NAS Women: Evolve or remain…
Women's Month: Focus on Ms Michelle Bheemraj

Q: Job title and in which department/research entity do you work?
A: Assistant to the NAS Deputy Dean of Teaching and Learning, and E-Learning Developer.

Q: What has been the highlight of your career?
A: Michelle was nominated and selected by the US Embassy in South Africa to represent SA at the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) presented by the United States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. She was recognised for her experience and success in bringing e-learning in the field of Science, Technology and Mathematics teaching to one of South Africa's first online high school classrooms.

Post the exchange, Michelle engaged in e-learning STEM programmes and women's empowerment panels with the collaboration of the US Embassy, American Corner and the Deputy Chief of Mission of the USA. With this utilising her best practices acquired during her 16 years of practical experience as an educator and the exchange to like-minded educational specialists in the country.
Michelle has also previously received the coveted National Teacher's Award for ICT-enhanced education.

Q: What inspires you?
A: Novel approaches to teaching and learning inspires me, as well as access to education and information, e-learning, the power of open educational resources and its ability to change lives while bridging the educational divide.

Q: What challenges have you experienced in your career?
A: The challenges I have faced as an educator who transitioned from the high school classroom into a tertiary role that supports teaching and learning is one that most educators and academics share. These include balancing students' different learning needs through inclusivity while presenting the highest quality content while evaluating, learning, and adopting the latest strategies at all times.

Respecting and attaining expectations, notwithstanding the challenges faced by the feeder to the tertiary education system in SA, is also a challenge. In a role supporting the Deputy Dean: Teaching and Learning, I find this challenge fascinating as we constantly seek to stay ahead of the transformation of education in this digital era. Keeping abreast of data and continuously learning the new data analytics techniques separates educational institutions from their competitors and provides students with an advantageous edge. The ability to unlock, analyse, and act on data is foundational to growth. Student-user experiences of educational content are vital in attaining success.

Q: What message do you have for the youth of South Africa?
A: Evolve or remain. Until you decide to embrace change, your challenges will be met with the same level of demur previously experienced. Make excellence your way of life and be grateful for all that you have survived up to now. Set high goals for yourself and know that with self-discipline, almost anything is possible. John C Maxwell said, "Self-discipline is where time and priorities meet".