UKZN Academic Graduates Four International Students

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UKZN’s Professor Johan van Heerden from the Sport Science Discipline at UKZN graduated three PhD students and one Master’s student during the Spring Graduation ceremonies.

The three PhD students hail from Ethiopia, while the Master’s student is from Zimbabwe.

‘I’m very pleased for them and proud of their hard work and effort,’ said van Heerden. ‘We put in a lot of face-to-face consultation time as well as effective electronic communication to make it happen. Initially we had difficulty with communication, with English not being their first language. We managed to overcome the language issue once the conceptualisation of the work and required analysis through mind-mapping was understood. The students were able to convert and action them into written drafts,’ he explained. ‘Patience and continued focus was the key,’ added van Heerden.

Dr Ashenafi Tariku’s thesis was titled: Performance of the Men’s Ethiopian Youth Football Player Development Project and Its Impact on the Under-17 National Team; Dr Leyetad Gebru’s was titled: Anthropometric and Physical Fitness Characteristics of Ethiopian Boys Under-17 Football Players; while Dr Eyesu Gebreegziabher’s was titled: Anthropometric Profile and Physical Performance of Youth Players and Challenges in the Ethiopian Football Talent Identification Program.

For her Master’s, Ms Ireen Munekani looked at Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Plyometrics among High School Sports Coaches in Harare Province Zimbabwe.

Van Heerden said working with the graduands was a good reciprocal learning experience. ‘It is satisfying for me that these PhD credentialed students will now lead research in their country of origin.’

Van Heerden is currently supervising five Ethiopian PhD students set to graduate in April 2019.

Words: Nombuso Dlamini 

Photograph: Rajesh Jantilal