Paheja Siririka
WINDHOEK – Serving in a body that is dominated by the older generation can be intimidating. But this is not the case for Shiwana Ndeunyema who was selected to serve in the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) Council. Ndeunyema said the appointment was awe-inspiring.
“For me, this appointment is a humbling one. Humbling because the university community have entrusted me with this tremendous responsibility to serve as their representative on the Nust Council where I am expected to serve as an instrument through which they can assert their aspirations and concerns, as key stakeholders of our remarkable university,” said Ndeunyema.
He told Youth Corner that corporates the world over have increasingly accepted that diversity on boards is a common denominator for their success. “Organisations have been deliberate in their attempts at promoting gender and racial balance over recent years, but the issue of age diversity has not been addressed to the same degree, despite research showing that more than half of the world’s population is aged 30 or below, ” said Ndeunyema.
He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Strategy with the Edinburgh Business School (EBS), UK. Ndeunyema says as the Manager: Organisational Development and Learning he is responsible for supporting the university’s strategy. “The office is in charge of implementing and providing professional advice on performance management, organisational design, succession planning and capacity building with a focus on delivering strategies centred across the people, processes, systems nexus,” he explained.
In his experience working with boards, Ndeunyema believes it is the importance of young professionals to reconcile themselves with some of the stereotyping that come with being young and see the challenges presented as an opportunity to demonstrate their competence by leveraging their strengths to add meaningful value.
Hence Ndeunyema shared with Youth Corner what his role in the Nust Council entails. “To be part of the team whose collective effort is to steer the strategic direction of the university by approving the university’s strategic plan and taking the vice-chancellor to account for its execution as the accounting and chief executive officer of the institution, secondly, fulfil a governance function by ensuring that there are policies in place to enable the seamless execution of strategy. Also, ensure the effective and efficient use of resources and the overall financial health of the university and ensure leadership continuity and stability by appointing a competent vice-chancellor and executive committee, among others, ” stated Ndeunyema.
He mentioned that by 2020, half of the workforce will be millennials. “Currently, very few millennials serve on university councils and the boards of companies and organisations because it has been historically assumed that valuable experience is only gained with age. Although this stereotype is slowly changing as companies increasingly recognise the need for younger board members who can relate to their peers, it remains up to us as young professionals to annul this injunction that value and competence is not a function of time, by positioning ourselves as competent and valuable contributors at the governance table,” said Ndeunyema.