Doing a postgraduate degree is more than just studying. Difficult at times and involving long hours, there are also fun and humorous moments, says Isabelle Coetzee. She is a final-year BA student and winner of the Postgraduate and International Office (PGIO) postgraduate video competition.
Winning a R12 000 bursary she hopes to enrol for a Journalism Honours degree next year, and start her postgraduate experience at Stellenbosch University (SU).
Awarding R20 000 in bursary money the PGIO asked students to submit a short video describing postgraduate studies at SU. On Friday, 28 September, the office announced three winners: Isabelle, Lisa Mertens and Mpho Sefatsa. Lisa, pursuing her PhD in Zoology, was announced runner-up winning R5 000 in bursary money and Mpho, a MA Psychology student, came third with R3 000 in bursary money.
Impressing judges with her four-minute long video clip titled The other side of the brochure, Isabelle interviewed postgraduate students and lectures about what postgraduate studies entails.
Isabelle, who is majoring in Politics, Philosophy, Economics and History (as an extra subject), says she wanted to show the changing relationship between students and lecturers from undergraduate to postgraduate.
"It is wonderful to be one of the winners. I was very nervous about whether I had fully understood the assignment. It was my first video and I do not having had much experience with a camera. I ended up making several mistakes, like not focusing shots properly. I figured that, whether I'm one of the winners or not, it was a great opportunity to learn how to create a video - especially since journalists are nowadays required to know this."
Mpho says her motivation was the vast number of international students at SU.
"I wanted to communicate that this is a place full of opportunities for postgraduate students, or anyone considering postgraduate studies at SU. Also, there is a now accepted view of postgraduate life being all work and no play. Thus, I hoped to get across that although it is hard work and long hours, it can be fun too, and to motivate other students not to be intimidated by a postgraduate degree but rather to pursue it."
PGIO video competition winners: From left: Mpho Sefatsa, Isabelle Coetzee and Lisa Mertens
Watch videos here.
