From Typist to Council Member – Juanita Frans shares her two-decade journey
Ms Juanita Frans is the newly elected Staff Representative to the NUST Council. She garnered the majority votes in a two-day poll held amongst the campus staff. This victory makes her
the first female to occupy this seat.
She is currently the Manager of Business Systems and Processes in the IT Department. “I have been at the Institution since the very beginning, 26 years and eight months to be precise. I strongly believe that my good understanding of higher education and my vast experience as a staff member of this prestigious Institution, since its inception, has equipped me to serve at Council level.
Congeniality and sound professional relationships are at the core of any Institution’s success and I believe the same applies to NUST,” she said confidently.
Frans started working at the then College for Out-of-School Training, which later became the Polytechnic of Namibia, as a Data Typist in 1994 within the Examinations Department. Over a period of two decades, she has furthered her studies, and worked her way up to managerial level.
Asked if she could single out one pertinent issue that she would like to address as she begins her term that ends in 2022, she said: “I acknowledge that this will be a new arena that I am entering but being pertinently determined in nature, one burning issue I would like to see being finalise is the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor. This will ensure stability and sound progress for the University.”
Frans is also the Executive Committee Chairperson for the Integrated Tertiary Systems (ITS) User Group and an executive member of the Southern African Association for Institutional Research (SAAIR). Furthermore, she represents the staff on the University’s Pension Fund (UNIREF).
“I have always managed to contribute to my “avant-garde” University’s strategic goals, specifically with the aim to enable others. Innovation is at the forefront of Universities of Technology, but I believe we should never lose sight that we are all human. I have grown to accept challenges and adventures and I strive to make systems and procedures memorable to others, because I simply love seeing innovative ideas through to fruition,” she added.
Frans holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Regent Business School, South Africa. In a statement from the University, the campus community congratulated Frans. “We
wish her all the best during her term in office,” reads the message.
Caption: Juanita Frans, Business Systems and Processes Manager, NUST IT Department.
