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Annual Conference of the Southern African Computer Lecturers' Association

SACLA 2022: ICT Education pp 20–42Cite as

Experiences, Motivations and Plans of Humanities Students Pursuing a Major in Information Systems in South Africa

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Part of the Communications in Computer and Information Science book series (CCIS,volume 1664)

Abstract

In recent years, there has been emphasis on the need for graduates and professionals with skillsets that span beyond one domain or discipline. This study explores the motivations, experiences and plans of students pursuing a multidisciplinary degree combining majors from the Humanities with Information Systems. This was accomplished through a qualitative, exploratory case study at a South African University. The findings indicate that students are motivated by a broad range of factors including their personal attributes, individuals close to them and the employability/financial prospects of a degree. One of the significant findings in terms of the experiences of students is that students sometimes feel like because their degrees are from the Faculty of Humanities, peers and potential employers in the technology industry doubt their Information Systems related skills. After completing their studies, students have a wide variety of plans such as pursuing Information Systems related careers or starting a business. Some students expressed a desire to make an impactful difference. The outcomes of this study can inform other universities that wish to implement similar degree programmes as well as students looking to pursue such programmes.

Keywords

  • Multidisciplinary degree
  • Student experiences
  • Student motivations
  • Student plans
  • Humanities
  • Information systems
  • Informatics
  • South Africa

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Systems, Faculty of Commerce, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa

    Temoso L. R. Masilo & Gwamaka Mwalemba

Authors
  1. Temoso L. R. Masilo
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  2. Gwamaka Mwalemba
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Temoso L. R. Masilo or Gwamaka Mwalemba .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Richard J. Barnett

  2. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Daniel B. le Roux

  3. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Douglas A. Parry

  4. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Bruce W. Watson

Appendix

Appendix

(See Table 2).

Table 2. Overview of findings
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Masilo, T.L.R., Mwalemba, G. (2022). Experiences, Motivations and Plans of Humanities Students Pursuing a Major in Information Systems in South Africa. In: Barnett, R.J., le Roux, D.B., Parry, D.A., Watson, B.W. (eds) ICT Education. SACLA 2022. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1664. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21076-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21076-1_2

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