My day at work involves hosting different learners of all age groups from grade 1's to matrics, i'm involved in communicating scientific information to them, such as motivating them to take maths and science subjects at school and also to show them how fun science can be and the many job opportunities they can take up one day as science professionals. I conduct science shows, workshops and interactive activities so as to demonstrate fun and exciting scientific principles. I learn to work with a diverse group of children and adults from different backgrounds and languages both nationally and from the neighboring Southern African Development Communities such as Swaziland, Mozambique etc. These endevours affords me the opportunity to develop my interpersonal and communication skills and i also the ability to interact and work together with my colleagues in a team-manship manner. The hardest part of the job is when dealing with a large group of unsupervised and not so well-mannered children. But other than that it gives us the opportunity to be role models and just to instill discipline and professionalism in them.
The most enjoyable and fulfilling aspect of my job is when children especially coming from the underprivileged communities are just wowed by science and get the inspiration to believe in themselves and set goals to study hard so they can change their own lives and their communities through maths and science.
Prosinteracting with such a diverse group of children from all over the country
Consunruly and not well mannered children can be a pain to deal with at times
University of Pretoria (UP) is a fast paced and dynamic environment especially in the directorate of student funding whereby we have to allocate funding and adjust each funding according to donor specifications.
The main purpose of the job is to facilitate funding such as bursaries and loans to enrolled student at University. The job is categorised into four parts per quarter whereby first quarter is focused on dealing with student application process, processing of applications.
Quarter two is focused on assisting student with registration arrangement mainly financially needy and academically deserving student.
Quarter three is focused on allocating funds to the student accounts, assist the with signing of contracts, payment of allowances for meals, transport and accommodation.
Quarter four is focused on payments of accounts, finalising of accounts, validation of awards, monitoring and controlling of pay-outs.
I have learned to deal with people from a diversified background, multitasking, professionalism and selflessness. Furthermore, I learned financial management through allocation of funds, communication skills, work independently and as well as a team player, resolve issues in an amicable manner and to be considerate in handling enquiries.
The hardest part of the job is to inform student that they have been declined for financial assistance.
The most enjoyable is allocation of funds, seeing happy faces and getting to register and hosting of private sp
Academic environment is very interesting and challenging
I have spent 17 years working as a Personal Assistant/Administrator in high-end companies including Athletics Gauteng North, BKS Engineering, Health Professions Council of South Africa, Aurecon South Africa, Tshwane University of Technology and University of Pretoria. Overall, I have 17 years of experience working as a Secretary/Administrator.
Currently I am appointed in a Departmental Administrator A position at the School of Health System and Public Health. In my current role as a Departmental Administrator to the Head of the School, I am required to manage a range of general administrative and specialized tasks in a timely and accurate manner. This includes organizing meetings, distributing agendas, taking minutes at various management meetings and sending them to the relevant attendees, attending meetings with the Head of School and arranging his diary.
I have advanced Microsoft Office skills and have used these to help produce annual reports, presentations and other documents required in our department.
I can work autonomously as well as in a team environment. While providing quality assistance to the School of Health System and Public Health, I am also required to liaise with and assist the Head of School and Academics in the Department. This requires not only excellent time management skills but also a professional manner and an ability to communicate effectively.
We started things off with a presentation about Open Access and the n the scope of work was given.
In a typical day we sat in work-spaces and worked as a group of 4-5. We were required to share the items then agree on an appropriate approach to assign metadata and upload it on the repository.
University of Pretoria Institutional Repository.
The management was very supportive and they provided us with enough details about the material we were working on. The culture was amazing, everyone had a great time with the management. The management assisted us in many situations.
My co-workers were girls,so i was the only male in the group. It was a learning curve because my co-workers were not agreeing with me at some point.I was the group leader. My co-workers were very supportive and worked as a team.
My hardest part o f the job was waking up each and every morning for 2 weeks. I was hard on me because i travel and it was during winter so the weather was very cold and unpleasing. Another part was the pressure of finishing on time, it was hard for me as a group leader because i had to make sure my co-workers are not left behind.
The most enjoyable time was when it was tea-time, we usually chat over a cup of coffee so it was an enjoyable activity. Another enjoyable part was when our manager was awarding us at the end of the project,it was very exciting.
A typical day at work involved training in the gym as well as skills training focusing on particular set plays or areas in which we needed improving. I learned much on skills specific training as well as general fitness workouts to improve or maintain strength and fitness levels, particularly relevant to football. I also learned of the full effects of periodization and how to break up the training into cycles, important in ensuring players are in their peak condition at the right times. Management and co-workers were very helpful and experienced and ensured i was always working hard and learning in a friendly yet extremely professional environment. The hardest part of the job was being the young inexperienced student, therefore always having to do further research, as well as mixing work with time to study and ensure i was always at classes and passing my subjects. The most enjoyable part of the job was attending high profile games and meeting many important people as well as working with athletes that are extremely competitive and have a desire to win on a day in and day out basis.
Prosfree lunches, free transport to and from any training away from the university, vast array of experienced staff therefore enabling a strong educational and learning environment.
