North-West University (NWU) Mahikeng Campus lecturer Emile Coetzee has been accepted into the South African Academy for Arts and Sciences (Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns), an organisation dedicated to supporting and strengthening work in the sciences and arts completed in Afrikaans.

“It was a long journey for me to reach a point where I could be accepted into the academy. It took me over a decade to achieve. I had to increase my number of publications and become more active in my field of research,” Coetzee said.

He explained that obtaining an MA in History and enrolling for a DPhil degree were essential in meeting the requirements. “I received a postgraduate bursary from the academy to complete my DPhil in Social Science with History at the NWU. One of the requirements is that I must write my thesis in Afrikaans, which I am happy to do.”

Coetzee added that he had already submitted an Afrikaans article to the academy’s journal, Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, in March. “And this is only the beginning. With their support, I want to publish further about presidential histories in Afrikaans.”

He believes that his membership, which grants him the use of the title LAKadSA or MAKadSA, will create opportunities for future research collaborations and ventures with peers in his field.

Emile Coetzee’s membership opens new research and publication opportunities in Afrikaans.