INFORMATICS & DESIGN

Name of degree: Master of Technology (MTech): Public Relations Management 

Title of dissertation: Assessing how a South African financial service institution’s client care department uses social media to interact with its stakeholders

Description of my topic in one sentence: My topic aims to assess the gaps that are found within financial services institutions with the use of social media to engage or interact with their stakeholders.

I grew up in a small town that is right next to Lesotho called Matatiele (which was derived apparently from a saying “Ma dada ayile” which means “the ducks have flown”), Eastern Cape, South Africa. I went to primary and high school at a multiracial school called “King Edward High School” or Hoërskool King Edward. Nowadays, I live in Bellville in Cape Town. I then enrolled at CPUT and started my academic career in 2013. I obtained my National Diploma in Public Relations Management in 2015, and in 2016 I graduated from my BTech in Public Relations Management.

Only do your postgrad studies when you are mentally and emotionally ready.

The best part of my time at CPUT involve some academic achievements: Top first year achiever in End User Computing (EUC) in 2013, Top achiever in academics in 2014. In addition, it was great being able to work for the institution during graduation preparations and work for the student accommodation South Point Woodstock residents where I assisted in student queries to management. I am hoping that I will be able to add to this list: obtaining a MTech in Public Relations Management as a postgrad by the end of 2021 or in April 2022.

Things I would like to see improved at CPUT are as follows:

• CPUT service delivery especially the admin side of things. 
• Punctuality in trying to resolve a student query without passing the student from one admin person to the next with no resolution to issues.
• CPUT should try and ensure lectures and the institution itself tries to put themselves in the shoes of every student in terms of background and circumstances that each student comes from and is faced with. Sometimes students are expected to perform the impossible with little to no financial support….

My advice to those who wish to succeed at postgrad studies: 

• Only do your postgrad studies when you are mentally and emotionally ready. It sure is a bumpy and sometimes lengthy ride which could through you off your intended timeframe to graduate. 
• Know that once you are in this journey you are in it to win it, you can’t be wasting money unnecessarily. 
• Choose a supervisor that is aligned to the topic you intend on pursuing. A supervisor who conducted a research in a similar field to your research so that it is easier to interact and express your thoughts on why you’d like to pursue this research . . . I was very lucky to have Dr. Hermon Ogbamichael. 

Watch Lelethu as she shares her research in English and Sesotho.