One normally reads about the ‘it girl’ in the celebrity world, but in academia, Dr Musawenkosi Donia Saurombe is the woman to watch. The Botswana national with Zimbabwean roots stands head and shoulders above her peers.

The media world cannot get enough of the 24-year-old, who became the youngest person in Africa to be awarded a PhD in Industrial Psychology in April this year.

Apart from her postdoctoral responsibilities as a research fellow at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Mahikeng, Musa is attracting a whole lot of media attention., She recently appeared on the popular South African talk show, Real Talk, with Anele Mdoda, and was also interviewed by the Voice of America Network, a dynamic international multimedia broadcaster based in Washington DC while she attended the Golden Key Conference in the USA.

Academia is young and exciting

While raking in the awards, Musa is on a mission to change the perception that academic work is for the old and boring.

She has already put her shoulder to the wheel in hopes that her brilliant research skills will see her research published in accredited journals, with a view to becoming a full professor in the near future.

She still has fond memories of her upbringing and school life in neighbouring Botswana and actually doesn’t think she was that intelligent growing up - although her teachers did allow her to skip a few grades.

“I was very hyper actually. That’s the reason why they made me skip. So I’d finish my work very quickly and then disrupt. I was bit of a nuisance to the other learners so they (teachers) felt like they needed something that would overwhelm me slightly and keep me focused,” she smiles.

Musa says she’s been approached by many organisations to play her part in youth activism so that other young people can also be inspired by her story.

Musa’s awards include:

•        Best Doctoral Student in the Faculty of Commerce and Administration – April 2017
•        Young Achiever of the Year at the Zimbabwean Achiever Awards - South African Edition – December 2016
•        Best International student at the International Golden Key Summit in Las Vegas, USA - July 2017
•        The Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology of South Africa (SIOPSA) Psychology student of the year award – July 2017
•        South African Board for People Practices Award for Best Doctoral study in South Africa – April 2017

 Dr Musa Saurombe with the doctorate conferred upon her during the April 2017 graduations. Photo: Christopher Motabogi