Jennie Tsekwa, MPhil Sociology (UCT)
Jennie’s areas of specialisation are qualitative research methods, focus group facilitation, critical social theory and cross-cultural communication. In 2002, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Journalism at Gordon College in the United States. In 2009, she completed an MPhil in Diversity Studies (with distinction) in the Sociology Department at the University of Cape Town.
Since
joining Mthente in 2008, Jennie has held various roles
including programme management and an extensive amount of research
(both desktop and fieldwork) as a senior researcher and
consultant. As of March 2011, she will be heading up Mthente's new
Communications Unit, which will focus on developing publications,
utilising social media to create an information portal
and liaising with new and existing clients to ensure that
Mthente research outputs continue to meet their needs.
At Mthente, Jennie has delivered reports on the clothing industry in
the Western Cape, the public transportation system in Cape Town, the
ICT sector in Cape Town, the feasibility of establishing a human rights
foundation in South Africa, and the perceptions of ICT users in the
Provincial Government of the Western Cape. She also keeps Mthente’s
website up-to-date with Mthente’s latest news, articles, case studies
and reports.
Jennie has also facilitated numerous workshops, including:
- Focus group workshops with Golden Arrow bus users for the Department of Transport and Public Works in the Western Cape;
- Stakeholder workshops with Human Rights NGOs and South African philanthropists for Inyathelo: The South African Institute for Advancement;
- Planning workshops with the Centre for e-Innovation at the Department of the Premier for a branding and services perception survey;
- Training workshops on qualitative research methodologies for Mthente’s staff development programme.
Prior to joining Mthente, Jennie worked for the Cape Area Panel Survey
at the Centre for Social Science Research (CSSR) at UCT as a quality
controller and qualitative fieldworker. She was also involved in
designing and managing a set of resources for the Career Development
Programme at UCT, as well as developing a series of anti-racism
workshops with the Institute for Intercultural and Diversity Studies
(iNCUDISA) at UCT.
Jennie has extensive writing and editing experience, working first for
a newspaper, and then as a feature writer for a magazine publishing
company from 2003 to 2005. Before joining Mthente, she also lectured
for the Commerce Faculty at UCT on Professional Communication (report
and proposal writing and oral presentation skills).
