Sinazo Sijovu

I am currently pursuing a Master of Diplomatic Studies degree at the University of Pretoria. I hold a Bachelor of Social Science Honours (Philosophy, Politics, Economics) triple major qualification. I have assumed expansive leadership roles in my high school and university careers while maintaining academic excellence and commitment. I am passionate and socially conscious, and this reflects both in my work and interests. I have been involved with NPOs and community outreach projects actively for over six years.  My interests lie in the fields of diplomacy, peacebuilding, regional and international African partnerships, international political economy, and climate policy. I look forward to making valuable contributions in the fields of African development, African peacebuilding, cooperation and diplomacy. I have a particular interest in the trajectory of African economic growth and peacekeeping given the rapidly changing global climate condition. The future of African multilateral partnerships and diplomatic relations is also highly fascinating to me, and I look forward to a career in the diplomatic service. 

As the Project and Admin Assistant at the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn), I handle the planning of projects within the centre, including organizing events, making travel arrangements, liaising, booking venues and overseeing logistics.  I manage and respond to project-related emails and sort through research material. In this position, I provide administrative and organisational support to management. I have been working part-time and remotely in this position from March 2023 to the present. 

As the Head of Communication & Liason for Marang Charity Drive, I facilitate formal communications from the foundation to donors, volunteers and all other relevant parties regarding important events coming up. I handle administrative tasks including drawing up documents, including collaboration contracts and community service hours sheets. I oversee the drafting and publishing of the foundation's official statements. I have been volunteering in this position part-time for three years.

As an Academic Tutor both at the University of Pretoria and the University of Cape Town I delivered weekly tutorials both in-person and virtually through BlackBoard Collaborate and Google Meet. My responsibilities ranged from preparing and presenting PowerPoint slides on course content to setting assignments, marking tests and essays, as well as scheduling consultation with students and providing them with one-on-one feedback on their progress. I tutored for two years total, one year at each institution. 

As a Residence Chairperson at the University of Pretoria, I communicated the immediate and most pressing needs relating to residence affairs with university management and collaborated with them in solving the issues that residents were facing. I was part of a sub-council with other residence chairpersons, and we often met to discuss issues of student life, transformation and ways to improve the university's approach to addressing students' concerns. I led a team of House Committee members with duties regarding the upkeep of the residence, who I delegated tasks to and oversaw. I chaired meetings with residence management and with the residents to discuss matters pertaining to the running of the residence and the needs of the residents. I was in this position for one year.

MA (Diplomatic Studies) - University of Pretoria (2023 - 2024)

BSocSciHons (Politics, Philosophy, Economics) - University of Cape Town (2022 - 2022)

BSocSci (Politics, Philosophy, Economics) - University of Pretoria (2019 - 2021)

NSC - McAuley House School (2018)