F’SATI@TUT ALUMINI SUCCESS STORIES
F’SATI has played a vital role in the changing of the lives of many students. The following
highlights success stories that show the impact of the perseverance that the students undertook
and the benefits that they enjoy today.
 Mr. TS Nedzamba, Denel.
I was born in the in a remote village called Ha-Makuya in the Limpopo Province. My brother and
I were raised by my grandparents and started school in that same area. Growing up was fun. It
consisted of simply waking up and going to school, and after school, we would go and graze the
flock till late. We moved to Tshivhulani village in the early 90s to stay with my mother who was a
police officer together with 2 other siblings (my older sister and my younger brother) in a 1
rondavel home. I completed my matric in 1998. My single mom was not able to take me to
university considering that she spend all she had on my brother’s and older sister’s university
fees. I then applied for a TEFSA loan and enrolled at the University of Johannesburg (formerly
WITS Technikon) in order to further my studies. I chose to do the National Diploma in Electrical
Engineering because I had a previous exposure to it during my high school days. I completed
my studies and had to get a year of practical experience which was the requirement to qualify
for the National Diploma. I knew this was not was I aimed for. I was left yearning to study further
but it was simply not possible due to lack of finance. Then I got to know about F’SATI and did
not hesitate to apply for the financial aid.
I pursued my BTech in 2004 and completed it on time. It was quite a different way of learning
though. I was studying full time in every sense of the word. Having to be accountable to the
F’SATI programme made me work even harder because I knew if I failed, there would be
greater consequences for not finishing my degree. FSATI encouraged the students to take up a
double master’s degree, an opportunity to which I jumped at and enrolled. I completed my 2
degrees in time and the most beautiful thing was my research theme was an exciting one.
Under the supervision of Prof. Ben van Wyk, my dissertation title was coined “Statistical
Approaches to Image-Based Eye Detection and Tracking”. I believe the research topic lead to
me being appointed for first job at Denel Dynamics which was initiated during the LEDGER
Conference. I have now worked for Denel Dynamics for 5 years. The most part of the 5 years
has involved algorithm development and software design. All this is thanks to F’SATI for
exposing me to relevant subjects of study and for the support that went beyond finance.
 Mr. K Mabasa, Saab Grintek.
Looking back 15 years ago, I would not have predicted that my fate would turn out like this. I
come from a family that barely survived. In my early child hood, my family was doing well; my
dad had a job as a marketer in a multinational company with a pay cheque that could satisfy our
needs. In those times going to crèche was viewed as reserved only for people who were well
off. By the time I was doing Matric things were bad, and realistically, I could not see myself
going to any tertiary institution due to our financial difficulties. When I completed my diploma, I
couldn’t find experiential training for a year. The first formal employment was as a PC technician
worth R400pm as an allowance. This money had to cover my roof as well as my food. When I
eventually found good formal employment, I was paid R1400pm as a junior cell phone
technician for an Asian company. During that year, I heard about F’SATI through a colleague
and applied for a scholarship from F’SATI to further my studies because I didn’t get any sense
of achievement from my career. I got a call from Mrs. H Drew at F’SATI informing me that I
should come for a test and an interview. Fellow students and technical staff at F’SATI made it
simple to cope with the fast paced and intense studies. I managed to finish my B’Tech
(Electronics) within a year. We got encouraged to do our Masters degrees of which I do not
regret taking up. I was fortunate to be amongst the second group that was taken to Paris
(France) to complete my Masters’ studies for a year. That was the best year of my life. It was
the first time I ever boarded an aeroplane, and that was exiting and scary at the same time. My
Masters’ was completed in record time and I had to publish technical papers as part of the
program. I was then appointed in February 2007 as a Junior Software Practitioner. I was
appointed to work on a high profile, multi-national, multi million rand project as a firmware
developer. Through the years, I managed to work hard and got promoted through the ranks and
currently work as a Senior Software Developer and as the head the development of an infrared
imaging sensor digital processor.