Each year on August 9th, South Africans celebrate National Woman’s Day. Yet, there is still a distinct gap in the prevalence of leadership roles executed by women. However, one woman who stands as a proud role model for the progression of female representation in her field is Professor Marianne Vanderschuren. Vanderschuren has already achieved so much in her career. Some of the outstanding achievements include getting the SARChI Chair, becoming President of SAICE and receiving one of the NSTF research award in 2022. We discussed with Vanderschuren the various aspects of her professional life.

The spark that lit a bright burning career

Vanderschuren’s first choice was doing STEM subjects in school, intending to keep as many doors as possible open. Her late father further inspired her career in transport. Vanderschuren remembers the many discussions with her dad about transport challenges in the area, during Sunday morning coffee, when she was a teenager. Memories of their discussions are still dearly cherished by Vanderschuren. While studying for her undergraduate degree, Vanderschuren met Mr Ben Jansen, a man who she describes as her most impactful mentor. He was the external supervisor of her BSc Transport Engineering thesis and later her boss for quite some years. “He had a unique way of growing my confidence while being a safety net and not being prescriptive”, she recalls. These are qualities that Vanderschuren has tried to mirror in her teachings and mentorships for her students.

“Females bring a unique perspective to engineering, and I hope all will be able to embrace this rather than treating it with suspicion”

A role model for females in the field

Careers are often demanding, particularly when they are built while balancing family life. Given her many accomplishments, Vanderschuren balanced family life and work by having strict working hours to protect family time. “However, during the pandemic, lines got blurred, and the family suffered due to the immense work needs,” she said. “I am trying the change back to the former way, but it is taking time,” she explained.

“I have had my share of challenges as a female engineer,” she said regarding some of the difficult things she has faced during her career. “What has helped me is to keep in mind who I am, what I stand for, what I know and also what I do not know,” she explains her mindset on overcoming challenging situations. “Females bring a unique perspective to engineering, and I hope all will be able to embrace this rather than treating it with suspicion,” she added.

Of the many achievements she has amassed, she finds it challenging to choose the most rewarding. However, she is most grateful for the recognition of her contribution to making South Africa and the world a better place. Furthermore, numerous female engineers have interacted with her since her recent awards, and she hopes to use this platform to inspire the journeys of other female engineers.

Paving the way for an inclusive future

Looking to the future, Vanderschuren intends to work with her student towards more graduations and research outputs and liaise with the chair sponsors, the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research), about strategic research directions. Moreover, she hopes that her gender research will help reduce violence against women in the transport system.