack of digital skills further hinders their ability to compete with other job seekers for a limited number of jobs,” says Farao.

“The world we live in today require all of us to have digital skills. Just using our phone app to do our banking requires some digital literacy skills, and in the workplace, employers are not only looking for applicants with digital skills knowledge at more senior levels, but also at entry-level. Even a till operator needs to have digital skills to know how to void items or do exchanges.”

Adds Sheldon Bergstedt, Operations Manager at the foundation: “In the time of the 3rd industrial revolution, which is also referred to as the Digital Revolution, electronics and information technology came to play a big role in the workplace and society and led to the automation of production. As we find ourselves in the 4th industrial revolution, the use and application of digital skills and knowledge of digital citizenship are essential to ensuring that individuals can function in this new era and are not left behind. Our mission at the foundation is rooted in the upliftment of the youth and the rectification of previous injustices.”

“We believe that upskilling our unemployed youth is important not only to improve the employability of South Africans, but because we cannot afford the economic impact that a continued increase in youth unemployment will have on South Africa, the devastating impact of unemployment on an individual’s mental health and self-esteem, and worsening poverty, and crime,” says Farao.

Dario Minnaar, Customer Relationship Technician, at MiDO Technologies started off the YES 3 program in August 2021 where he worked as an IT Technical Support Intern at MiDO Foundation. Minnaar has obtained 2 National qualifications and 1 International qualification at CTU Training Solutions Stellenbosch.

“The 2 National Qualifications are IT Technical Support and IT Cloud Administrator MCSA and the International qualification is Comptia A+ 220-1001 and 1002,” says Minnaar.

“I can’t thank Entersekt and MiDO Foundation enough for the opportunity because I could get to learn at the Technological level. I had the opportunity to work in a technological environment and to be able to gain practical experience in the time of Covid.”

Minnaar’s skills were so impressive that he was appointed as a full-time Customer Relationship Technician at MiDO Technologies 3 months before his internship ended which created an opportunity for another eager individual, Shanice Theunissen to take his place and finish the remaining period of the YES programme.

“The programme was so helpful, and I am happy I get to remain at the school I teach at. I’ve learned many new skills in communication and planning. If it wasn’t for the program, I don’t know where I would be today”, says Amber Olivier, who completed the programme with Gideons and currently works as a teacher at Dig-It Junior in Jamestown.

“Working with babies between the ages of 6 and 18 months require much planning, communication and focus – all the skills that the YES programme offered,” said Olivier.

“I couldn’t be prouder to have been a part of such an enriching experience, where young people get the opportunity to enhance their practical skills.”

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One of the foundation’s most recent collaborations involves Entersekt, a global leader in device identity and customer authentication software, and Mindjoy, an edtech start-up that’s for kids. Through this partnership, 60 learners at Lückhoff High School have been given a unique opportunity to spend nine months acquiring essential coding and programming language skills (Python, HTML, and CSS) through small group coding projects. These skills have become crucial to many jobs as the world finds itself in the 4IR.

The pilot training programme, which will run until December this year, is funded by Entersekt, and run by Mindjoy. Each week learners will participate in an hour-long session in the Digital Hub where they will connect to coding training sessions via Zoom and the Mindjoy platform. The sessions will be facilitated by a Mindjoy coach, who could be based anywhere in South Africa. Mindjoy will also track the skills and progress of each learner and once they have completed a track, learners will earn a Mindjoy Coding Certificate.

Some of the learners that are already benefiting from the programme include Tasneem Benjamin, Kodi Calvert and Cailey van der Merwe who are all in Grade 10.

According to Tasneem, she had no idea what coding was when she decided to join the programme.

“It has actually been great learning how to code and doing group learning with other learners.”

“When I was busy with project eight, I had to figure out how to use what I had learnt to go from one quadrant to another and create shapes that I can move from one place to another place. It was difficult because I didn’t know what was going on and why things weren’t moving, but it was so exciting when I finally figured it out and could celebrate that achievement with others as well as the coach, who offers us support and is always cheering us on.”

For Kodi, coding was something she had heard about in movies and had seen people speaking about on social media.

“I’ve always heard about it, but to be able to do it in real life, that is a totally different experience. You are learning how to use a [language] that is complicated, and learning it step by step so that you can build up your skills bit by bit. In my first project I already learnt how to code a colourful line,” says an excited Kodi.

The training has opened her eyes to how she can apply the skills she is learning in future as well as the careers that learners can follow.

“It’s thrilling to learn these new things.”

