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Women’s Month: Lecturers
At Belgium Campus our lecturers are dedicated and passionate about providing our students with a top IT education so that they can go on to do incredible things within the IT field. We would love to introduce you to all of them, however that would require us to write a book, so in celebration of Women’s Month we have chosen to introduce you to four of our astounding female lecturers: Anila Mundackal, Matildah Chiruka Siakola, Cindy Delport and Privilege Charmaine Tavagwisa.
Privilege Charmaine Tavagwisa has been a lecturer at Belgium Campus for 7 years. She is a senior lecturer at the ITversity and she teaches operations research, hardware programming and mathematics, but her role does not stop here. “I believe I have various roles on the campus. I am a mother figure for some, a sister, a friend and then a lecturer of course. On a good day, I still dream of changing the world,” she says.
Ms. Tavagwisa believes that although the IT field is still male-dominated a lot of strides are being made to deal with the imbalance. “The future is female! IT may be described by some as difficult but it’s not impossible. Practice makes perfect,” she comments.
She sees Women’s Month as an opportunity to reflect on the future we desire for the upcoming generations of women. “It also gives me a chance to reflect on the impact various females have had in my upbringing too,” she shares. She believes that the empowerment of women will lead to a just and equitable world.
“My greatest passion is bringing knowledge, understanding and growth to people through lecturing. I enjoy helping people to build confidence in themselves through knowledge sharing, with the end goal of strengthening their goals and eventually helping them to achieve them,” shares Matildah Chiruka Siakola, an operations research, statistics and mathematics lecturer at Belgium Campus.
Ms. Siakola has been lecturing at Belgium Campus for 9 years. She describes herself as an old soul who reinstated in this lifetime to return to her passion, the world of numbers.
“I was born in the age of disco, afros and bellbottoms. I grew up with the works of mathematicians and behaviorists like Archimedes, Einstein and Ivan Pavlov,” she shares. Ms. Siakola sees Women’s Month as an opportunity to appreciate the greatness of all women who take on the role of mother, whether it be to their own children or to any young person that looks up to them. “It is a month where we rejoice and appreciate the work women do to nurture the future generations,” she says. She believes anything is possible if one does not lose sight of their objective and what they want to become.
Anila Mundackal describes herself as a working woman and proud mother of two boys. She is proud to be a woman because of the many roles women take on. “A woman can play many roles in her life; a daughter, a friend, a wife, a mother, a career-driven individual, an adviser and even a role model,” she says. She views every month as Women’s Month and feels that women should receive constant recognition for both their sacrifices and their achievements.
Ms. Mundackal has been lecturing at Belgium Campus for 6 years. She is a senior lecturer for programming subjects.
“Today’s children are tomorrow’s future. Here at Belgium Campus, I am moulding the future IT leaders and thinkers,” she shares.
She believes that there is a place for women in IT and if given the opportunity women excel within the IT field. “ICT requires a lot of creativity and out of the box thinking and women are especially good at that. There is a lot of demand in the corporate world for soft skills and programming and thus I think there is a place for women in the ICT field,” she comments.
Cindy Delport is the Deputy Head Lecturer at Belgium Campus, she has worked at the ITversity for 10 years. She chose to pursue a career in IT because of the many possibilities the field offers. “I always wanted to pursue an area of study that would give me options to discover my passion in life. IT gave me the starting point as it is a diverse field that is integrated into almost all other careers,” she says. Ms. Delport holds a Diploma in Information Technology as well as a Bachelor of Education degree. She worked as a developer and as a SQL programmer before discovering her love for the field of education
“I have had the opportunity to work with a diverse set of people in and out of the classroom. I enjoy the human interaction and getting to know a variety of people and helping them achieve their goals,” she comments.
Ms. Delport sees Women’s Month as a time to acknowledge how far women’s rights have progressed, to celebrate the contributions women have made to society and to emphasize areas where change still needs to occur. She believes that increasing the number of women in the IT field will prove beneficial. “IT has always been a male-dominated field but more women have started choosing IT as a career path. As with everything in life, I believe a healthy balance will only serve to enhance the progress within this field,” she says.
Surani Schoeman sees Women’s Month as a time to celebrate the progress women have made and the women who made it possible. She believes that society has come a long way but that women still have many challenges to overcome, especially in a field like IT. “I think women who are recognised in the field of IT had to work really hard to get there. Even though there are a lot of opportunities from companies that are trying to address the gender gap, we still have a long way to go. The decision to go into a career in IT starts at a school level and I don’t think enough women are encouraged to take subjects where they will learn more about IT.”
Ms Schoeman has been a lecturer at Belgium Campus for 4 years and teaches mostly mathematics subjects. “There are a lot of things I enjoy about my job, but I think the thing that I enjoy most is when a student tells me that they appreciate everything I’ve done to help them,” she shares. Her advice for anyone considering a career in IT, “It’s not an easy road to follow for anyone, but in the end, it is definitely worth it. A career in IT opens a lot of doors for both men and women.”
“I love the ‘aha’ moments when I help a student understand a concept they were having difficulty with. The love and respect I receive from students is also very rewarding,”Evangelistars Shayamano answered when asked what she enjoys most about her job.
Ms Shayamano has been a lecturer at Belgium Campus for 4 years. She teaches programming and believes that if given the chance, women are the best programmers.
“I consider women to be thoughtful, creative and hardworking, all necessary characteristics for the development of great solutions to a given problem domain,” she shares.
Born, bred and educated in Zimbabwe, Ms Shayamano shares that as a girl child opportunities did not present themselves as often as she would have liked. “I had to work hard and learn a lot on my own to earn the skills I have. I have always believed that if opportunities don’t readily present themselves, you need to be ready to chase after them or create your own!”