A typical day at worked comprised travelling to different sites for data collection and most of the places were in the rural areas. The day would be spent engaging with the principals, teachers and grade 8 and 10 life orientation learners soliciting for data. It was also a time for learning, and this gave me the opportunity to horn my negotiating skills with stakeholders to create buy-in. I had the chance to use and learn about the open data kit which was a sophisticated data collection tool but very easy to use. Everyday after work we would meet in the hotel where we were staying for after work reporting and data cleaning as well as preparing for tomorrow's work. The management both from UP and university of North Carolina were excellent in providing support and capacity development. The management also created a very good environment of us to be able to execute our duties and be able to innovate. The most difficulty part of the job was long distances of travelling to and from work everyday and the after hours meetings. Working with people is very enjoyable especially when they are sharing the same idea with you and want to achieve as much as you are. i was very happy that we managed to accomplish all our objectives.
Working at the university taught me alot not only related to my field of work but life lessons as well. My days were busy with a lot of pressure but I enjoyed that because I learnt so much. I was completing my internship this year which involved exposure to various fields in HR and IO Psychology which was very insightful and interesting as it gave me practical exposure to the theory I learnt in my undergraduate and post graduate studies. My supervisor always encouraged me and put me under alot of pressure to make me realise that I could manage it all. I had to work with a lot of difficult people who used to try and make me do all their work which did not fall into my job description but I always managed to deal with them and in instances where I could not my supervisor served as a buffer. I learnt alot this year but most importantly effective conflict management strategies as well as time management. The university overall was a good environment to work in despite the challenges however opportunities for advancement were not available.
Prosflexible working hours
Consfavouritism and ill-treatement of juniors in the department
A productive workplace conducive to learning and growing.
My typical day starts at 8:30 am at the office, checking the previous day's e-mails and fowarding information to its relevant lecturers, answering calls, making photocopies, transparencies, summaries and reports of lectures up coming as well as a recording of any incidents that take place and are reported.
i take registers of attendance, check against previous ones for students who missed two or more consequetive lectures, call them to find out if all is okay, return back to students who had quesries to be followed up on and write a weekly report of attendance and wellbeing of students i had interacted with on their module. my day ends at 16:30 but because of always having a backlog on admin, i usually end my day at 18:30. my co-workers being lecturers find my being there helpful in that the department has a full-time administrator who alsohelps make their loads lighter, they are friendly, interactive and always punctual and i mostly enjoy being fully hands on in this job with people being appreciative of my hard work.
Arriving at the University of Pretoria for work everyday has only been a pleasure. The University provides its employees with ample space to grow, professionally, and most importantly intellectually. Everywhere around you, something is happening, whether it be by the multiple student society's or seminar's hosted by various Departments or the University's high-level events.
One learns that, it is important to learn and explore other intellectual avenues from your own, and that nothing in itself is unique. A multidisciplinary work ethic and conscience is important to succeed in ones tasks.
The most difficult part of the job would be the marking of assignments , tests and exams. The written English language seems to be disappearing with our youth, and that is by far the most challenging element of the job to accept. The most enjoyable part of the job is obviously, teaching and motivating the students to think critically of our domestic and international society, in the hope of creating future leaders.
ProsFlexibility, Dynamic University and campus environment.
A typical day at work involved co-ordination of events on campus, we
assisted in career fairs by ensuring that students attended the events from different faculties.The day of the event took place, our role was to ensure that the Companies and Organizations presenting at the fair had all the necessary tools for the day to be able to carry out their presentations.One of the greatest things i learned at my workplace included client services and client communication skills. We worked with different clients from different companies, therefore, it was essential to treat all the clients with respect and patients, explain all the details of the university to the before they start with their presentations. The workplace culture is a friendly and flexible environment where you work for certain hours a day, and it allows you to be able to your attend lectures . i have also learnt the importance of balance, because i completed my work while i was still a student, i had to ensure that i completed my work tasks but also have enough time to complete my school work.
ProsFree merchandise
Consit was a temporary position
Questions And Answers about University of Pretoria
What should you wear to an interview at University of Pretoria?
Asked 15 Jan 2018
Office attire
Answered 24 Sept 2019
Black and white/dark navy and white.
Answered 01 Jul 2019
How should you prepare for an interview at University of Pretoria?
Asked 24 Apr 2017
Do research about the job description
Answered 24 Sept 2019
Search thoroughly about University of Pretoria. Know the its Vision and Mission, goals and objectives. Strategically understand its policies very well, its relationship with external stakeholders for sustainable development..
Answered 01 Jul 2019
What questions did they ask during your interview at University of Pretoria?
Asked 07 Mar 2017
Field related and general questions relating to lecturing
Answered 16 Nov 2022
Can you please tell us who you are?
Answered 01 Jul 2019
What is the company culture at University of Pretoria?
Asked 24 Apr 2017
The culture in this library is an incredibly friendly one, where the communication between fellow employees is allowed and on some levels even encouraged, with the intention for the newer staff members to learn and improve under the more experienced staff members.
Answered 14 May 2019
It is changing due to more transformation being implemented
Answered 11 Jan 2019
What tips or advice would you give to someone interviewing at University of Pretoria?
Asked 22 Feb 2021
They focus on qualifications rather than expertise and cognitive abilities.
Answered 16 Nov 2022
Be honest and understanding to people from different backgrounds and social status.
