Profile
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Prof Ilyayambwa Mwanawina
Prof Ilyayambwa Mwanawina currently serves as the NWU’s acting executive director for student life. Before that, he was a lecturer on the campus in Vanderbijlpark.
Growing up in Lusaka, Zambia, Ilya completed his primary and secondary school education in Botswana. He then joined the campus in Mahikeng, where he obtained LLB, LLM and LLD degrees.
He was appointed an associate professor of law at the age of 30, after completing his doctoral studies on regional integration and international law.
While teaching at the NWU, he received various awards, including the NWU Institutional Teaching Excellence Award and the Excellence in Research Merit Award.
Driven by his passion for the African Renaissance, Ilya continues to publish on topics related to regional integration, governance and human rights.
Once a leader, always a leader
First, as young students, they discovered and practised the art of leadership. Today they are still taking the lead, while inspiring others to be leaders too.
NWU alumni Dr Bismark Tyobeka, Prof Ilyayambwa Mwanawina and Dr Tsietsi Mmutle first made their mark as presidents of their Student Representative Councils.
Bismark took the lead on the campus in Mahikeng during the 1999/2000 term of office, while Ilya held the reins in 2010/11. Tsietsi was president during 2012/13.
From there they moved up the academic ladder, obtaining their PhDs while distinguishing themselves in their respective fields of expertise. These days, they give meaning to the words “ploughing back” and “paying it forward”.
Dr Bismark Tyobeka
Dr Bismark Tyobeka, currently serving as the fifth chairperson of the NWU Council, has been a member of the Council since November 2014.
Bismark is recognised as one of the leading nuclear power experts in the world.
He is currently the CEO of the National Nuclear Regulator of South Africa (NNRSA) and plays a major role in various initiatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Kicking off his career in 2000, Bismark worked as a senior reactor physicist – first at Eskom and then at Penn State University in the USA. Prior to his appointment as CEO at the NNRSA in 2013, he worked as a nuclear engineer at the IAEA in Austria.
Bismarck started his academic career on the campus in Mahikeng, where he obtained a BScEd and an MSc degree. This was followed by two more master's degrees: one from the Colorado Technical University in the USA, and another from Penn State University, where he also obtained his PhD in Nuclear Engineering in 2007.
He received an NWU Alumni Award of Excellence in 2013 for his personal and career achievements, in particular for his huge contribution to nuclear science across the world.
The NWU & U
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“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”
- Jack Welch
Dr Tsietsi Mmutle
Dr Tsietsi Mmutle is a lecturer at the School for Communication Studies on the campus in Mahikeng.
He completed his undergraduate degree in 2011, a BAHons in 2012 and a master’s degree in communication in 2013, all in Mahikeng.
His academic prowess earned him the Rector’s Award in 2012, which allowed him the opportunity to pursue his master’s fieldwork as an exchange student at Hanseo University in South Korea.
Shortly after returning, Tsietsi joined the campus academia as lecturer in 2014.
He also holds a PhD in communication management from the University of Pretoria. His research interests include government communication, strategic communication, reputation management, and participatory and marketing communication.