Dr Patel seeks to bring change
THE hours of hard work have finally paid off for Johannesburg resident Shahiem Patel, who graduated with his PhD in leadership studies.
Patel, 33, of Emmarentia, said he was now working on plans to help solve problems in the public sector.
His thesis, titled “Developing a Crowd Sourcing Platform as a Funding Mechanism for a South African Higher Education Institution”, focused on exploring the socio-economic landscape of the country’s higher education and the #FeesMustFall campaigns.
Patel said there have been attempts, by public and private sector entities, to address the challenges highlighted by the #FeesMustFall campaign, yet vast numbers of students remained excluded from accessing higher education due to the high costs associated with pursuing one’s tertiary studies.
“I pursued this qualification because I did not want to be a bystander in the fight for financial access to higher education. “At the outset, my belief was that technology was not being effectively applied in the higher education context.”
Apart from working in the banking sector, Patel is also an MBA supervisor at the Wits Business School and at UKZN and is often invited to deliver guest lectures and keynote addresses at academic and professional institutions.
“This qualification will enable me to further develop my academic and professional leadership skills and acumen.”
Patel said he completed his masters at UKZN and found that the Graduate School of Business and Leadership was well run and offered immense opportunities for growth and learning.
The nurturing environment, he added, was perfect for his style of learning and he opted to pursue his PhD with UKZN.