Softcopy Issue Two 2020 by Softcopy

Three Fashion students are finalists in the VDJ Young Designer Award Nxumalo becomes first of her nine siblings to get a tertiary qualification

Drama’s Professor Deborah Lutge wins 2019 FoAD Dean’s Individual Award

SABC News team to graduate at DUT Opportunities and challenges in the creative industries during COVID-19

ISSUE#02 2020

Credits Editor: Andile Dube 031 373 6455/ andiled@dut.ac.za Cover Image: Mbuso Nkosi Contributors: Simangele Zuma and Waheeda Peters Work Integrated Learning Student: Nkosingiphile Dladla Proof reader: Dr Jade Smith Images: Anthony Grote/Gameplan Media, Keri-Lyn Arumugum, Facebook, Mbuso Nkosi, Nathan Kruger. Layout and Design: DUT Design Unit Publisher: Faculty of Arts and Design (FoAD) Editor-in-Chief: FoAD Executive Dean, Dr René Smith

Contents AWARDS AND HONOURS Three Fashion students are finalists in the VDJ Young Designer Award………………………………… 1 COVER FEATURE Drama’s Professor Deborah Lutge wins 2019 FoAD Dean’s Individual Award…………………………..3 FoAD holds virtual 2019 Staff Recognition and Research Awards……………………………………......5 GRADUATION Journalism graduand waited three years to study at DUT ………………………………………………9 Nxumalo is first of her nine siblings to achieve a tertiary qualification…………………………………10 Ukhozi FM news presenter, Cassandra Zungu will graduate at DUT……………………………………11 SABC News team to graduate at DUT ………………………………………………………………..12 SEMINARS Opportunities and challenges in the creative industries during COVID-19……………………................13 Decolonising Entrepreneurship in the SADC Region……………………………………………………15 OUR ALUMNI Tayla Horn talks how the Emma Smith Award helped her achieve her dream…………………………..17 Journalism’s Lizeka Maduna publishes her first book titled, Regards The Wife …………………………19 NEW FACES …………………………………………………………………………………………..21

In my last editor’s note I wrote of the great challenges the coronavirus has brought to our lives. Unfortunately, things have not changed much. Months after the arrival of COVID-19, we are still under lockdown. This has meant that people have had to separate for safety from those that they love; some have lost loved ones and others have lost their livelihoods. These are really challenging times, and I cannot stress enough the impact an act of kindness will have on someone. So, if you know of someone who might need help in some way, do not hesitate to do so if you can. While the lockdown is necessary in order to stop the spread of COVID-19, it has brought uncertainty and anxiety to many. The feeling of not knowing what the future holds is not an easy one, so small acts of kindness go a long way. This kindness doesn’t have to be materialistic; a phone call to check up on someone may all be that they need for their spirits to be lifted. Earlier this term, the Faculty of Arts and Design hosted its annual 2019 Staff Recognition and Research Awards. Usually these awards are a way for colleagues to get together to reflect and break bread together and to give thanks. This year the awards were held virtually on Microsoft Teams because of the pandemic. During the online awards ceremony, Drama’s Prof Lutge was named winner of the 2019 Dean’s Individual Award. I also managed to score myself an award [hahaha]. As we continue to fight the coronavirus, let us not forget to adhere to the safety regulations. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, sanitise, wear a cloth face mask and maintain social distancing at all times. Until next semester, stay safe and blessed!

