Masakhe 02_DIGITAL PAPERTURN - Flipbook - Page 37
LEGENDARY ACADEMICS
but we don’t have women professors
in construction management.
What led to you move from Nigeria
to South Africa?
That’s a question people always ask
[laughs]. I saw an advert from the
University of Cape Town. They said
there was an opening for a senior
lecturer, so I applied for the position.
I was thinking maybe I’m just gonna
get some few years of experience and
then come back to Lagos.
Okay. So, what does that mean
for you and your work? Does that
say something about how many
people are involved in construction
management and that field?
Generally, there are very few females
in academia itself. You can count
the number of female professors in
academia. And I’ll say maybe it also
has to do with your work-life balance.
It’s a lot of time investment, which
most women may not have.
Lastly, you’ve done a lot of work and
writing, but what would you like to
be remembered for? When they’re
reading your papers say five hundred
years from now?
Five hundred years [laughs]! I mean,
this is just a woman who tried to
uh… improve the lives of people and
bring about change in the living
conditions of Africans in Sub Saharan
Africa. I think that’s what I want to be
remembered for.
And are you mentoring any other
young ladies in the field, or even
outside of the field?
I’m mentoring Amanda, I don’t know
if you met her? Dr. Amanda Filtane
[lecturer in Construction Economics
and Management department at
UCT]. She was my PhD student. I
supervised her PhD research; she
graduated last year. And I’m also
mentoring other women who look to
me for advice, not only in academia
but also in the construction industry.
What do you do in your downtime?
[Laughs]
[Laughing] …Or there’s no such thing
for you?
There’s no such thing! [Laughing]
Rest is important.
It is very important. But really, if I
have spare time, I relax on the beach.
Uh, travel. I do a lot of travelling. So
maybe that’s part of relaxing. Lots of
travel to conferences.
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