“I think it would be great if we could code a specific programme that other learners can build on. Who knows, maybe one day we can start a company by using the skills we have learnt. That would be the bigger plan,” she adds.

Like Tasneem, Cailey has enjoyed the experience of self-learning and figuring out problems on her own with the support of a coach.

“I am learning a new skill that will help me access more opportunities and the digital skills I am learning I can also use in my school subjects,” says Cailey.

She believes that if more learners were able to do the programme in future that there would be an increase in youth interested in doing coding and programming after school.

“I think the further one goes in coding and the more you learn about programming, the more you want to learn and enhance your skills to get even better at it.”

According to Daniel Solomons, Executive Director of the MiDO Foundation, the organisation “doesn’t ever want to build a hub that turns into a white elephant”.

“Technology continuously evolves and one can so easily fall behind and become irrelevant if your programmes do not keep up with technology. The collaboration with Entersekt and Mindjoy allows us to work together to achieve a common goal.”

“In order to achieve this, we follow a more hands-on approach and make sure that hub programmes are streamlined and allow young people to engage with technology continuously,” says Solomons.

Gabi Immelman, the founder and CEO of Mindjoy, explains that before starting the pilot training programme, the organisation conducted a baseline survey with learners as a measure to understand perceptions around digital skills and attitudes towards pursuing programming as a career path.

“At the end of the pilot we would like to survey students again to see if there is a shift in their understanding of programming and attitudes to career paths,” says Immelman.

“Entersekt, the MiDO Foundation and Mindjoy all believe in helping students build their competencies as digital citizens to develop essential skills for the future of work, but also to support learners in having the necessary skills to access economic opportunities.”

Arno Kemp, Vice President of Transformation and Growth at Entersekt, says that the collaboration “is an undisputed recipe for digital skills education” and “digital skills supply in South Africa”.

“Our labour market is under duress, with these skills being both scarce and in high demand. This is one of the vehicles of remedy we are proud to support and nurture, with invaluable partnerships and communities at its heart,” says Kemp.

Learners and Mindjoy trainers are supported by the foundation’s Digital Hub Coordinator, Mary-Ann van der Merwe, who is responsible for managing the training schedule for this programme and preparing the venue for use by the trainers and learners. Digital Hub Coordinators are appointed at each of the foundation’s hubs to manage the space; provide support to teachers and learners when they utilise equipment, software, and the internet. Van der Merwe also helps to present and facilitate programmes.

Van der Merwe says she has noticed a marked increase in learner curiosity since they have started to learn coding and programming.

“Learners often stay after their programme session is done, with some staying 30 minutes to one hour and 30 minutes longer,” says Van der Merwe.

Solomons says that listening to the feedback from learners, it is clear that the MiDO Foundation’s philosophy of pursuing collaborations and building partnerships, as well as the dedication of partners like Entersekt and Mindjoy to providing more South African learners with digital skills, has helped the foundation increase its impact on communities beyond what it could have imagined.

“Gone are the days of doing everything all by yourself – working together and achieving a common goal together has become the norm. Since its inception in 2018 the MiDO Foundation has believed in partnerships that are relational, meaning that good relationships form the basis of good collaboration and collective success not only for those organisations involved, but specifically for our beneficiaries,” says Solomons.

The MiDO Foundation is a non-profit organisation focused on fostering digital citizenship through digital literacy and creating pathways out of poverty for its beneficiaries through partnerships and collaboration.

Photo: Grade 10 learners (from the left) Tasneem Benjamin, Kodi Calvert and Cailey van der Merwe enjoy practising their coding and programming skills in the Lückhoff High School Digital Hub. With them is Mary-Ann van der Merwe, the Digital Hub Coordinator. (Lynne Rippenaar-Moses)

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Feleni’s research focuses on tuneable nanocomposite chalcogenide materials and their application in the development of sensors for biomedical and environmental analyses. She is a member of some of the most prestigious national and international organisations in the world focused on the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. This includes serving as an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (AMRSC), a member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS), a full member of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), and a member of the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE). In 2021, she was awarded the 2021/2022 University of Michigan African Presidential Scholars (UMAPS) Fellowship, and in the past has also received the 2016 L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Sub-Saharan Africa Doctoral Fellowship Award and the 2016 South African Women in Science TATA Doctoral Fellowship Award.

Feleni is a first-generation student and says that her family found it “very difficult to accept that it was appropriate for a girl to spend so many years studying up to the PhD level”.

“But my mother, a primary school teacher, told me about the importance of science.”