Andile

Editor’s Note

Awards&Honours

Three Fashion students are finalists in the Vodacom Durban July Young Designer Award WAHEEDA PETERS Fashion and Textiles students from the Durban University of Technology (DUT) have clinched three of the top 10 spots at the Vodacom Durban July Young Designer Award presented by Durban Fashion Fair. The students are Silungile Dlamini, Goodness Sithole and Caleb Moodley. The winner will be announced at the end of a virtual fashion show at Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse on 25 August 2020. For Sithole, being part of the VDJ 2020 top 10 feels amazing to her. “I do not even have a proper word I can use to describe such a feeling; it is such a great opportunity to even come this far. As a young designer it is a great exposure,” she said excitedly. Given the theme ‘Butterflies’, the way she conceptualised it helped her with being not literal. “I did not want to give people what they are already expecting: garments with butterflies. I used an off-white calico because it is a natural fabric, and gives a softer feel to the skin, I used a dryer to get that crinkled texture on the fabric and I used felt and beads for the embellishments to bring the fabric back to life with the 2 and 3D effect,” she said. For Moodley, being in the top 10 is an amazing feeling. “When designing the garment, you don’t have to really think much about it, but seeing it on a model and going through the different stages in the competition really hits home, and you come to the realisation that ‘I made this’, I feel thrilled. It is such an awesome experience, and I’m so

glad to be a part of it, having so much of exposure and publicity is really awesome,” he said proudly. DUT’s Fashion and Textiles lecturer Gideon said: “The third-year students had begun a project set by myself using a simple base fabric being calico and allowing handwork and ethical dyeing with natural pigments to elevate the status of the fabric. With this in mind, I felt the VDJ theme of Butterflies suited this approach as butterflies emerge from simple/beige cocoons into a magnificent butterfly. Having to work as I have always done via whatsapp with my students proved easy to communicate their ideas and progress and led to the final creations that were selected to proudly represent DUT at the VDJ 2020.” Being part of the top 10, each finalist receives R2000.The winner will receive R10 000 in cash with the compliments of Schweppes and Gold Circle, a R5000 gift voucher courtesy of Gateway Theatre of Shopping, a Samsung Galaxy S9 and a Kryolan gift voucher valued at R2500. The winner will also be flown to and accommodated in Johannesburg to attend the South African Fashion Week in April 2021. This prize will also include airport transfers, ground transport and meals for a 4-night / 5-day stay.

Awards&Honours

Caleb Moodley with model Pinkie wearing his ensemble.

Silungile Dlamini stands with model, Wataya Desiree.

One of the finalists, Goodness Sithole with her model showcasing her design

Cover Feature

Drama’s Professor Deborah Lutge wins 2019 FoAD Dean’s Individual Award ANDILE DUBE Drama & Production Studies’ Head of Department Professor Deborah Lutge was recently announced as the winner of the Dean’s Individual Award at the 2019 Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Faculty of Arts and Design (FoAD) annual Staff Recognition and Research Awards. The awards took place virtually on online platform, Microsoft Teams because of the coronavirus pandemic. Professor Lutge has been in the arts academia for over three decades. She has contributed immensely to shaping the careers of many past and present students who walk through her door. When you mention her to her former students they sing her praises. This is evident in the fact that Prof Lutge’s former students star in many productions on television and theatre and win top awards in the film and television sphere. Just recently, three of them won awards in major categories at the South African Film & Television Awards (SAFTAs). The FoAD awards celebrate staff members’ contribution to moving the faculty forward. The Dean’s Awards are based on performance and contribution to meeting the faculty’s objectives and university’s strategic projects. In 2017, we interviewed Prof Lutge for our third issue which celebrated women who are doing amazing things in arts academia. That issue was meant to coincide with the country’s commemoration of the 61 years since the women of South Africa marched to the union buildings to protest against pass laws of the time. In that

interview, Prof Lutge said she began lecturing part-time at DUT in April 1989 and took up a permanent post as lecturer from 1 January 1990. When asked why she decided to stay in academia as opposed to being in the acting field, Prof Lutge explained that she enjoyed interacting with young artists, exploring artistic freedom and pushing ground-breaking boundaries. “Lecturing, I believe, should not disconnect you from an industry, but reconnect you in a fresh and dynamic manner, enabling the creator within to combine fresh approaches through research, in order to conceptually expand while straddling the three worlds of inter-disciplinary potential afforded in academia, industry and community engagement. I have for many years been active on all fronts and this ability to embrace the multifaceted spheres of all three worlds has enriched my potential as artist and teacher,” she said. .

Cover Feature

Drama’s Professor Deborah Lutge.

