UFH female duo among 12 young SA Economists selected for esteemed Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany

Dr Nozuko Lawana and Ms Nomasomi Ngonyama from our Economics Department were among 12 young South Africans and 300 economists from around the globe who were selected to participate in the 7^th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting held from the 23^rd  to 27^th August 2022 in Germany.

The gathering brings together young economists from around the globe and Laureates of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel. The meetings are based on the principle of dialogue and different sessions are designed to activate the exchange of knowledge, ideas and experience among delegates.

As the official partner of the Lindau Foundation, the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and with funding from the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), nominates young South African economists to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings.

The opportunity to join the gathering of Laureates in Lindau is provided exclusively to outstanding young economists aged up to 35 who are undergraduates, PhD students, and post-doc researchers. In order to participate in a meeting, they are required to pass a multi-step application and selection process.

The duo was the only representative from Eastern Cape Universities.

Dr Lawana who is a time-on-task Lecturer and Ms Ngonyama, a full-time Lecturer were selected through a scientific review panel where 300 of the most qualified young Economists from across the globe made the cut. In total, 12 SA applicants were selected.

Ms Ngonyana’s teaching area is in Microeconomics (the study of what is likely to happen (tendencies) when individuals make choices in response to changes in incentives, prices, resources, and/or methods of production)  and Macroeconomics (the branch of economics that deals with the structure, performance, behaviour, and decision-making of the whole, or aggregate, economy). Her research interest is in Monetary Economics and the Banking Sector.

Dr Lawana graduated with a PhD in Economics during the UFH 2021 Hybrid Winter Graduation ceremony. Her thesis for her doctoral study is titled: Effects of non-communicable diseases on labour market outcomes in South Africa. Her study focuses on the effects of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on labour market outcomes in South Africa in general and gender-specific in particular. She used data extracted from National Income Dynamics Study compiled by South African Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) and employed several cross-sectional and panel data techniques in the study.

Although they could not attend the meeting in person due to Covid-19 regulations put in place by the organizers of the meeting, Dr Lawana and Ms Ngonyama both expressed their excitement over their participation in this prestigious meeting.

“The amount of knowledge, ideas and experiences shared was immense and we intend to impart the information acquired to our students to further enhance our teaching and learning approaches,” they said.