In January 2018 , Feleni received a DSI-NRF Innovation Doctoral Scholarship and a DSI-NRF-DHET Scarce Skills Development Fund Postdoctoral Fellowship for her PhD and postdoctoral studies respectively. 

“Without the NRF scholarship, I would not have been able to continue my studies to PhD level.  I obtained an NRF Travel Grant award which enabled me to attend an international conference during my PhD studies and this year received a NRF-South Africa Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) grant for a community engagement STEM project in the Eastern Cape.”

We sat down with Feleni to learn about her inspirational journey of building a career in science as a woman. 

Dr Feleni, how did your love for science and technology begin?

My love for science started while  solving problems associated with healthcare since I lost a family member who was on antiretroviral (ARV) medication.   So I studied BSc Chemical Sciences up to PhD level. 

What were some of the challenges you have faced as a woman in the STEM field and how did  you overcome them?

There are notions by some people that women  are not capable of studying up to PhD level, such as the expectation to get married after completing undergraduate studies.  This is why women scientists work hard and often do extra work to achieve our goals and to prove our point that women can achieve anything and be scientists. One of the things that I do to ensure that I succeeded is to put a lot of efforts in teaching and learning and research. What do I mean by that, these are the core important things that will make one succeed (research include attainment of research grant, publishing and fellowships). Most importantly focusing on research that will solve the South African problems/global problems. 

Do you think it is important to develop and equip learners with skills for STEM fields and why?

It is important to   motivate young learners and students to go into STEM fields. The government is implementing a National System of Innovation (NSI) while  the National Development Plan (NDP) aims at solving socioeconomic issues and creating jobs for the younger generation. Basically equipping youth with skills. Technology can be used to create jobs for young scientists, including South African scientists as a whole. Nurturing junior researchers is therefore imperative at university level.

What is the status of inequality in South Africa and how can it be solved specifically during the pandemic? 

Community development and upliftment in communities like townships can happen through strengthening education curricula. Under-resourced village and township schools prevent learners from gaining practical experience, leading to an educational gap of understanding how research development happens among learners who want to enter STEM fields. One way  to improve education is to involve educational and community leaders when discussing curriculum improvements, especially in provinces such as the Eastern Cape.  I work with the Applied Electrochemistry Thematic Area and under my leadership we are opening the Cofivamba Science Centre exhibit, which focuses on developing technology, equipping learners and teachers while incorporating science into the curriculum.  It is aimed at grades 8 to 12 and aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development goals. I also presented an online seminar for the National Science Week, but most learners could not join given a lack of access to online streaming platforms. So, we must understand the realities of  learners and  equip teachers with skills to increase access to resources and technology. Platforms such as Zoom could be used to effectively boost access at rural and township schools. Additionally we need to purchase furniture, laptops and improve connectivity so that affected schools can develop.  

What role do you think the NDP has in developing a younger generation of women in STEM fields?

We are aiming at meeting the agenda for the NDP by  2030.  Given that we are moving toward the fourth industrial revolution, it is important to scale technological innovative research methods to enhance science for young women. It is important to have developed young scientists and researchers by 2030 so that by 2063 we have unleashed the potential of female scientists and junior researchers leading in that area.

Lastly, what words of encouragement do you have for  young people, and particularly young women, who want to enter STEM fields?

To  young women who do science subjects, ensure that you obtain  good marks in subjects such as Mathematics, Physics, Science and Biology in order to gain university entrance. High  marks in high school will allow learners to study any degree in a STEM field. Using the Sustainable Development Goals  while focusing on national problems in South Africa will allow us to find innovative solutions that will assist the country. By having more young women obtaining undergraduate degrees, more will gain access to postgraduate studies, which will help our country overcome major inequalities, and young women will play a key role in that recovery.

The post #WomenInTech: Meet Dr Usisipho Feleni appeared first on MiDO Foundation.

She specializes in research on the development of drug metabolism nano biosensors for HIV and TB drug treatment using a platform developed by using green method nanoparticles. Prof Ajayi was a 2019 Next Einstein Forum (NEF) Fellow of AIMS and in the same year received a National Research Foundation (NRF) award in recognition of excellence in research in South Africa. In addition, she served as the Co-chair of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) and still is a member of the academy. In 2017, she established AmaQhawe ngeMfundo, a non-profit organization (NPO) that promotes and enriches STEM by providing assistance with STEM academic resources and infrastructure at schools in marginalized communities. She also joined forces with four other women in the STEM field in 2017 to establish KasiMaths, an NPO focused on improving the mathematics skills of learners in marginalized communities through scalable, low-cost Maths Enrichment Hubs where tutors help learners in South African townships to become competent in and develop a love for mathematics.