Cover Feature

FoAD holds virtual 2019 Staff Recognition and Research Awards ANDILE DUBE

The Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Faculty of Arts and Design (FoAD) hosted its annual 2019 Staff Recognition and Research awards ceremony online for the first time recently. The awards ceremony was initially planned to take place on 20 March 2020, but because of the current coronavirus pandemic, they were postponed and subsequently held virtually on Microsoft Teams. Speaking at the awards ceremony, FoAD’s Executive Dean, Dr René Smith, said the awards are meant to recognise staff members for the ‘incredible’ work they do in moving the faculty forward. “These awards are not just for members of Faculty Board, but they are for staff members in the Faculty of Arts and Design. We started them about five years ago because we felt it was so important to recognise the work staff members were doing in the faculty. They are also an incredibly important event because the faculty values everybody who is doing their bit to move us forward.” The awards are divided into three sections: the Dean’s Awards, Research Awards and Softcopy Magazine Awards.

Cover Feature

FILE PICTURE: FoAD staff pose for a group picture just before the start of the 2015 awards ceremony.

meeting Faculty’s objectives and University’s strategic projects. The Research Awards are based on research outputs and are coordinated by FoAD’s Research Office and the Softcopy Magazine Awards are voted for by FoAD staff members and coordinated by the Softcopy editor. The Dean’s Awards has 9 categories: Team, Individual, Administration, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Internationalisation, Student Centeredness, Community Engagement and e-Learning. The Department of Drama and Production Studies was one of the top winners, walking away with three awards for Dean’s Student Centeredness Award, Dean’s Team Award and Dean’s Individual Award awarded to the Head of Department, Professor Debbie Lutge. Under the Research Awards, English and Communication’s Programme Coordinator Dr Rachel Matteau-Matsha won Researcher of the Year. Graphic Design’s Professor Rolf Gaede received the Supervisor of the Year Award and Fashion’s Lee Scott got the Creative Output of the Year Award. Commenting on her win, Scott said, “The award made my day! Sitting at home and dealing with all the COVID-19 fallout and impact on teaching and learning,

one tends to get a little low, so receiving the award certainly cheered me up.” The Softcopy Magazine Awards, which have become an exciting fixture of the awards ceremony since being introduced in 2018, has five categories. Academic Support Staff Member of the Year was awarded to Dr Maleshoane RapeaneMathonsi and Ntando Nxumalo, and Academic of the Year went to Dr Chris De Beer and Lyndall Kemm-Stols. Video Technology’s Niresh Singh was named Technician of the Year, while Journalism’s Lindiwe Ntombela won Secretary of the Year, and Best Dressed Staff Member of the Year went to Andile Dube. Recipients of these awards are voted for by other staff members in the faculty. In his vote of thanks remarks, FoAD’s Deputy Dean, Professor Brian Pearce, thanked the Executive Dean for initiating awards. “Dr Smith is an extremely supportive leader who always encourages staff and is proud of their achievements. We are very fortunate to have such a Dean, someone who herself is a creative and innovative person,” he said. Professor Pearce also congratulated the winners, saying he hopes the awards will inspire them to achieve even greater things in the future.

Cover Feature

DEAN’S AWARDS DEAN’S TEAM AWARD Department of Drama and Production Studies DEAN’S INDIVIDUAL AWARD Professor Deborah Lutge DEAN’S ADMINISTRATION AWARD Parveen Randeree DEAN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD Department of Fashion and Textiles DEAN’S INNOVATION AWARD Niresh Singh and The 360-degree Dome Projection Team DEAN’S INTERNATIONALISATION AWARD Department of Fashion and Textiles DEAN’S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AWARD Khaya Mchunu DEAN’S STUDENT CENTREDNESS AWARD Department of Drama and Production Studies DEAN’S e-LEARNING AWARD Maud Blose

RESEARCH AWARDS RESEARCHER OF THE YEAR AWARD Dr Rachel Matteau-Matsha CREATIVE OUTPUT OF THE YEAR AWARD Lee Scott SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR AWARD Prof Rolf Gaede

