Charlotte Mntubu and Dr Daniel Mlambo captivated the audience with their presentation during the Faculty of Humanities’ Research Day.
Being spoilt for choice with abstracts received from more than 30 students, the event was extensively advertised on various TUT communication platforms, including TUT FM and the myTUTor Brightspace. This piqued the interest of a wide audience, which led to the event being hosted at various venues around the Executive Dean’s Office at the Soshanguve South Campus. The interest was so wide that some attendees, who could not attend in-person, joined online to participate in the discussions.
Aimed at encouraging postgraduate students at the Faculty to share their research findings with fellow scholars, interact with students in various academic fields and develop presentation and communication skills, Prof de Jager said a Research Day was long overdue. She emphasised the importance of networking and explained that the event provided a valuable opportunity to integrate the study fields of the ten departments at the Faculty as well as contributing to valuable research outputs.
Postdoctoral research fellows from the Faculty who chaired the various sessions, were instrumental in ensuring the professionalism and enormous success of the day. Each presentation was followed by a 10-minute question and answer session, during which valuable feedback was given to the presenters to improve their studies.
Even those who did not present, found the exercise encouraging and inspiring, which was underscored by comments from Nandipha Nyangiwe, Masters’ student at the School of Education. “I am thrilled about the opportunity we had to present our abstracts and receiving immediate feedback from our peers. They have already been down the road that we are now pursuing. I hope this Research Day will continue for years to come,” she said.
Delegates arriving at the inaugural Research Day.
The Faculty constantly strives to assist postgraduate students in identifying research opportunities offered by the Research & Innovation Office and engaging them in diverse research workshops to become future researchers. Dr Naledi Nthite, Deputy Director: Research and Niche Area, encouraged the presenters to complete their studies up to Doctoral level and to write for publication.
Faculty experts, including Dr Khashane Stephen Malatji, Head of the School of Education and 2021 Researcher of the Year at the Faculty of Humanities, also explained what good practices for publishing articles in accredited journals are. He shared his vast experience, valuable information and various key points that could assist participants in publishing research in accredited journals.
Paul Molefe, a third-year student at the Department of Public Management, reflected on the event, saying that he found the Research Day inspirational, especially since he is an aspiring academic. Experiencing his lecturers present their work, was the highlight of the day. He hopes to present his own work at the Faculty’s Research Day soon.