Science meets Entrepreneurship in the global arena

I’m throwing open the doors to my digital sanctuary, and I’m beyond excited to have you join me on this journey. Whether the name Thulile Khanyile is already a familiar melody in your life or just beginning to play, your presence here is deeply cherished.

In the upcoming newsletters, we’ll dive into the escapades of postgraduate life, unpack life hacks, and explore the magical crossroads where creativity and consciousness intertwine. I will be happy to hear from you about what you would like me to share. I’m a very passionate person and get carried away very easily in the tasks that I do but when I’ve lost interest it becomes incredibly difficult for me to focus. As I’m writing this newsletter, there is a note pad and a file full of publications that I should be reading towards writing a journal paper on my doctoral study. But one thing you’ll know about me is that at the end, I get it done.

A really great proportion of who I am and what I do is addressing the inequities that are faced by especially young people. There’s an initial thought where the emancipation of a young person relates to the technical skills they have. I have always had a desire to curate and implement programs that impart technical research methodology skills to youth. Particularly those who may not have much access to this and other technical toolkits. In which case through Nka’Thuto EduPropeller this is being achieved. As I journeyed through this space I realized that the value of the organisation was personal growth and development. It was having young people feel a sense of ownership in their lives and develop a deep desire to curate their lives in ways that would in future become meaningful to their families, communities and the world. I am aware, from the calls and mails I receive that many of you want or are in the process of developing organisations for social impact and soon, I will write about this in a way that provides necessary hacks and tools. Eight year into this works I’ve accumulated a fair amount to share.

My whole life I’ve always been extremely creative to a point of being able to draw, dance, sing, conceptualist stuff and have always been good with people. And sometimes when things seem to come naturally to you, you never think that this is what you should be doing for the rest of your life. I remember Mrs Kimberly my grade 7 teacher showing my parents a portrait I had drawn of a classmate, uNosipho, in an attempt to convince them to help me re-look the medical doctor route. Fast forward to high school a similar incident with my netball coach Mrs Labuschagne recommending me for a physiotherapy scholarship because of how athletic I was. At the same time this is happening against decent grades that were clearly enough to get me to a doctoral study in the sciences.

After an extreme focus in academia and an almost complete neglect of my innate creativity beyond being in a musical called “African Dream” in 2010, my creativity is no longer able to contain itself. Against all my non-intentional efforts the creativity continues to creep in through my deep desire to address social issues and most recently through communication. All of this has culminated into this combination of academia and the arts and finding a way to marry the two into what I now define myself as doing by way of creating value. The artistic expressions of science…

Against all of this I’m still a little girl with a care free side and a deep desire for fun and building meaningful connections and genuine relationships with family and friends. Naturally I’m a private person. But luckily I’m not secretive so I will slowly peel the layers to the complexities of the person. I’m an extremely conscious person, I do work on myself continuously. Although I only started going to therapy recently, I’ve always read the Brene Brown’s, the Eckhart Tolle’s, Esther Perel’s and have listened to podcasts relating to personal mastery and discovery for years now. And I will attempt to share some parts of this journey with you. Yes, I’m one of those go to therapy before things fall apart kinda person.

Through the work I do I’ve had the honour to travel and experience the world as a community. I’m in many international networks and have received accolades that have benefited my growth in ways I’m probably unable to quantify yet. But that which I’m conscious of and can share with you, I will do so.

Join me as we embark on a journey of self-discovery and shared tales. It’s an open invitation to traverse uncharted territories together, where every word is a step closer to understanding each other’s souls.