UCT ‘change-agents’ awarded Kader Asmal Fellowships

As South Africa prepares to draw the curtain on Women’s Month, a University of Cape Town (UCT) all-women quartet will make their way to Dublin, Ireland, as beneficiaries of the Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme (KAFP) – a fitting close to the institution’s celebration of women.

The KAFP supports South African students, who complete a one-year postgraduate programme in Ireland, part of Ireland’s programme of development cooperation in South Africa. The programme addresses a number of critical skills shortages in South Africa and is particularly focussed on students from marginalised communities.

The UCT contingent who are about to embark on year-long master’s programmes in different fields are Cayla Zukiswa Jack, honours graduate in financial analysis and portfolio management; Elizabeth Visser, honours graduate in historical studies and research assistant to Associate Professor Adam Mendelsohn; Bronwyn April, social development honours graduate and career development advisor at UCT’s Careers Service; and Aisha Hamdulay.

Ahead of the trip to Europe, UCT News caught up with two members of the team, who shared their plans.

Incredible opportunity

Jack considers her upcoming learning journey as an experience of a lifetime, one that she can barely wait to start.

She will complete her MSc in strategic management and planning at University College Dublin. She said the fellowship, named in honour of the late anti-apartheid activist and former minister of education, Professor Kader Asmal, will underpin her sense of servant-leadership.

“I feel honoured to be part of this group of young leaders who want to contribute towards the upliftment of our country in various fields.”

“I feel honoured to be part of this group of young leaders who want to contribute towards the upliftment of our country in various fields.”

“I look forward to absorbing every growth opportunity and returning to South Africa as a competent, confident change-agent who strives to be an exemplary leader for young women,” Jack said.

Grace gift

A grace gift. That’s how Visser describes the fellowship – an opportunity to broaden her horizons and alter her perception on life in general.

“This fellowship makes sure that all that is left for the fellows to do is to show up, work hard and give back.”

Visser will complete her MPhil in international peace studies at Trinity College in Dublin. She said the fellowship includes accommodation, tuition, textbooks and flights to and from Dublin.

“This fellowship makes sure that all that is left for the fellows to do is to show up, work hard and give back,” Visser said.

Her academic programme will be a one-year interdisciplinary course in Trinity College’s Irish School of Ecumenics, a department dedicated to studying and promoting dialogue, peace and reconciliation. Further, it analyses and researches the causes and consequences of war and conflict and looks at the complex way violence affects people and societies.

“I feel like I’ve really grown a lot during my time in Cape Town and particularly at UCT. In the coming year, I am really looking forward to testing the toolkit I’ve built and to tackling the challenges of my new environment,” Visser said.

On her return home, Visser hopes to contribute new, innovative and humane perspectives to various studies and conversations on reconciliation and human rights.