UKZN Staffer to Pursue Business Administration Doctorate in the UK

BY: .

UKZN’s College of Health Sciences (CHS) Technical Operations Manager, Ms Metse Serumula, has been selected to read for a specialised Business Administration Doctorate in Higher Education (DBA-HEM) at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom.

The DBA-HEM is a part-time research degree in which students undertake original research related to key topics in contemporary Higher Education (HE).

Serumula, originally from Limpopo, was nominated by CHS leadership for the DBA-HEM in response to a national project funded by a Department of Higher Education and Training Collaborative Teaching Development Grant and led by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in partnership with the University of Bath, to develop the capacity of HE managers.

She will travel to the UK and NMMU for residential and contact sessions, completing four papers and a thesis before graduating from the programme.

Serumula said it was ‘humbling and exciting’ to be selected into the programme.

‘I have learned and grown a lot since I started in this position at UKZN,’ she said.

While her research interests are in drug discovery and synthesis in pharmaceutical sciences, Serumula holds a Master’s degree in Medical Biochemistry where she investigated the presence and potential impact of mould and fungal toxins in the blood and placental tissues of pregnant women with high blood pressure.

‘What makes me passionate is seeing the potential impact the research could have on improving the health of individuals.’ Her Master’s research highlighted the exposure of pregnant women to fungal toxins in their food which in turn threatens the unborn child.

‘The issue of maternal health is very important and close to my heart because there are a lot of women who still do not have access to antenatal care and therefore end up dying from preventable conditions,’ she said.

‘I have been juggling family time and my studies for the past 11 years,’ she chuckled. ‘I have a great family support structure which has made it possible for me to get this far.’

Lunga Memela