UKZN Academic Recognised as NRF Researcher

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The School of Management, Information Technology and Governance’s Professor Sanjana Brijball Parumasur’s excellence in research has been rewarded with a National Research Foundation (NRF) rating.

The rating is awarded to individuals based primarily on the quality and impact of their research outputs over the past eight years, taking into consideration the evaluation made by local and international peers.

To fulfil the requirements necessary for securing the rating Brijball Parumasur started her application in 2012. Hence her quest for obtaining the rating started with acquiring knowledge about the application process.

‘It is therefore imperative to start completing the application form many months before the cycle in which you would like to apply begins.  The Research Division of UKZN also holds regular workshops often conducted by rated academics that guide the completion of the form.  I am grateful to Professor P. Berjak and Professor N. Pammenter from Botanical Sciences at UKZN for guiding me during my application process.

‘Pammenter played a critical role in ensuring that I included all key aspects that the form required and in the correct format with the correct focus and orientation,’ said Brijball Parumasur.

As a successful candidate, Brijball Parumasur is excited about the funding opportunities that come with the rating and to impart cutting-edge skills to her post-graduate students and the next generation of researchers. To date Brijball Parumasur has supervised 15 doctoral graduates and 35 masters research students (excluding honours and MBA research students) during her 22 year academic career.

Brijball Parumasur’s key focus is on managerial and organisational development and effectiveness which has seen her publish a tremendous amount of research with her masters and doctoral students.

‘In my quest to maintain and hopefully improve my rating, I aim to engage in collaborative and independent, local and international research and see this as a challenge that I am approaching with immense enthusiasm. I have always enjoyed research and supervision and believe my output is an outcome of inner drive, enthusiasm and hard work,’ she said.

Currently, Brijball Parumasur is supervising several masters and doctoral students and undertaking collaborative research in several areas of Human Resource Management and Consumer Psychology and independent research in organisational development interventions and, workplace spirituality.

She is also the Section Editor of the South African Journal of Industrial Psychology (SAJIP) which has a current Global Impact Factor of 3.66 and reviewer for many local and international accredited journals. 

These research endeavours will enable Brijball Parumasur to fulfil her responsibility to the NRF and to hold on to the rating by engaging in focused, quality-driven research.

-    Thandiwe Jumo