SOFTCOPY MAGAZINE AWARDS ACADEMIC SUPPORT STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR AWARD (1) Dr Maleshoane Rapeane-Mathonsi ACADEMIC SUPPORT STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR AWARD (2) Ntando Nxumalo ACADEMIC OF THE YEAR AWARD (1) Dr Chris De Beer ACADEMIC OF THE YEAR AWARD (2) Lyndall Elizabeth Kemm TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD Niresh Singh SECRETARY OF THE YEAR AWARD Lindiwe Ntombela BEST DRESSED STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR AWARD Andile Dube

Cover Feature

GRADUATION

YouTuber and Journalism graduand, Mduduzi Dawud Phungula.

Journalism graduand waited three years to study at DUT

Mduduzi Dawud Phungula is ecstatic after successfully completing his National Diploma in Journalism despite having to wait three years to study at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) after completing his matric. Phungula from Inchanga is among DUT students who will be honoured for their academic excellence at the university’s virtual graduation ceremony to be held on, Wednesday 10 June 2020 at midday. “My journey at DUT started in 2017, three years after I matriculated at Siphesihle High School. After matric, I had to work as a full time cashier and radio presenter at my local radio station, Inchanga FM, in order to save money to study Journalism at DUT. I saved enough money to cover my registration fees,” said Phungula. During his first year at DUT, Phungula obtained the Best Youth Radio Initiator

award at the KwaZulu-Natal Young Achievers Awards. After Inchanga FM, he moved to Inanda FM later Ligwalagwala FM as an entertainment contributor. Phungula has also worked at Radio Al Ansaar and Radio DUT as a presenter. He said obtaining his qualification means “light and success” for him and his family as he sees their lives changing for the better. When asked about the plans to further his studies, Phungula said he will definitely do so in the future but at the moment his priority is building a house for his mother. He said he was disappointed when he heard that this year the actual graduation ceremony was virtual due to the outbreak of COVID-19. “I was looking forward to walking on that graduation stage. I was going to take my mother to the ceremony. She has always been there for me; I’m grateful for all the sacrifices she made for me. I wanted to see her tears of joy as i obtains my qualification,” said Phungula. Phungula currently runs his own vernacular entertainment YouTube channel, Dawud TV ZA, focusing on entertainment news in South Africa.

GRADUATION

Journalism’s Nxumalo is first of nine siblings to achieve a tertiary qualification WAHEEDA PETERS Phumelele Nxumalo is the first of her nine siblings to achieve a tertiary qualification.

Journalism’s Phumelele Nxumalo is the first of her nine siblings to achieve a tertiary qualification. Nxumalo will obtain her National Diploma in Journalism at the Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) Virtual Graduation ceremony on Wednesday, 10 June 2020. “I was at my weakest, but as soon as an opportunity for me to further my studies presented itself, I never looked back. Every time when the going got tough, I would look back at that time in my life, when nothing was coming together and I would tell myself that, ‘giving up is not an option, you have come a long way to let this slip through your hands’. That kept me focused and moving forward,” said the elated graduand. Her achievement is a reflection of the fact that everyone’s timeline is different. “The key is to be kind to your journey and trust God’s timing because it is never wrong. The worst thing one can do to themselves is to compare their journey to that of the next person,” she said. Growing up, Nxumalo lost her mother at the tender age of 10, so she has always been daddy’s little girl. “To say that my father was proud of me when he heard that I would be

the first of his nine children to obtain a university qualification would be an understatement. He was so looking forward to the occasion, so much so that he wanted to buy a brand new suit to wear on the day,” she chuckled. To some extent, the idea of a virtual graduation did not sit well with her, as she was looking forward to walking up to the podium, in her graduation gown, to receive her qualification. “Not having a physical graduation has impacted me negatively. Every student looks forward to their graduation day, as it marks the achievement that comes with all the hard work and sleepless nights as a student. However, I understand the situation in hand and, I am actually grateful that my institution is even planning this for us in the midst of all the craziness brought upon by this pandemic,” said Nxumalo.

