UKZN academic in the School of Social Sciences, Professor Stephen Mutula, graduated a record number of 11 PhD students in 2018. The College of Humanities boasts 83 PhD graduates during the UKZN Spring Graduation.
This includes the five that graduated during the April graduation ceremonies.
Amongst the candidates that received their PhDs are Dr Mzwandile Muzi Shongwe who investigated software development failures and mitigation strategies in SMMEs in the province of KwaZulu-Natal; Dr Rehema Ndumbaro who investigated the role of information ethics in the provision of library and information services in Tanzania’s university libraries; Dr Nokuphila Saulus who investigated usability of the Institutional Repository by Faculty and Postgraduate Students at the University of Swaziland; Dr Rhodes Mwageni who investigated the perceptions of undergraduate education students about the influence of reading culture on their academic achievement at Universities in Tanzania; Dr Bakare Oluwabunmi Dorcas who investigated the use of Social Media Technologies (SMTs) in the provision of library and information services in academic libraries of South-West, Nigeria; and Dr Beatrice Kiruki who investigated information service provision to the people with visual and physical impairments in public university libraries in Kenya.
‘I am excited by the total number of PhD graduates we will have by the end of 2018. This has to be the largest number we have had since 2016 and that is encouraging. Most of these students finished in record time and that makes me very excited as their supervisor because it took time and dedication from all sides to make it all possible. I availed myself 24/7 for these students and I constantly checked their progress,’ said an excited Mutula.
He elaborated that he had many students who would request his assistance but he could not assist because he was fully dedicated to this group as he believes they needed him and his support.
