University of Pretoria (UP) alumna Dr Chamonix Terblanche is a woman of many talents: she is an expert on skills shortages in the Australian employment market, has served in the Australian parliament and has created a platform to help South Africans make the move to Australia.

The Perth-based academic attributes much of her success on these various fronts to the firm foundation she received at UP. “Obtaining my qualification at UP provided me with some of the fondest memories of my life,” says Dr Terblanche. “I was at the start of building my career and dream life, all the while laying those very important balance-in-life bricks of enjoying every day while also working for tomorrow – a very important skill to master.”

Though there were times when it was a matter of more play for Dr Terblanche. “I was in Madelief residence in 1997 and 1998, and certainly made the most of my social life at University,” she says. “I struck a very good balance between studies and having fun, although sometimes tipping the scales perhaps very much in favour of the social category over having my nose in my textbooks.”

Dr Terblanche knew that she too would one day study at UP like her father did. Dr Thomas Smalberger, who was UP DUX and Student Union President in 1973, obtained his PhD in Organic Chemistry in 1967 and his MBChB in 1976. Dr Terblanche subsequently graduated from UP in 1999 with a BCom degree in Tourism Management and completed a postgraduate diploma in Adult Education from the University of South Africa (Unisa).

“I believe there is great value in spreading the word about our South African alma maters and the incredible impact that our foundational tertiary studies had on our lives,” Dr Terblanche says. “For alumni like me, who furthered their studies overseas, spreading the word pays credit to and is exposure for our first alma maters, and a testament to the quality of graduates they have delivered.”

In 2005, Dr Terblanche went to Perth to pursue an offer to do a master’s degree. After obtaining her permanent residence, she was offered a scholarship to study for a PhD at an Australian university, specialising in Business Information Systems. She graduated with her doctorate in 2013.

“As a part of my PhD, I built an information systems prototype that identifies skills shortages in the Australian employment market,” she explains. “It is a departure from the subjective process usually used to do the same, in that my research was based on a completely objective process that is built on Web 3.0 and artificial intelligence principles. The information obtained relating to skill shortages influences the visa process for Australia, its tertiary education funding support priorities and upskilling areas for Australia’s current workforce.”

With Dr Terblanche’s vast personal experience and academic background, she’s now found her passion with the creation of Chamonix TV, a platform that helps thousands of South Africans design their dream lives and make the move to Australia every year.

Dr Terblanche has also served in the Australian parliament as a Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for two senators. Subsequently, she was elected as a councillor at one of Perth’s largest municipalities, where she has continued to serve the community for the past six years.

As far as her career is concerned, Dr Terblanche says it has been an incredible honour to serve in Australia on three levels of representation: as a part of its Federal Parliament, as National President of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations, and currently as an elected council member representing citizens in Perth.