Prof Ajayi has won numerous awards and was part of the six-member female team from South Africa that completed a five-week TechWomen Mentorship Programme in Silicon Valley and participated in its 2017 TechWomen Pitch.  The team walked away with $3000 to implement KasiMaths. She was also chosen by the Netherlands Consulate as one of the #InspiringFiftySA winners in STEM in South Africa in 2018.

Prof Ajayi has served as a visiting professor at the University of Missouri in the United States and at Universite de Cergy Pontoise in France.

We sat down with this formidable #WomanInTech recently to learn more about her life path, her journey into science, what drives her, and why she is dedicated to exposing learners from impoverished communities to the STEM fields and empowering them to follow careers in those fields too.

Question 1

Prof Ajayi, please tell us more about who Prof Fanelwa Ajayi is and when her love for science and technology began?

I am the eldest of four children born to a mother who worked as a domestic worker and raised all of us single-handedly. Now I am a wife and a mother of three beautiful children. As a child, I was taught that I could only have a comfortable life if I got an education. My mother instilled this belief in me because she didn’t have an opportunity to complete school. In Grade 6 I realized that I enjoyed teaching others, which led to me becoming a mathematics and physical sciences volunteer tutor in my community of Site C in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. I did this until I left home to attend university. The challenging part about tutoring was the fact that there was no form of support when challenges arose with the work we did during our sessions because the majority of the community members and our parents didn’t have any educational background surpassing Grade 8. Additionally, those of us interested in the sciences had the added challenge of not being able to see and experience the scientific processes taught at school due to the poorly resourced schools we were taught at. When I entered the chemistry laboratory for the first time, I felt completely lost. I was able to touch a computer for the first time at university and I felt like a failure because I did not know how to use it. University was particularly challenging because I held two jobs as a domestic worker and hairdresser to fund my undergraduate studies.

My love for science started in Grade 10 when I realized that chemistry was very easy for me to understand. I had always enjoyed explaining things to others and it just felt good to be able to explain a subject that I understood so well. This continued into university, which led me into academia and to the development work that I do at AmaQawe ngeMfundo. The NPO aims to provide on-site science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiments, workshops, and resources while also promoting STEM in marginalized communities.

It is through these sessions that I also share the importance of conducting research in a country like South Africa riddled with diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), HIV/Aids, and diabetes. As a previous TB patient, I know too well what the side effects caused by TB medication feel like. This is the reason why I selected research in the area of drug sensor development to one day be able to provide healthcare practitioners with the ability to monitor the metabolic profile of patients so they may prescribe appropriate regimes well-suited for each type of patient.

I believe learners should be taught how to innovate at an early age and the importance of those innovations in making our societies better. As such, I take it upon myself to ensure that I do my part so that the next generation of learners do not experience the hardships caused by inequalities in our society. This entails sharing my knowledge and also sourcing resources and funds so they may have the opportunity to excel in their studies and to also further their studies. This is my contribution towards creating a positive change in society rather than waiting and blaming someone or the government for shortfalls.

Question 2

What would you say are some of the challenges you have faced as a woman in the STEM field and how have you overcome them?

The major challenge for me has been the inability to find a balance between family and work life. This is mainly due to the fact that I strive to be a good mom, wife, and sister while also doing my best to be good at my job. Academic work never stops; there is always something to be done or someone to be taught. To mitigate this issue, I have learned to prioritize and focus on the things that are most important to me. As much as my work is important, I have learned to put the needs of my family first.

Secondly, I have also learned to mentor others, such as my postgraduate students, so that they may have the skills to take up some of my academic responsibilities. Furthermore, when it comes to my research work, I rely a great deal on my research collaborators who ensure that certain aspects of the work we do are completed, especially those activities that require their expertise.

On a personal level, I have experienced being ignored as well as my opinions being ignored in academia when I was much younger. Some colleagues would tell me that I am inexperienced and should not speak when experienced colleagues are speaking. This was very hurtful, but it strengthened my resolve to excel. I often insisted that despite being young that I too had the knowledge to share and that I too have a voice. I have learned to be assertive without being rude and I always ensure that I over-prepare for any situation before going into one.

Question 3

Do you think it is important to develop and equip learners with digital literacy skills as early as the Intermediate Phase and how will it help them in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)?

I think that this is very important to equip learners with digital skills as early as possible because the world of technology and innovation is changing at a rapid pace. Everything around us is evolving fast and we are seeing more and more innovative ideas coming from young people these days. In the world of social media and fake news, it is very important that learners understand the technology and learn how to use it appropriately. Most importantly, learners should know how to use technology to benefit them economically, academically, and not only socially.