GRADUATION

Ukhozi FM news presenter, Cassandra Zungu.

Ukhozi FM news presenter, Cassandra Zungu will graduate at DUT

She further stated that she was proud of herself for successfully completing her BTech despite her busy schedule. Explaining how her journey at DUT began, Zungu recalled her mother’s words: “your stubbornness served you well”. She stated that she joined DUT in 2012 after being rejected the previous year for sending her application late.

UKHOZI FM’s current affairs presenter and producer, Ms Cassandra Zungu, is one of the Durban University of Technology (DUT) students who will graduate at DUT’s Virtual Graduation ceremony to be held online on 10 June at 12pm.

“I completed my matric in 2010 but my application to DUT Journalism was unsuccessful due to late submission. I took a gap year so I can apply in time for the 2012 intake. My family didn’t understand why I didn’t study something else. They were afraid of seeing me unemployed with a qualification. We had several disagreements. They would even ask me who would employ me with this kind of qualification. My love for journalism started when I was a little girl when my mother used to buy me books to read; that is where I grew the love for storytelling,” said Zungu.

Zungu, who comes from Lindizwe village in Nongoma, will be obtaining her BTech in Journalism.

She claims with time she finally won her family over and she appreciates them for allowing her to follow her own path.

SIMANGELE ZUMA

She is excited about gaining her second qualification from DUT, which she had to put on hold for a few years due to financial problems. “I completed my BTech four years after I received my Diploma in Journalism. I had to put it on hold due to finances, and it was a good feeling to finally complete it. I’m considering studying further next year,” said Zungu.

GRADUATION

From left to right : Slindokuhle Kumalo, Tashlan Naidoo, Simphiwe Makhanya and Taresh Harreeparshad

SABC News team to graduate at DUT SIMANGELE ZUMA AND WAHEEDA PETERS Five South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) news producers/ presenters will be once again obtaining their qualifications at the Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) 2020 Virtual Graduation ceremony on Wednesday, 10 June 2020 at midday. Leading the team is Hoosen Ebrahim, who will be obtaining his Master’s Degree in Journalism. The other four journalists are Slindokuhle Kumalo, Tashlan Naidoo, Simphiwe Makhanya and Taresh Harreeparshad, who will be obtaining their BTechs in Journalism. Ebrahim, who is a producer and presenter at SABC Radio News Durban, said he sees this achievement as what would ultimately steer him into the lecturing environment where he hopes to be in his career. Speaking on her academic journey is the dynamic and charismatic Slindokuhle Khumalo, currently a current affairs producer on Ukhozi FM. For her, balancing work and school was the most challenging, and there were times when her classes clashed with her work, which meant she had to play catch up.

Also, last year was election year which was a hectic period for her. During that period, she missed a lot of course work and catching up meant sleepless nights. Current Affairs Producer and Presenter on Lotus FM, Tashlan Naidoo said his journey at DUT had been fruitful. “My time at DUT was fun. I loved meeting new people from so many different walks of life. I spent a lot of time hanging out with them, doing our assignments. City campus was really small, and I saw the same people doing the same things every day. It was however a great environment to not get too carried away, even though in my first year I spent more time in Papa Joe’s than campus,” said Naidoo. KwaZulu-Natal based television reporter, Simphiwe Makhanya said his second qualification with DUT comes 10 years later after completing his National Diploma in Journalism in 2010. He said he joined the SABC as an intern in 2010 and has been with the organization since then. Makhanya said he was grateful to DUT for giving him an opportunity to make his dream of becoming a journalist come true. Taresh Harreeparshad, who is currently the Producer/Presenter of Newsbreak Talk on Lotus FM, said graduating at DUT once again has been a rewarding experience of his life since his first graduation was in 2007 when he obtained his National Diploma in Journalism.

