#AlumniOnTheMove UFH Information Systems Alumna bags award for innovative government e-recruitment system

Zandile Potelwa, a UFH Information Systems alumna who is the Deputy Director for ICT Governance at the Office of the Premier in the Eastern Cape was recently lauded at the Centre For Public Service Innovation (CPSI) Awards for a groundbreaking e-Recruitment system that she and a colleague developed. 

According to a statement issued by the Office of the Premier, the system was developed in-house to improve the efficiency of the Provincial Government’s e-Recruitment process and has been rolled out to all 13 departments in the province.

Zandile graduated with a BCom Honours in Information Systems degree in 2018 and a Master of Commerce in Information Systems Degree (Specialising in Information Security) in 2022

Speaking to UFHNews, Zandile said her qualifications from UFH tremendously advanced her career in the Information Systems field and that the knowledge she acquired also played a pivotal role in the development of the award-winning system.

“When I enrolled for my Honours degree, I wanted to have a deeper insight into the information systems field and to keep up with the new ever-changing trends in the ICT space. The new ICT trends affect private sector as well as Government.”

“For example, Digital Transformation was taught in the Digital Banking module of my Honours class.  Requirements Management, which is very critical before a system is developed, was also taught thoroughly by Prof Roxanne Piderit, also in my Honours class.  This is the phase that ensured that this e-Recruitment system project was a success.”

“Even research points out Incorrect User requirements of a system lead to many ICT project failures.  The colleagues at CPSI commended our systems’ documentation, especially the user Requirement Specification documents, saying it was detailed and made it possible for them to replicate our system in other provinces in need.”

She says her Master's Degree also came at the right time when Government is concerned about information security with the national office issuing directives and circulars on how the provincial departments should manage information assets of the state.    

“My research topic was on how to prepare information security awareness in the provincial departments.  As an employee in the Office of the Premier I am given the task of coordinating these directives.  This I do with confidence because I have just graduated in this field and I apply all the knowledge from the research I conducted in recent years.”

According to the Office of the Premier, the pair worked on the system for the past three years and at end, they delivered an exceptional product which has now been recognised nationally. CPSI has since referred other provinces to the Eastern Cape to benchmark this e-Recruitment solution.

Zandile says she will always be grateful to the University of Fort Hare for allowing her to pursue her two senior degrees.

“This was the best decision I have ever made. The timing was also perfect to apply the knowledge in my workplace, in the era of Digital Transformation.”

Congratulations Zandile!