Lessons from young South Africans studying abroad: 'There are more similarities than differences'
Many young South Africans have chosen to work or study abroad to gain experience.
Picture: JoshuaWoroniecki via Pixabay:
Clement Manyathela speaks with Wandile Mthiyane, Obama leader and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ubuntu Design Group and Pumla Maswanganyi, Entrepreneur, strategist, and innovator
Listen below.
Studying or working abroad can be a great way of gaining experience and learning about a new culture.
Some people choose to come home after a few years, while others prefer to stay for the long term.
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Wandile Mthiyane began studying architecture in the US in 2013 and partially moved back to South Africa in 2018.
He now splits his time between the US and South Africa.
He says his passion for solving the housing crisis made him feel that studying in the US would give him a different perspective.
“The point was to learn from other countries that have already developed in ways we haven’t, so we can bring back those skills.”
- Wandile Mthiyane, Founder and CEO of Ubuntu Design Group
He says there was a culture shock moving, especially the expectations to perform.
“I was an A student with 75% at DUT… In America if you get a 75, that’s a C!”
- Wandile Mthiyane, Founder and CEO of Ubuntu Design Group
Pumla Maswanganyi has lived and worked across five continents, leaving home at 15 for a high school scholarship in the Netherlands.
Since then, she has lived in several countries including the United States, China, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Ethiopia.
She says studying in the US allowed her to create her specialised degree which she could not have done here.
For her, the biggest immediate culture shock was how accepting everyone was of people from other countries, which taught her the importance of globalisation.
“It was realizing how there are more similarities than there are differences.”
– Pumla Maswanganyi, Entrepreneur, strategist, and innovator
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.