SEMINARS

Opportunities and challenges in the Creative industries during COVID-19 SOFTCOPY REPORTER The creative and cultural industries will be some of the industries financially hit the hardest because of the coronavirus pandemic said Senior Lecturer and past Head of the Department of Video Technology at Durban University of Technology, Dr Cary Burnett. Dr Burnett was speaking at the Faculty of Arts and Design webinar held on 18 June 2020, titled Opportunities and Challenges in the Creative Industries during the COVID-19. She said, “Under the banner of the creative industries, we are talking about filmmakers, designers, artists, and practitioners, everybody who contributes to the creative sector So that includes people who are directly involved in the creative sector, for example an actor, dancer, screen writer, and people who work for a creative company but not in a creative role, for example an accountant who works for a film production company.” Cultural industries, Dr Burnett, said referred to museums, galleries, and tourism. She said, “We all know that lockdown has been devastating for the global economy as well as the South African economy. The creative industries are a very important part of South African economy. A study in 2018 showed that the creative and cultural industries contributed 1.7% to South Africa’s economy. When we think that agriculture contributes 2%, that’s the next level up. We are a very important sector.”

Dr Burnett said there are plenty of jobs that rely on the creative sector in order to survive, and when this sector suffers, they are also affected. “We must also remember that there are jobs that swell around the periphery of the creative sector. For instance if a film is in production, things like the hire of toilets for use on location will increase, catering services, spin-off tourism, hotel bookings, so the extended effect of the creative industries is quite large.” She noted that because it is not known how long the pandemic will last and when the economy will fully reopen, creative industries are already hard-hit. ‘Part of that is by virtue of the work in the industry. We are in the era of the gig economy were the old fashioned fulltime jobs with benefits is a thing of the past. Particularly in the creative industries, we see people being taken on for a project and let go after the project is over. In South Africa, film -for example- is not unionised, and other creative industries are not unionised and there tends to be a lot of part-time, casual and freelance work. So these are the kind of people that are hardest hit and least protected,” said Dr Burnett.

SEMINARS

DUT Video Technology’s Senior Lecturer, Dr Cary Burnett.

SEMINARS

Decolonising Entrepreneurship in the SADC Region WAHEEDA PETERS

The two panelists at the webinar were DUT Fashion lecturer Tando Mbanga and Advocate Tšeli Khiba from law firm, Webber Newdigate in Lesotho.

Advocate Khiba focused on the cannabis industry. She first began working within the local (Lesotho) medicinal cannabis industry in 2016 and has worked with various companies, entrepreneurs, public interest groups and law and policy makers. She was recently appointed to serve on the African Union’s Expert Committee on Cannabis, which will explore a harmonised and progressive approach to the cannabis industry.

She spoke on the government’s call to decolonise and the reasons why institutions need to decolonise. She said that colonised education is believed to have robbed Africans of ideas, skills, creativity and knowledge.

Her current research and work focuses on international trade and investment law, the emerging cannabis industry-particularly within the African context-legislative drafting and regional integration.

“Decolonisation by means of education is by addressing what the colonised education created which is no longer applicable in the current times and going towards the future,” she said. She stressed that decolonising in the higher education context means it involves substitution or eradicating of any colonised education and its practices to a curriculum content that considers indigenous knowledge, experience and world view that would meet the current social needs. Mbanga said there is a need for an entrepreneurship education, and the purpose being is that it should communicate knowledge and information required for setting and running a business successfully, as well as stimulate entrepreneurial attitudes, and develop entrepreneurial skills and abilities.

“I am looking at ways in which by supporting the business of cannabis we will be able to decolonise entrepreneurship in the SADC region. To begin with, the industry of cannabis is deeply rooted with racism in colonialism. It has been basically the way that the current international law is structured, which is not evidence-based and is very oppressive in the development and the use of this plant. We need to look at challenging the present, international drug-control framework, seek to commercialise aspects of traditional knowledge and challenge popularised anticannabis notions,” she said.

The Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Faculty of Arts and Design (FoAD) hosted a webinar on Decolonising Entrepreneurship in the SADC Region, on Microsoft Teams recently.

SEMINARS

DUT Fashion lecturer Tando Mbanga.

Advocate Tšeli Khiba.

