Two postgraduate students of the University of the Free State (UFS) have been granted the Department of Science and Innovation Esther Mahlangu Master’s Fellowship.
Thandokuhle Gama and Anele Mthembu were honoured at this year’s Women in Science Awards (Sawisa), hosted by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) in Mbombela on 15 August.
The fellowship, worth R75 000, can be used to cover their tuition fees; or to enhance academic programmes by covering the costs of attending conferences, or specialised research materials and equipment required to complete their degrees.
Gama is a Master of Medical Science student with specialisation in Pharmacology, while Mthembu is working on her master’s degree in Disaster Management in the Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa (Dimtec).
They were chosen from 25 finalists, who included professors and doctors, and are scientists and researchers who are regarded as role models for younger women, and who encourage those who are starting out to continue in Stem-related careers.
The Esther Mahlangu Master’s Fellowship is awarded to women scientists and researchers who are pursuing their master’s or doctoral studies and already hold scholarships from the National Research Foundation (NRF) or other DSI agencies.
The prestigious accolade honours the exceptional contributions of women to science, technology, engineering, mathematics and innovation (Stemi).
The department named the fellowship after Dr Esther Mahlangu, recognising this world-renowned South African artist. She is known for her bold, large-scale contemporary paintings that reference her Ndebele heritage.
Gama was nominated by Innocensia Mangoato, lecturer in the UFS Department of Pharmacology and a previous winner. Gama is doing research on medicinal plants that are used in traditional medicine to treat diabetes.
Mthembu was nominated by her mentor, Dr Tlou Daisy Raphela-Masuku, a lecturer at Dimtec. She is working on her master’s thesis on the integration of risk-informed development (RID) and nature-based solutions (NbS) into sustainable human settlements in the eThekwini Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal.
