Promoting IS
The School of IT is pleased to announce two promotions: Adheesh Budree to associate professor and Gwamaka Mwalemba to senior lecturer.
Adheesh Budree joined UCT in 2016. After completing an undergraduate degree in computer science, information systems and economics, an honours degree in information systems, a masters in financial economics, and a doctorate in information systems, Budree is currently working towards a masters in creative writing.
A lifetime learner, Budree believes strongly in the importance of incorporating narratives into information systems. “It’s all about the role technology plays in our daily lives and how we can best show people that the computer is not your enemy.”
His research interests focus on the social-economic role technology can play in development, ensuring an inclusive digital and financial future for South Africans, having worked for several years in finance and e-commerce before finding his niche in academia.
“We need to ensure technology doesn’t further exclude those who have already been excluded,” says Budree, who believes that bringing non-colonised ideas to academia can change the teaching process for the better. “It’s all about people, processes and technology.”
Budree takes his role of student advisor seriously, finding it both challenging and immensely fulfilling, working to assist students find the right path for them. “The field of information systems is so much wider than we thought it was,” says Budree. “Some of my best students are taking a BA in Informatics and don’t come from a science or commerce background at all.”
Gwamaka Mwalemba has been with UCT right from the start of his undergraduate career, enrolling for a joint major in computer science and information systems in 2006. Wanting to be an engineer initially, he gravitated more and more to the social science side of information systems, immersing himself in the social implications of technology. “The social dimension of Information Systems as well as lecturers, such as Prof Elsje Scott who I have the pleasure to work with to date, really inspired me,” says Mwalemba, explaining his decision to continue with IS despite also being accepted into honours for computer science as well.
With a passion for ICT education including its limitations as well as potential for the African continent, Mwalemba put his PhD on hold in order to undertake a postgraduate diploma in higher education studies. “I decided I needed to take the diploma so I could bring that knowledge back to my PhD and it’s been fantastic.”
His thesis focuses on Information Systems education in the developing country context and how it can respond to the challenges that the continent faces. Mwalemba has travelled widely across Africa in his capacity as manager of Enterprise Systems Education For Africa (ESEFA). “I have always felt I need to stay in Africa if I am going to work towards making an impact on the continent, and UCT is the best resourced place to be to make a difference.”