We have already seen how much entrepreneurs and young scholars can achieve by using their mobile devices to learn, eliminating the need for example to hire specialists, which can be costly. Those who have used digital platforms appropriately have managed to live successful lives without the need to work for others. As such, the introduction of digital skills should be coupled with critical thinking programs and entrepreneurship skills-building programs to prepare learners well.

I do also believe that the introduction of digital skills should be complemented by the strong enforcement of reading and mathematical skills while learners are still young. Learners should have the ability to read well in order to follow instructions when these skills are introduced to them. This also provides an opportunity to other learners who may choose an academic route in the future.

The world of 4IR is upon us and it is clear that some fields of study will soon be dormant and some careers will be non-existent. The introduction of digital skills at an early age to learners will foster a culture of entrepreneurship since these young people will be taught how to solve the world’s issues using technology and innovation. Confidence in their skills has a huge potential to encourage them to initiate their own businesses in the future rather than finding jobs in the already saturated job market.

Question 4

You are committed to community development and upliftment, especially with regards to changing narratives and stereotypes about marginalized communities like townships. What would you say is the status of inequality in the South African education system between well-resourced and under-resourced schools at present, and more so in a pandemic? Also, how do you suggest we go about combatting that very same inequality?

There is a very clear and wide gap between well-resourced schools and under-resourced schools, not just in the infrastructure but also in the skills the teachers have. Well-resourced schools are bigger and have smaller class numbers to enable the teachers to provide individual attention to the learners. On the other end, under-resourced schools are smaller yet the class numbers are higher, often exceeding 45 learners in a class at times. There is no way the teachers would ever be able to give these learners any individual attention and yet these learners have to compete in the world with learners from well-resourced schools.

In a country like ours, which encourages science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at school, how are teachers at under-resourced schools expected to teach these subjects without fully equipped and fully functional laboratories such as those found in most well-resourced schools. Teachers at under-resourced schools are overwhelmed by a lack of resources and by the number of learners that they have to teach and often miss out on opportunities that would enable them to improve their skills.

It is the responsibility of those in power to ensure that all schools are built and resourced in the same manner. Also, more teachers should be placed in under-resourced schools to respond to the high number of learners. We should not have such inequalities at this stage in our country. Furthermore, all schools should have laboratories where learners can be equipped with skills they can use at tertiary institutions or post-matric or can access skills to initiate businesses. We are a country that struggles with mathematics literacy, which tells us that there should be a system in place where teachers from both sets of schools can meet and share skills and knowledge on how their learners are able to pass mathematics. Partnerships and resource sharing could also be a solution to ensure equality between these schools.

Question 5

The President mentioned in his 2021 State of The Nation Address (SONA) that the country is in the process of implementing the ‘Lanseria Smart City’, a city driven by smart technologies. In your opinion how realistic is this project and what benefit will this bring to the science-tech industry, especially for women and girl children?

This project is a great idea but to me, it is not realistic in South Africa we have now. Why not use that money to strengthen basic education and ensure that schools are fully resourced? Secondly, we are experiencing a crisis in higher education where students are struggling to enter institutions of higher education due to lack of funds and in some instances the lack of good marks. We need many experts to run this proposed smart city and that can only occur when we can take care of the foundation first and invest in basic and higher education as a country. This is not to mention the high rate of unemployment in our country and the lack of good healthcare facilities, clean water, and access to sanitation, which require a great deal of funding to fix.

Question 6

Lastly what words of encouragement would you give to young persons, especially girls, who want to enter any STEM field?

I would tell them to always work towards making their dreams come true. At times young people don’t share their dreams because they feel less worthy than their peers. I would tell them that there is nothing wrong with being different from your peers and striving for different things in life. They should never allow anyone to tell them what they can and can’t do with regard to their path in life, irrespective of how unsupported they are. People around us are fine when we select to do things that are known and have been done by others and they tend to feel unsettled when they come across persons with different ideas. They should strive to be themselves at all times.

Humility goes a long way in the journey to success. My other advice to young people is that they should always be willing to listen and learn if they want to be good at anything. Working hard is another good attribute. So I would tell them to always ensure that they give their best with every opportunity they get. Respect is also high up on my list of advice. Nobody wants to associate with a disrespectful person no matter how brilliant they are.

PHOTO: Prof Fanelwa Ajayi stands in front of the Chemical Sciences building at the University of the Western Cape where she lectures. (Harriet Box, UWC Media and Marketing Office)

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