EP 65: Tshiamiso Makwela- PhD student in Astronomy Education Research

Hello everyone! Welcome to episode 65

Today, my guest is Tshiamiso Makwela, born in Soweto, South Africa, and now living in Capetown, South Africa. She's a PhD student in Astronomy Education Research at the University of Cape Town. In this episode, we learn that her mom was her biggest motivator or, as she calls her, "my tag team partner." Her mom's support was so vital as Tshiamiso was an inquisitive child who loved science even though she had no idea what science was. After reading about astronomy at a young age and watching the first South African land on the moon, she was convinced that astronomy was her field of choice. We get a deep dive into her astronomy educational journey, starting from Witswatersand University as an undergrad to Cape Town for her PhD. In her master's year, she combined her love for astronomy and education, which she continued to do in her PhD. She tells us about this exciting research in Astronomy Education Research, where she looks at ways of making astronomy content knowledge accessible to students and teachers. Tshiamiso tells us the importance of this great work. We learn that the best part of her research is that she interacts with the community, which has always been close to her heart. Lastly, we talk about inclusivity in Astronomy as a whole. Tune in

@dr_of_moon_ (Twitter and Instagram), 
Tshiamiso Neo Makwela (Facebook) 
 Tshiamiso Makwela (LinkedIn)