In the spirit of Women’s Month, the University of the Western Cape (UWC) is celebrating the women who have successfully managed to balance motherhood, their academic careers and giving back to their communities. Dr Magandhree Naidoo is a senior lecturer in the Department of Oral Hygiene in the Dentistry Faculty. She is also the mother of a special needs adolescent and the founder of the Special Needs Oral Care Programme at a special needs school in the Western Cape. Dr Naidoo has a passion for oral health in the special needs population and for empowering students to learn in a multifaceted context that also serves the community. Professor José Frantz’s prior roles include Dean and Deputy Dean of Research in the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences. Her role, among others, is to keep the university accountable in terms of aligning its strategy to addressing the global sustainable development goals, and for that, her experience as a C2-rated NRF researcher and her field of specialisation in faculty development for health professions education and chronic disease prevention, is of great importance to the university. Prof Frantz has guided many Masters and PhD students and authored over 100 publications. Her achievements include the 2023 HERS_SA award for women in academic administration, the 2017 SAAHE Distinguished Educator Award, and the 2016 NRF Champion of Research Capacity Development recognition. Her contributions significantly impact health education and research at UWC and beyond.
Dr Rechelle Jacobs is married with two children and is an academic in the Statistics and Population Studies Department, focusing on credit risk. She is a member of the Assessments Standards Committee (ASC) of Umalusi and serves on the Board of Christian Education in the College of the Full Gospel Church of South Africa. Her 15 years as a business manager and quantitative analyst in the bank, 10 years in academia, and serving as a statistician on the ASC have equipped her with valuable insights into learning and teaching as well as quality assurance practices in higher and basic education. She teaches distribution theory to undergraduate students and supervises postgraduate Honours and Masters in Data Science projects. She serves the local community with her husband, who pastors a church in Bellville South and is the CEO and Founder of Master Mind Foundation. Dr Jacobs is on a mission to empower unemployed youth from marginalised communities and entrepreneurs who own small and micro businesses using analytics.
Professor Fanelwa Ngece-Ajayi is an associate professor of physical chemistry in the Chemistry Department and the Deputy Dean of Research in the Science Faculty of Natural Sciences. As the founder of AmaQawe ngeMfundo NPO, she promotes and advocates for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in marginalised communities. She further shares her education advocacy endeavours as a director in the following organisations: Each One Teach One NPC, Chemistry Education South Africa NPC, and KasiMaths NPO. She also serves as a consultant for Lady in Red Opera Pty Ltd.
Professor Firdouza Waggie is the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences and Deputy Dean for Clinical and Community Engagement. She plays a vital role in the leadership and strategic decision-making of the faculty. Her portfolio encompasses all matters related to clinical and community engagement for the faculty’s professional programmes. Additionally, she is responsible for ensuring the university’s presence in various communities by establishing sustainable partnerships and relationships with stakeholders that benefit the community and the university. She strongly advocates for interprofessional collaborative practice and community and stakeholder engagement in higher education. Prof Waggie aims to build personal and leadership capacity among university staff, which is essential for sustainability and success in the higher education sector. Her post-graduate supervision and research record are evident in the numerous completed research projects, publications, and several national and international conference presentations.
Dr Fazlyn Petersen is asenior lecturer in Information Systems at the Economics and Management Science (EMS) Faculty at UWC. She believes in the practical application of theoretical knowledge to improve workplace integration and performance. Fazlyn’s research includes ICT for development (ICT4D) in health and education, focusing on solving community challenges. She is passionate about entrepreneurship and developing innovative teaching techniques to improve student learning experiences.
