Dr. Eric Bakama recently received his PhD in Quality Engineering, becoming the first person to achieve this qualification in South Africa and Africa. Introduced in 2022, the programme is exclusively offered at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). At 28, Dr. Bakama focused his thesis on designing a framework that integrates Quality and Education 4.0 to create a robust higher education system in South Africa.
“My PhD primarily involved quality engineering through Quality 4.0 in the higher education sector via smart education. I aimed to see if we could create a more robust system. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed vulnerabilities in our education system, especially in how we conduct classes. We questioned how students in remote areas could learn and how instructors accustomed to traditional contact classes would adapt to digital learning and new industrial technologies. This made me question the robustness of our education,” Dr. Bakama explained.
The programme was introduced by the Department of Quality and Operations Management in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (FEBE) to fill a gap in postgraduate qualifications in quality engineering. “There were postgraduate qualifications in quality management at UJ, DUT, and CPUT. The Masters in Quality Engineering existed at CPUT, but there was a need and demand for a PhD qualification in this field. We consulted with various stakeholders and decided to develop this qualification jointly with the Department of Industrial Engineering,” explained Professor Nita Sukdeo, who supervised Dr. Bakama’s PhD.
Dr. Bakama added that this qualification would enable him to further train students to be highly skilled and employable after graduation. “By embracing Education 4.0 and the fourth industrial revolution with its technology and tools, we can improve the overall quality of education. Despite the robustness of our education system, we can still improve it by addressing real-life problems of employability, skill base, and curriculum. The 4.0 learner uses technology to enhance their future prospects, which is what the education sector should aim for as we move into the 4IR.”
Starting his journey at UJ in 2014 as a student, Dr. Bakama eventually became a tutor and then a lecturer in the department. He hopes this PhD qualification at UJ will open doors for future collaborations with other African universities, putting the continent on the map and attracting global talent. “This qualification can open career opportunities and can be combined with other degrees to add more value. The field is still new, and research will play a key role in its development.”
“I am so proud of Dr. Bakama’s achievements, as I have been part of his amazing academic journey. He has brought new insights into the use of technology and AI in higher education and has published several papers in this discipline,” said Prof. Sukdeo.
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