The University of Johannesburg (UJ) continues to strive for excellence amongst its staff and students and this pursuit has been recognised in the 2018 edition of the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans. Each year the Mail & Guardian newspaper profiles interesting and talented young people who are excelling in their respective fields and possess the ability to shape South Africa’s future.
UJ’s six outstanding individuals (both alumni and academics) who featured in the 2018 Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans include:
Zamansele Nsele: Lecturer at UJ
32-year-old year old Zamansele Nsele, Lecturer at the Faculty of Arts Design and Architecture just completed her PhD dissertation in art history and visual culture. She addressed post-apartheid nostalgia on contemporary art in her dissertation and is currently beginning to lecture the world on her art expertise.
Zamansele presented her work at the Vanderbilt and Rutgers Universities in the USA, the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom and The University of Ghana in Accra .She has been a guest speaker and lectured in various renowned universities and art conferences across the world.
“In my writing I strive to connect art practice to current national’s questions for instance my latest article is on landscape art and the land questions.” She is a proud first generation University graduate who has come a long way and a valuable asset to the University of Johannesburg.
Sanele Lukhele: Lecturer at UJ
Sanele Lukhele is an inspiration to aspiring nurses across South Africa and an excellent example of a leader in the nursing profession. She is not only one of UJ’s esteemed lecturers at the department of nursing but also the co-founder of the South African nursing students association
Lukhele comes from a family of nurses and inspiration came to her from their passion for nursing and the experiences they shared about working with patients. In 2014, she was elected as the first black chairperson of the nursing sciences house committee and a year later she co-founded the SANSA a non-profit organisation aimed at bringing together nursing students countrywide in order to improve the image of nursing in South Africa.
Deborah Mutemwa: UJ Alumnus and co-founder of Tumboscott
Deborah Mutemwa (27) is the Co-founder and director of Tumboscott, an all-black, female and youth owned legal consultancy that provides legal services to companies and individuals.
She Completed LLB and LLM at the University of Johannesburg passing the latter with a distinction in business and human rights. She also holds a diploma from the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute.
She was chairperson of the of the Leadership Network corporate social investment committee at Webber Wentzel, A renowned South African Law firm. She also worked at the Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr in Public law and Litigation before she joined the Constitutional court and did Clerking under justice Khampepe. She also worked under WENOSA (Women’s Empowerment Network of South Africa) and handled its sponsorship portfolios.
“My biggest struggle was finding a seat at tables of relevance, where my presence is welcome, my intelligence seen as valid and my contributions valued”. Through Tumbscott, Deborah Mutemwa seeks to level the playing field by giving small business access to high quality legal services. Tumboscott was the result of her passion for Human rights and business and how these two can be used together to better the life of ordinary South Africans.
Jade Bowers (30): Theatre director, Producer and Designer, UJ
Jade Bowers, aged 30 is the production manager for the University of Johannesburg Arts & Culture. Bowers plays a vital role in helping individuals to tell their stories and discover their hidden talents. She has used her position to create/ pave way for other upcoming artists, which is what drives her to produce great stage shows.
Her talents have earned her the 2016 Standard Bank young artist for theatre award, and she was also named as one of South Africa’s young achievers by the Presidency as part of the 2016 Youth Day celebrations.
In addition to working at the University of Johannesburg, she runs her own production company – Jade Bowers Design & management, which directs designs and production, manages for the stage. With her current show Jungfrau, adapted from a short story by Mary Watson, Bowers was commissioned to create the show for the ‘Festival Theatreformen’ in Germany where it made debut in June, which she then brought to this year’s national Arts festival as part of the main programme and to the Con Cowan theatre in Johannesburg.
Dr. Lisa Otto (30): Senior Researcher and Lecturer, UJ
Dr. Lisa Otto, also a UJ alumnus and is currently a Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Johannesburg in Maritime Security. Upon completion of her doctorate, she joined Coventry University where she taught on the world’s only masters in Maritime Security.
Alongside that she forms part of a small body of researchers and scholars globally who work in this emerging and multi- disciplinary field; an even smaller portion of which are women and smaller yet, women from Africa and the developing world. Having spent most of her years abroad, she decided to come back to south in the year 2017 to put her unique skills set to work here. Amongst many other things her work took her to the University of Greenwich for visiting research, and later the international maritime organisation (The United Nations maritime agency) where she had observer status.
Itumeleng Mkhovha (29): UJ Alumnus and Associate at Baker `& McKenzie International
Itumeleng Mukhova, aged 29 is a corporate attorney in Baker & McKenzie International’s mergers and acquisitions division in Johannesburg. She obtained her LLB and LLM degrees from the University of Johannesburg. Along with that, she has gone on to complete short courses like the African Political economy: The African Economic Challenge from the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership institute, a short course certificate in Constitutional Law from BCA Training and a short course certificate on Public International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law, Netherlands.
In addition to all her other qualifications she has completed a number of research fellowship programs at various international institutes, including Pembroke College, Cambridge University and Hague Academy of international law.
Alongside perusing her career, she also does some volunteer work where she is currently volunteering at the pro bono office at the Johannesburg High Court. She helps solve South Africa’s developmental challenges by promoting constitutional values and facilitating access to justice for disadvantaged and indigent members of society, along with that she also tutors primary school learners from disadvantaged school in Katlehong – as she is very passionate about education.
