​ Dr Miché Thompson

During my first year at the Graduate school, the environment was optimistic, collegial, and warm. The first semester was packed with workshops, seminars, and scientific writing courses that equipped the 2016 PhD cohort with much needed research skills and tools.
Additionally, we were given a comfortable and conducive workspace which fostered a close-knit group of future academics who would forever remain in contact beyond the PhD journey.

I graduated in 2018 with a PhD in Linguistics.
 
A month after graduating from Stellenbosch University, I became a permanent full-time lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Cape Town, and I am currently on a tenure track.
I am grateful to the Graduate School for the ample opportunities and toolkits which I still employ in research and supervision to this day. But I am especially grateful for having met a group of diverse academics from various social science backgrounds with whom I still fondly keep in touch on social media.​

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Dr Wesley Macheso

Completing my PhD (English Studies) at Stellenbosch University opened up several career prospects and platforms for advancement. The skills and knowledge I gained during my research have so far enabled me to publish four research articles in Department of Higher Education and Training accredited journals, and I have more that are still under review. I was also able to secure a postdoctoral fellowship in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch, which has allowed me to work on new areas of research in my field. The fellowship also came with the opportunity to offer elective courses in the English Department, and this was a great learning experience. Most importantly, I secured a teaching position at the University of Malawi, where I am currently based. ​

Dr Pauline Liru​

Department of Sociology

My PhD (Sociology) journey at Stellenbosch University provided me with endless possibilities for career advancement.  The collegial environment at Stellenbosch enabled me to create networks with scholars within and beyond the African continent, who have become lifelong research partners. The rigorous training and research culture at Stellenbosch - enabled by the well-resourced library facilities -  allowed me to mature as a researcher and get recognition as an expert in climate change and sustainable livelihoods, through the publication of several articles in high impact journals.  After graduating, I secured a tenure track opportunity to teach at the University of Nairobi. I am grateful to Stellenbosch University and the PANGeA network for giving me intellectual wings to fly. ​

​Where are you now… and what have​​ you been up to?

The Graduate School at Stellenbosch University would like to catch up with its PANGeA network alumni.