ALUMNI

Tayla Horn talks how the Emma Smith Art Scholarship Award helped her achieve her dream NKOSINGIPHILE DLADLA In 2017, Tayla Horn from the Fashion and Textiles department was named the Emma Smith Art Scholarship Award winner. Horn was part of the nine students from the Faculty of Arts and Design that were competing for the R50 000 scholarship prize which can be used for various things to advance the winner’s career. When introduced in 1920 by KwaZulu-Natal sugar industryagnate Sir Charles Smith and named after his mother, Smith’s endowment was made in appreciation of the work of visionary Art School Head, John Adams. The original intention of the scholarship was to allow winners to go overseas to study. The award has been extended to include a variety of purposes or projects proposed by the candidates. These include community-based workshops, further study in South Africa or the African continent, and/or solo exhibitions. The competition is open to students from the full range of design, visual and performing arts programmes offered at DUT. Members of the judging panel are drawn from leading practitioners in the various disciplines, nominated by heads of department. From the outset, when Horn joined the long list of recipients of the prestigious Emma Smith Art Scholarship Award, she was adamant that she wanted to use her winnings towards her tuition fees at Central Saint Martins, which is a world-famous arts and design College in London. Three years later, she is currently studying at Central Saint Martins

doing her second year of her Master of Arts in Material Futures Degree – an interdisciplinary course where design, technology and science are combined. She said, “The Emma Smith Art Scholarship is an incredibly prestigious award that provides the necessary financial support as well as the encouragement to realise one’s creative vision. I will always be eternally grateful for this award because it gave me the start I needed to pursue my masters at Central Saint Martins.” Horn’s journey to Central Saint Martins hasn’t been easy. In 2018, before she could enrol at the esteemed institution, a large portion of her tuition funding fell through, which meant that she couldn’t proceed. However, she didn’t let that discourage her. She looked for a job, which she managed to find. That is how she saved for the amount she needed, and in 2019 was accepted again, and she was able to register. “These challenges made me realise the importance of perseverance. At times it is tough to come to terms with the fact that there is no seamless path to any goal. My advice to anyone would be that there are always going to be times where you may be the only person who believes in your dream that is enough – you don’t need to convince or explain it to anyone else,” she said. After completing her Master’s degree, Horn plans on pursuing a PhD because she believes that research and practice are disciplines that when combined both compliment and extend one another.

ALUMNI

Tayla Horn is currently doing a Masters Degree at Central Saint Martins in the UK.

ALUMNI

Journalism’s Lizeka Maduna publishes her first book titled Regards The Wife NKOSINGIPHILE DLADLA Durban University of Technology’s Journalism alumna and former journalist at The Daily Vox, Lizeka Maduna, has added published author to her accomplishments. The 27-year-old has written and published her first book titled, ‘Regards, The Wife’. Maduna’s self-published book, which hit the shelves earlier this year, is based on her life’s observations as a young black woman from a small rural town of uMzimkhulu in KwaZuluNatal. “The book is based on a myriad of topics, including culture, marriage, extramarital affairs and patriarchy. Although it doesn’t go deep or reflects a one-size-fit-all kind of a narrative, it does portray life as we know it. The aim of the book is to evoke conversations about contemporary life and what is happening around us,” she explains. Reading African literature, especially books written by black females, about black women, for black women is what inspired Maduna to write a book. She explains that it all started as a blog which she would update whenever she had time on her hands or wanted to clear her head. After receiving positive feedback from people who read her work, she realised that she had talent. Maduna’s journey to writing a book started in 2017, and wasn’t an easy one because of the complexities the book addresses. She said, “In the years I have spent as a journalist, one of the hardest things for me has been pulling myself away from the story in order to maintain objectivity and report without being biased. So, even

with writing this book, there were times when I’d feel my anxiety skyrockets because it’s in nature to become human first before you’re a writer. In this case, I was a woman before I am a writer, and that was the hardest part. But it was a journey worth embarking on, and I’m really proud of myself, although it still overwhelms me each time I think about it.” Maduna, who graduated with a Bachelor of Technology Degree in Journalism in 2017 says her background is what motivated her to study journalism so she could tell stories of her people. “I come from a community where the future of young people has always been very grim due to various factors, including lack of quality education, where a girl or a woman’s place was always thought to be in the kitchen. A part of me was driven by the stories from my community that never made it to the media.” Maduna currently lives in China where she works as teacher. Her book is available via PEP Delivery and available for purchase as an e-book on Amazon.

