with his studies per se than with the sheer determination and perseverance it took to get to campus on time every day. “The challenges I faced, especially in my first year travelling daily in overcrowded and constantly late trains from Tembisa to the Doornfontein Campus, taught me the importance of resilience and a sense of purpose towards one’s goals,” he says. Robert’s father, Zimiseleni Mncube, played a decisive role in his success. “He believed in my potential, and had it not been for him, I doubt l would be where l am today. I certainly would have given up on going to university had he not proactively looked for funding opportunities and motivated me to never give up on my dream. “I vividly remember him returning from work one day holding the Sowetan Newspaper and pointing out bursary applications by the Gauteng Provincial Government through its Gauteng City Region Academy bursary scheme. When l went to submit my application, I was highly discouraged when l saw heaps upon heaps of applications. Two months later, I was selected and awarded the bursary to begin my National Diploma in Town and Regional Planning at UJ in 2010. I would have missed this funding opportunity had it not been for my father, who has always been my biggest inspiration.” When he applied to study town planning, he was fascinated by drawing and creating towns but had little understanding of what it was about. He says his aptitude for technical drawing naturally drew him to the field. In his final-year dissertation, he researched transit-oriented development, which received high regard from practitioners in the field and continues to receive good citations to this day. A conference paper from this research track with his then supervisor, Aurobindo Ogra, as co-author, followed and was presented at the Planning Africa Conference of 2014. Robert registered for a master’s in construction management by research to take the findings of his undergraduate dissertation and explore how South Africa
approached the transit-oriented development concept. Two conference papers from this research track were presented at international conferences. “I enjoy the inherently dynamic nature of the field. Town planning is extensive and multidisciplinary, and every day brings new challenges. Collaborating with diverse professionals enriches my understanding of the broader built environment domain and expands my professional network.”
Professionally, Robert plans to progress significantly over the next ten years to a level where he would lead organisations on development- oriented issues as an executive. He says the Warwick MBA will also be essential to achieving these goals. Robert Ndebele obtained the following qualifications at UJ: National Diploma in Town and Regional Planning (2014), BTech Town and Regional Planning (2015), and MTech Construction Management (Distinction) (2019).
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