Dr Premie Naicker is one of The Da Vinci Institute’s Doctoral alumni, the Managing Director of FuseForward, and she serves as one of the members of The Da Vinci Institute’s council – offering her expert advice towards driving the strategy of The Institute.   Please provide us with a brief overview of your career to date.  My career spans over 25 years in IT and People Development. I have managed a few multinational software and IT companies in Sub-Saharan Africa. My current position is Managing Director at FuseForward (which is an AWS partner). In addition, I am also the Executive Director of an NGO called Computer Aid International.    What prompted your decision to become one of The Institute’s council members?  I am an alumnus of The Da Vinci Institute, and it is an honour that I now am one of the council members. Being a council member gives me…

Marlenie Moodley’s academic journey ensured her remarkable mould – it sharpened Marlenie’s critical thinking and sounded her unique voice. Today she tells her story…   Marlenie is a focused, curious, and disciplined individual, who works hard at her goals. It is these attributes that contributed to her attainment of her Master’s degree. Marlenie singles out her “flexibility and self-motivation” to have helped her through this journey.   When asked to describe how her academic undertaking was, Marlenie says the past two years for her have been a challenge and adds that all the “stress and pressure is overwhelming – balancing being a new mom, wife, having a full-time job and being a part-time student. Every now and then, there were times when quitting seemed easier than continuing.” Marlenie did not quit, however, and her resilience is paying off. Her robust nature is largely linked to her working experiences, which span two…

Dr Premie Naicker is one of The Da Vinci Institute’s Doctoral alumni, the Managing Director of FuseForward, and she serves as one of the members of The Da Vinci Institute’s council – offering her expert advice towards driving the strategy of The Institute.   Please provide us with a brief overview of your career to date.  My career spans over 25 years in IT and People Development. I have managed a few multinational software and IT companies in Sub-Saharan Africa. My current position is Managing Director at FuseForward (which is an AWS partner). In addition, I am also the Executive Director of an NGO called Computer Aid International.    What prompted your decision to become one of The Institute’s council members?  I am an alumnus of The Da Vinci Institute, and it is an honour that I now am one of the council members. Being a council member gives me…

Marlenie Moodley’s academic journey ensured her remarkable mould – it sharpened Marlenie’s critical thinking and sounded her unique voice. Today she tells her story…   Marlenie is a focused, curious, and disciplined individual, who works hard at her goals. It is these attributes that contributed to her attainment of her Master’s degree. Marlenie singles out her “flexibility and self-motivation” to have helped her through this journey.   When asked to describe how her academic undertaking was, Marlenie says the past two years for her have been a challenge and adds that all the “stress and pressure is overwhelming – balancing being a new mom, wife, having a full-time job and being a part-time student. Every now and then, there were times when quitting seemed easier than continuing.” Marlenie did not quit, however, and her resilience is paying off. Her robust nature is largely linked to her working experiences, which span two…

Claudette Saygran: The Woman and Her Work    Our chat with Claudette Saygran – The Da Vinci Institute Master’s degree alumnus     A trending topic both locally and abroad, within and outside corporate structures, relates to gender equality and the empowerment of women. Gender parity is fundamental to growing economies and creating business competitiveness. There is a strong sense, however, that the pace to accelerate gender equality is slow-moving. This area of interest has been a key research domain for Da Vinci Master’s alumnus Claudette Saygran, who used her razor-sharp intellect and experience in the banking sector to explore the low representation of women in senior management positions in the banking sector.   The title of her research is: Barriers to the career progression of women into senior leadership positions within a selected South African Bank. This study, as its title suggests and along with Claudette’s elucidation, explores the challenges that…

Sihle Mbabane is one of The Da Vinci Institute’s remarkable students, completing the Higher Certificate in the Management of Technology and Innovation, with elective modules in New Venture Creation (NVC). This programme has various parts such as, The Business Simulation, Mentorship, Academic Performance, and the TIPS framework. Sihle came up tops in the Business Simulation segment, landing him the status of top achiever for the 2020/2021 Business Simulation Single Player.  (Image supplied)  We sat down with him and had a brief chat about his background and student experience, as well as his hopes for the future.    Tell us about yourself and your background.  I am Sihle Mbabane from Carletonville in the Rand West District, and I am 26 years old. I completed my matric in 2014. The following year, in 2015 I started my small fast-food business selling bunny chows (Kotas). That was to last until the year 2017,…