Growth and development of employees has always been a priority for the Central University of Technology (CUT). To boost the morale and ambition of employees, CUT Human Resources embarked on a “grow your own timber initiative” where eligible employees are being recognized and provided with the opportunity to grow in their respective careers, elevating them to advance greater heights.

In this week’s edition, the journey to celebrate greatness continues with Drs Eben Proos and Ratokelo Willie Thabane.

Dr Eben Proos, Senior Lecturer: Tourism and Event Management completed his Magister Technologiae in Tourism and Hospitality Management in 2015. He was appointed as part-time Teaching and Learning Coordinator for the Faculty of Management Sciences while he continued with his Post Graduate Certificate in Education which he finished in 2016. His area of research is mainly in tourism development, events, tourism routes, heritage tourism, and dark tourism. Upon his graduation, he immediately started his journey towards his doctoral degree and in 2017, started his career as a lecturer in the Tourism Department.

During his time as a lecturer, Dr Proos completed numerous short courses such as the South African Wine course, South African Specialist, and How Sport Shaped the World. In 2019 he received the Vice Chancellors Award – Early Career Teaching. “During my time at CUT, I managed to publish five tourism related academic articles in academic journals and attended both national and international conferences. I also completed my Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in 2019 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in the Tourism Department in 2021.”

Dr Proos said that he enjoys and loves his current position of being a lecture. “I always enjoy learning new things and sharing knowledge with others, and lecturing provided me with that opportunity. My current position opened the doors of opportunity to grow my knowledge in the tourism industry even further, and to be able to share that knowledge with my students is amazing. I enjoy the subjects I am currently lecturing as I have a deep passion for tourism, marketing and management and I feel privileged to be able to do my part in ensuring that our next generation of tourism graduates are well equipped for the success of the tourism industry not just in South Africa, but globally. I also enjoy seeing tourism graduates succeeding in the industry.”

His love for the tourism industry was inspired by a family member who is already in the game. “I was exposed to the tourism industry from a young age. Since I spent most of my school holidays seeing the ins and outs of the industry, a certain desire was evoked in me to one day also be a part of this hard-working and sometimes not so rewarding industry. The passion grew bigger and bigger as I grew older. Once I was able to enrol for Tourism as a subject at school, I knew that this was the field for me to study and gain more knowledge in, so much so that I completed my DBA with the focus of establishing a tourism development plan for the South African War Battlefields Route in the central Karoo,” he said.

He mentioned that due to the recent impact that COVID-19 has had on the tourism industry in South Africa, a bigger focus should be on developing the domestic tourism market. He also said that one of his goals is to publish many more tourism related academic articles and continue to assist in growing the tourism industry in the central part of South Africa. Furthermore, he aspires to continue to develop his professional career as a tourism academic.

Dr Proos thanked CUT for opening doors for him to grow and become the person he is today. “CUT offers many development opportunities for their staff to grow and thus it was a no-brainer to pursue a career at CUT. Employees are provided with the opportunity to work while developing skills and broadening their knowledge. They are afforded the opportunity to complete different degrees, attend conferences, workshops and share knowledge with other academics. Being at CUT, I was able to increase my knowledge and further develop many skills and obtain many goals I have set for myself. I have also had the opportunity to meet influential role players in the industry, not just locally but globally. In terms of family, my career growth has provided stability and I am thankful for that.”

He goes by the motto that says, ‘Work hard, have fun, make history’. “My advice to fellow colleagues who aspire to become lecturers is to work hard and take pride in what they do and utilize all the opportunities available even if it doesn’t reap immediate rewards.”

Dr Ratokelo Willie Thabane joined CUT in 2011 and then registered for a PhD in Education degree in August 2012. In 2018 he was appointed as Acting Head of the Department for Educational and Professional Studies and later, as Assistant Dean: Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Humanities the following year. From January 2020 to date he became Acting Head of Department again in the same department: Educational and Professional Studies. On 1st July 2021, he was promoted to Senior Lecturer, (Educational and Professional Studies) position. His area of research specialization is Mathematics teaching and Learning and Teaching Practice

“I decided to study in the field I specialise in because for a long time I have been a Mathematics teacher and I am privy to the challenges that teachers encounter in their teaching of this subject. I also worked at a college of education as HoD of Teaching Science Department. My area of specialization has been identified as a niche area hence I believe I will continue in it. There are however developments and innovations that are brought about by global challenges such as pandemics.”

Dr Ratokelo said that he decided to become a lecturer because of his passion for teacher preparation. When colleges of education were closed, he realized that to continue in the same path would mean to join a university that trains teachers. “My new position has the potential of opening more doors for personal development and growth. This institution empowers its employees in that staff is encouraged to study further and are supported financially through payment of tuition fees. Employees are encouraged to attend conferences and publish papers. This really opens the career opportunity growth path because one is eligible to apply for available promotions.”

Some of the major challenges he has come across was having to balance his workload and studies. “The major challenge was my workload which I had to bear and continue with my studies. Another challenge was balancing work, study, and family life. Despite the challenges, I still wish to continue growing in my career path and get further promotions. My motto in life has always been to ‘never leave for tomorrow what you can do today’.”

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From left: Dr Eben Proos, Senior Lecturer: Tourism and Event Management and Dr Ratokelo Willie Thabane, Senior Lecturer: Educational and Professional Studies.