Inspiring the next generation of women leaders
INSPIRING: Prof Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga and Prof Tembisa Ngqondi inspired young women at the Intergenerational Dialogue.
Friday, 29 August 2025
Down the memory lane and footprints of women leadership – Inyathi ibuzwa kwabaphambili was the theme of the recent Student Affairs Her-Story Women’s Month Intergenerational Dialogue.
CPUT’s first Vice-Chancellor, Prof Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga, was the keynote speaker at the event, which was held at the South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre and attended by young women leaders, including Student Representative Council (SRC) members.
In her opening remarks Dean of Student Affairs, Nonkosi Tyolwana, emphasised the importance of intergenerational dialogue and institutional memory and spoke on the important role elders play in African homes.
A message of support was delivered by Aneliso Khetsekile (former SRC) and Thato Masonganye (Central SRC).
Tanga took the audience on a trip down memory lane of her time at CPUT and Peninsula Technikon.
She was installed as Vice-Chancellor in 2006 and had previously held other positions at CPUT and Peninsula Technikon.
She shared the following message with young women leaders: “You don’t have to be a specific gender to assume the role of leadership. You don’t need to have come from a particular environment in order to become a leader. Leadership does not reside in terms of family status. Leadership is in every one of us, in every individual.
“If it were not like that, I would never have been appointed at CPUT. If it were according to who you are, where you’re from and whether your family had status… I had none of those.”
She continued: “Each and every one of you have the capacity to be a leader, whether it’s in your small space or wanting to grow into a much bigger space.”
In her response, Prof Tembisa Ngqondi, Dean of the Faculty of Informatics and Design, encouraged the young women leaders to: “Carry on the baton – do not drop it”.
During the lively intergenerational dialogue that followed the topics ranged from advice for aspiring future vice-chancellors to balancing academic freedom with institutional goals and role models.
Written by Ilse Fredericks
Email: Frederickskennediji@cput.ac.za
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