Dr Denisha Jairam-Owthar, chief information officer (CIO) at the City of Johannesburg, has been appointed as chief director of information technology at Stellenbosch University (SU).
According to the varsity, she is the first woman to be appointed in the position.
It says for the past few years, the 39-year-old Jairam-Owthar was one of the major drivers behind a dramatic IT transformation at the City of Johannesburg.
Under her leadership, IT transformed from a support function to becoming the strategic kingpin of the city, says SU, adding that she joined the city at a time when payslips were still being printed for the staff of around 35 000.
“I work in a demanding but fantastic space. I believe my current role has moulded me and taught me a lot. It prepared me for what I see as my new role: to enable education through technology at SU. I believe IT is a critical enabler in the transformation of education. I will bring all my learnings along,” says Jairam-Owthar.
She notes that we live in times where digital enablement is the only way some organisations can continue. “I feel I am entering SU in a very prime time on its journey.
“We will have to take this excursion step-by-step, determining our stakeholders’ needs carefully along the way because we are now playing in the space for online learning and teaching, and have to provide for digital enablement for research-intensiveness. How will IT enable this? How will we connect a PhD student with an expert any place in the world in real-time?"
Jairam-Owthar says being this young in IT has a lot of advantages. “I have been deliberate about my journey so far and ensured that I keep up to date in the field.
“I know what is happening in our industry, and I understand how to bring things together for IT. Even more so, to bring that value to the organisation. It needs to be real, it needs to be felt, it needs to be relevant for SU's needs,” says Jairam-Owthar.
“I can walk into my office, and the day can turn on its head, and I like that. The unpredictable tests you on every facet that makes you who you are.”
For her, the academic space is not a new field. As a mentor for many Masters and PhD students and writing regular research and academic papers, she kept her passion for the academic world alive, says SU.
Although the decision to move to SU was not easy, Jairam-Owthar says her heart has always been in education. “This is real heart work: my purpose. I am excited to think about the power digital can bring to education and, with my skills, to bring those forward.”
She started her journey doing administrative work in New York and London as she needed money to pay for her tertiary education.
Jairam-Owthar completed a BCompt Honours degree in Accounting Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and thereafter, while working, studied further, completing an MBA in Technology Management. Thereafter, she completed her DBL studies at Unisa over three years.
According to SU, her working career spans from the year 2007 where she started as a business intelligence analyst at the South African Revenue Service. From SARS, she moved to Barclays in December 2011 and thereafter joined the Development Bank of Southern Africa as ICT head of shared services.
Jairam-Owthar will take her seat at Stellenbosch University from 1 January 2022.
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