Woman leader leaves lasting mark on ICT Research and Innovation

With Women’s Month celebrations across South Africa drawing to an end, the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology (FoICT) at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) recognises and celebrates one of its dedicated women leaders, Dr Agnieta Pretorius, Assistant Dean for Postgraduate Studies, Research and Innovation.

Dr Pretorius, Assistant Dean Now serving her third term as Assistant Dean, Dr Pretorius has played a sustained role in the Faculty’s leadership and its pursuit of academic excellence, research growth and innovation. Her leadership journey reflects a longstanding commitment to postgraduate education, research development and the advancement of emerging researchers.

Dr Pretorius brings a broad combination of academic, professional and leadership experience to her role. Her multidisciplinary academic background spans programming, commerce, information systems and business leadership, culminating in a Doctor of Technology (DTech) in Business Information Systems from TUT.

At the heart of Dr Pretorius’ portfolio is a commitment to strengthening postgraduate education and supporting the next generation of researchers. Through her leadership, she contributes to Faculty initiatives aimed at strengthening postgraduate research capacity, supporting student progression and completion, and creating opportunities for emerging researchers to develop their academic and scholarly capabilities.

Her contribution to postgraduate education extends beyond her leadership responsibilities. Dr Pretorius has successfully supervised Master’s and Doctoral candidates to completion and continues to contribute to the mentoring and development of emerging scholars.

Dr Pretorius has also contributed to research and scholarship through book chapters and peer-reviewed publications in internationally recognised journals and conference proceedings. She continues to contribute to the broader academic community as a reviewer for accredited journals and conferences.

Since 2017, she has served on a Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) review panel for conference proceedings and books, contributing to the quality assurance of scholarly outputs within the higher education sector.

Dr Pretorius’ contribution also extends beyond the Faculty and University. She is a member of the Universities South Africa (USAf) Community of Practice on Postgraduate Education and Scholarship and has participated in international collaborative research initiatives with academic partners in Germany and Sweden.

Over the years, Dr Pretorius has contributed to the Faculty’s efforts to strengthen postgraduate education, build research capacity, promote research excellence and promote a culture of research and innovation. Her leadership has involved working collaboratively with academic staff, researchers, postgraduate students and other stakeholders to advance these priorities.

Her role extends beyond administrative leadership and requires close collaboration with academics, researchers and postgraduate students towards shared Faculty goals. Through her experience and leadership, Dr Pretorius contributes to positioning postgraduate studies, research and innovation as key pillars of the Faculty’s development.

Reflecting on the relationship between education, research and leadership, Dr Pretorius says: “Education opens doors, research creates new possibilities and leadership enables us to open those doors for others.”

This Women’s Month, the Faculty of ICT celebrates Dr Agnieta Pretorius not only for the qualifications she has earned and the leadership positions she holds, but also for the impact she makes through her work.