Nelson Mandela University masters student Yolanda Mngcongo rounded out Women’s Month on a high after earning a prestigious accolade at the annual South African Women in Science Awards.
Mngcongo won the Prof Keolebogile Shirley Motaung master’s fellowship in the public engagement in science category at the awards.
The 23rd annual South African Women in Science Awards were held in Johannesburg on August 20 and were hosted by the national department of science, technology and innovation.
The theme for the this year’s event was “Placing Women at the Centre of Science, Technology and Innovation”, which aligned with the department’s goal to highlight the vital role women played in driving research excellence and socioeconomic transformation in SA.
Mngcongo, 25, who lives in Mount Croix, but grew up in Kwazakhele, is one of the seven recipients in her category.
She applied for the award in May and said she was in disbelief when she got a confirmation email in July that she was selected as one of the finalists in her category.
“I was shocked, considering that the award is one of the most prestigious in SA.”
The former St James Roman Catholic Secondary School pupil said she was also proud to be one of the first recipients of the inaugural public engagement in science category.
“Basically in our category, we share our research with different audiences so that we can engage with people that are not from the world of science.
“I saw that as a big thing to contribute in my journey as a scientist, a researcher and science communicator.
“When our videos were played as the finalists, I felt as though the moment had really come.
“I became emotional, especially since the award was named after someone that I had a firsthand experience with.
“I also thought back on my journey of being a science communicator, the journey of translating science in simple terms that a granny could understand.
“The research we are doing is by the people, for the people, and I was the only person from the Eastern Cape to win in that category,” Mngcongo said.
She said her research focused on the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from medicinal plants to explore their potential to reduce healthcare-associated infections.
Currently finishing her masters in environmental health specialising in nanomedicine, she said her innovative research focused on merging nanoscience with indigenous knowledge to develop particles that aimed at reducing hospital-acquired infections.
She said her environmental health journey was inspired mostly by the loss of a loved one.
“I was influenced by families that had chronic conditions, initially I wanted to save lives so I wanted to be a doctor.
“But then I learnt you can also help prevent certain complications and that is how I ended up in environmental health.
“It is a very close topic to me, because my granny was in a critical state, unfortunately she was affected by a hospital-acquired infection, and she passed away in 2020,” Mngcongo said.
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