A researcher of the North-West University (NWU) has done the institution proud by being acknowledged as one of the top three researchers in the humanities and social sciences at the recent South African Women in Science Awards (SAWiSA)*.

Prof Shan Simmonds was the second runner-up in this category for young researchers under the age of forty. She received the South African Distinguished Young Women in Science Award in Durban on 8 September. This award is given for outstanding contributions in advancing science and building knowledge in specific areas of research.

She is currently a full professor of Curriculum Studies and a sub-area leader of the Edu-HRight (Education and Human Rights in Diversity) research unit.

“My research rises to the challenges facing transformation in higher education by engaging in complicated curriculum conversations. Receiving recognition as the second runner-up for the South African Distinguished Young Women in Science Award (Humanities and Social Sciences) is testimony to my scholarly activism with respect to the ever-changing and continuously challenging intellectual world of Curriculum Studies,” says Prof Shan.

She is dedicated to ongoing generative discussion on transformation in higher education and is one of the founding members and currently the editor of the accredited journal Transformation in Higher Education.

Prof Shan has been one of the prime movers in growing this journal and seeing it obtain accreditation in 2021. The journal is listed on indexes such as Scopus, ProQuest, ERIC, EBSCO Host and DOAJ.

Her academic career started at the NWU in 2011 when she joined the university as lecturer. She completed her PhD degree in 2013. Prof Shan conducted her doctoral studies jointly between Stellenbosch University and the Vrije University of Amsterdam as part of the South Africa Vrije University Strategic Alliance international scholarship.

She received an Inter-Gender Research School Grant, funded by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) as well as the Research Capacity Initiative (RCI) SANPAD (South Africa-Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development) Bursary.

Academic career paves way to international leadership

Prof Shan’s international standing is evident in her appointment as the South African representative for the Women in Higher Education Management (WHEM) Network, which is an international feminist research consortium. She and her WHEM colleagues convened Stream 10 of the 2023 Gender, Work and Organisation international conference. They also have a book publication project in progress.

She also serves on the executive committee of the International Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies (IAACS).

Since completing her studies, Prof Shan has also held various other leadership positions. These include being on the executive committee of the South African Education Research Association (SAERA) since 2019. She is currently the vice-president of SAERA.

*The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) hosts SAWiSA annually to celebrate women in science and technology.

Prof Shan Simmonds with Dr Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology. Photo provided.