#WSUCOUPLEGOALS - AN ACADEMIC LOVE AFFAIR

WSU Senior Records Officer Nozipho Giba-Fosu and her husband, ICT lecturer Agyei Fosu recently took a trip to the United Kingdom, to present research papers at an international conference held at Oxford University.

The doting couple co-wrote two research papers, infusing their areas of specialisation, and were subsequently invited to be presenters at the Applied Research International Conference 2023.

Nozie, as she is fondly known in the WSU community penned a paper examining how SMMEs are managing their records in the global digital age and knowledge-based economies revolution; while Agyei examined the factors affecting the adoption of e-commerce amongst rural SMMEs.

The two asserted that the contemporary era earmarked by the e-commerce revolution presented an opportunity in academia for them to infuse their individual fields of specialisation.

“Our VC always articulates the importance of impactful research output and improved qualifications by WSU staff as part of the reimagined WSU turnaround strategy. As part of supporting the reimagined WSU, we resolved to putting an extra effort into our academic work by making presentations at the prestigious global universities, hence for the second time we went to present our research papers presented at Oxford University. The first papers were presented in 2022,” said Nozie.

The two met, fell in love and got married in the year 2012, while both working at WSU. They have been smitten with each other since; citing their shared love for God, family, and academic excellence as the glue that binds them together.

Agyei, born and raised in Wenchi, Ghana, is an avid scholar who holds a Bachelor of Sciences in Mathematics from Kwame Nkruma University Ghana; a Bachelor of Sciences (Hons) from the University of Fort Hare; Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics; and will soon be graduating with a PhD in ICT Management and Governance from Nelson Mandela University.

His beau on the other hand holds a Post-Grad Diploma in Archives and Records Management from UFH, Master’s in Library and Information Science, and is currently pursuing a Phd in Information Science with the University of South Africa (Unisa).

“My wife and I are hardworking individuals. We set realistic goal targets, we pray for strength to accomplish those set goals and we always make sure we complete each and every target, quitting is never in our vocabulary. We have this guiding principle that, for one to achieve his/her goals it requires some form of sacrifice, dedication, and high level of discipline,” he said.

Fosu has published more than 23 research papers and has an accepted book manuscript which will be published by a seasoned book publishing company based in Germany, Europe.

As they raise their children and pursue further qualifications, the Fosus are steadfast in harnessing their involvement in international research and advancing the academic agenda as a unit.

By Yanga Ziwele