Curriculum

Cymbeline Harilal is an instructional designer at the Independent Institute of Education. She completed her Masters in Education (ICT) in 2024 (to be conferred). Cymbeline's areas of research are technological education as a means to eradicate unemployment in South Africa. Cymbeline is a South African registered educator approaching the PhD phase in STEM as her goal to be achieved by 2027.

My name is Alvira Prakash and I am a Full Time Lecturer for Education at Varsity College Pretoria. I am currently in the process of submitting my Masters dissertation in Life Sciences Education, where I explored teaching on online platforms in a university and school context. In the past I have obtained a B.Ed. Honours in Life Sciences Education, a PGCE and a BSc in Human Genetics. My goal is to strengthen my research skills and publish articles in the field of Education. I also hope to enroll for a PhD in the near future.

Currently a Head of Programme for the IIE, Lesego joined the hospitality industry having been inspired by one's relationship of and experimentation with food. Lesego has followed her passion into the foodservice industry at large; she further engages with the general management within hospitality industry segments and matters related to both education and teaching and learning. With over 10+ years of industry and academic experience, Lesego completed her Masters in Consumer Science and will further her PhD Studies, in the Consumer Science (Hospitality Management) with particular focus towards sustainability related topics. A journey from being a “display” chef, a cost controller, food and beverage management and product development, Lesego changed her direction to becoming more hands-on in the training space of the industry and is now fully committed to the education and development within the Commerce space at the IIE. Lesego strongly believes that those who wish to grow within this industry need to be aware

I am a Novice researcher entering the field of academic research and publishing.

My name is Meghan Simpson, and I am currently a full-time lecturer within the Faculty of Humanities. I am a novice researcher developing my research profile across a wide range of research interests. My current work and publications have been centered on decolonial thought and practice in education, gender performance, intersectional identity and identity fragmentation in literary texts, identity in the digital space, conflict and effective communication in the workplace, and the notions of othering and the monstrous in literary, media and film texts. Ultimately, my research goal is to provide a voice to those issues not always tackled and to ensure that continuous learning occurs within the fields of study I operate in. There are never enough questions to ask and answer within the contemporary world.

I am a novice researcher who is awaiting confirmation of Masters completion and now looking to develop the right skill set for publish worthy journal articles. I have an undergraduate and extensive lecturing experience in the Commerce faculty whilst a passion for education led to an interest in teaching and learning and postgraduate studies in education (PGDHE) and education management (awaiting master's in educational management). I am interested in the value of education in the development of the graduate attributes and the subsequent value of these in the graduate's ability to contribute meaningfully to both the economy and society.

Dr. Rika Swanzen is the Deputy Dean of Research at the Independent Institute of Education. From 2015-2018 Rika held the position of Adjunct Associate Professor with the Caulfield campus of Monash University in Australia and from mid-2016 to mid-2022 she served as ministerial appointee on the South African Council for Social Service Professions, to represent education and training. Swanzen served as one of the main editors of the Relational Child and Youth Care Practice journal from 2015 to 2022 and was a member of the scientific committee for the 2021 ASASWEI conference, while acting as session chair for various international and national conferences. Dr. Swanzen authored 24 peer reviewed publications and delivered 28 conference presentations from 2007 to 2023. Her citation score at January 2024 is 295 with an h-index of 7 and an i10-index of 5. While managing various academic departments since 2010, she developed curriculum, lectured, supervised and externally examined postgraduate students.

Young Decolonial scholar, a psych fundi and aspiring researcher.

: Dr Ilze Breedt have a passion to support and help educators / lecturers to grow and develop to support learners and students to become the best version. She has a PhD in Education Management Law and Policy and her thesis focused on the governance in independent schools. She has 25 years of experience in the field of education both school-based and Higher Education Institutions. As the Teaching and Learning Specialist on the IIE Varsity College Pretoria, she focusses on the developing of lecturers in all the different schools and assure quality lecturing takes place in all faculties. She is passionate about research and enjoy collaborating with colleagues and discuss various fields of research. Her research inters include leadership and management as well as technology and the development of educators.