ALUMNI

Maduna’s first book, ‘Regards The wife’ tells stories of black women.

NEW FACES

FoAD NEW FACES

Clare Craighead Drama and Production Studies Department Prior to joining DUT, Clare at worked on contract between 2002 – 2018 at UKZN, primarily in the Drama and Performance Studies Programme, Media and Cultural Studies Programme as well as the Gender Studies Programme. She holds an MA degree in Drama and Performance Studies from UKZN. She has published in Critical Arts, South African Theatre Journal, South African Dance Journal and Agenda: A Journal of Feminist Media. She is also regularly a peer reviewer for both South African Theatre Journal and Agenda. Her research interests include sitespecific performance, performance art, Feminist theatre and performance, (South African) contemporary dance and choreography, the body (in performance), body modification, gender and sexuality, and more recently, she has begun to explore cyborg theatre and techno-feminisms. Clare additionally has longstanding placements as external examiner and moderator at Embury Institute for Teacher Training (particularly for the “Education and Diversity” stream) as well as for UKZN’s Drama and Performance Studies Programme, University of Pretoria’s Drama Department and UCT’s Centre for Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies. She is involved immediately in community and outreach. Clare is also involved as part of the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience organisation and delivery team. She has variously held positions of festival manager, production manager and many other roles.

NEW FACES

Kiara Gounder

Department of Fashion and Textiles Kiara Gounder is a South African based creative and fashion designer. She has been lecturing at the Department of Fashion and Textiles at the Durban University of Technology from 2015. Kiara completed her Master of Applied Arts: Fashion in 2019. Her research interests include digital fashion, fashion artefacting and 3D prototyping.

NEW FACES

Nkosenhle Phiwokwakhe Mthembu Department of Fashion & Textiles

Nkosenhle is a Specialist Computer Technician in the Department of Fashion & Textiles. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Information Science and various other certificates in IT. Nkosenhle has previously worked as an IT lab administrator & blackboard system administrator at Mangosuthu University of Technology. junior customer engineer in CEB Maintenance, desktop support technician at the University of Zululand, senior computer lab assistant also at the University of Zululand and as Part Time IT Support Technician at Durban University’s Writing Centre. His future plans include pursing a Post Graduate Diploma in Information Technology Management.

NEW FACES

Nomonde Peter

Department of Fashion and Textiles Nomonde received her Master’s degree in Technology (Entrepreneurship) from DUT in 2002 and Master of Education (Higher Education Teaching and Learning) from UKZN in 2019. Just after finishing her National Diploma in 1997, Nomonde joined Walter Sisulu University (previously known as Eastern Cape Technikon) as a junior lecturer in the Fashion Design department and climbed the ladder to be a senior lecturer. She has served in numerous academic committees of the university and leadership positions including being the programme coordinator. Nomonde has been an external examiner and moderator for BTech Fashion in Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Her research interest is situated in the field of education and technology, with a special focus on Fashion Education (teaching and learning). In her research, she used the Technology Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework, which incorporates the growing demand of the use of technology for teaching and learning, which sets up both fashion education as well as fashion students for the future.

NEW FACES

Zizipho Mdletye

Media, Language and Communication Department: English and Communication Zizipho is a lecturer in the department of Media, Language and Communication. She has industry experience in Public Relations and has worked in the private and public higher education sector, lecturing a variety of modules to undergraduate as well as postgraduate students. The modules she has presented include corporate communication, communication science, media studies, critical studies, and research practice. Zizipho is also passionate about youth development and has participated in youth development projects that are specifically aimed at preparing matriculants for institutions of higher learning. Qualifications: MA (UP), PGDHE (The IIE), BA Honours (NMU), BA (NMU).