Staff Reporter
To the many South Africans whose lives have been touched by her, Dr Sibongiseni Tunzelana Thotsejane is simply inspirational and exceptionally talented. An achiever who has excelled in both academia and the private sector, Thotsejane is working on a major project that will determine what life in the future will be like. She is part of experts who are expected to come up with a plan on how South Africa is going to respond to the fourth industrial revolution. The revolution refers to an exciting albeit scary period in which disruptive technologies and trends such as robotics, the internet of things, virtual reality and artificial intelligence are changing the way in which South Africans live and work.
Thotsejane has over 20 years’ experience in Information and Communication Technology and Telecommunications sectors. Recently, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed her as a commissioner in the SA Presidential Commission on 4IR. She founded multi-award winning FlavaLite Innovations, where she is chief information officer, digital innovator, and big data, analytics expert. She completed her Ph.D. in Information Systems at the University of Cape Town in collaboration with Ryerson University in Canada. Thotsejane is a senior lecturer at UCT and is in the process of completing her Ph.D. in Business Administration, majoring in applied 4IR at the University of Bath in the UK.
In 2017, she was recognized as one of South Africa’s 50 most Inspirational Women in Technology and Innovation by Inspiring Fifty Campaign, in cooperation with the Netherlands and #CoCreateSA.nl. In 2018, she was honoured by the South African Small Business Champions Awards. A former CIO of V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, Thotsejane has developed Information Technology strategies for a number of organizations globally and has created ICT policies for the Eastern Cape government. Thotsejane supervises DBA and Ph.D. Candidates in Computing Systems and Information Systems. She added value in leadership workshops for the National Advisory Council on Innovation and the Science, Engineering, and Technology for Women. She successfully implemented innovative digital analytics and innovative services for companies such as PruHealth (UK), Santam, South African National Defense Force, Damen, Armaments Corporation of SA, Rand & Bullion, The Business Place, Cape Town Activa and Standard Bank.
