“An invaluable resource for anyone pursuing higher learning”
The 4th edition of the Postgraduate Toolkit has embraced innovation and creativity to simplify the complex journey of life as a postgraduate student. It is a holistic product that is a must- have for everyone embarking on this path.
Layla Cassim released the first Postgraduate Toolkit in November 2011. The launch of the 4th edition in January 2021 will therefore mark 10 years since the product was first introduced to the academic environment, and what a success it has been, across South Africa and beyond its borders. More than 10 000 researchers and students from various disciplines, and at various levels, have benefitted from the Toolkit. The University of Limpopo has purchased a license to make the Toolkit available on its intranet to all staff and students.
The purpose of the Toolkit is to support and guide postgraduate students as they navigate their studies and is outlined in much detail in 10 chapters/988 written pages and more than 25 hours of voice recordings catering for those who learn in different styles. It suits learning at the pace that you determine, and feel most comfortable with. It uses real world examples and exercises that everyone can relate to, but it also does much more than that.
The Toolkit promotes the safety and empowerment of women through a self defence video.
It supports physical wellbeing and movement with a video on Pilates for a more balanced lifestyle.
It advances mental wellbeing with a chapter dedicated to self-empowerment tools and support systems.
It embraces technology and innovation by using media that can be used on digital devices making for easy access anywhere anytime.
It advocates for the interconnectivity of all the above through research and the pursuit for knowledge.
It reminds us that our work must be socially relevant and ethically responsible.
I wish Layla well with the upcoming launch.
And I urge you to get the Toolkit… It will benefit you beyond your academic pursuits.”
Dr Ferozah Conrad,
SANBI
“Thumbs up to your dedication and professionalism! I submitted my proposal and it passed the test; I now have my ethical clearance. I am proceeding with chapter two. Thanks again Layla!!!”
Lungile Bele, PhD student
University of Zululand
Reading through the various aspects of your Toolkit, I am truly astounded at your meticulous delivery of its content. Wow! I am lost for words. You have thoroughly and systematically outlined the entire research process in such a user friendly, interactive and comprehensive way. Compiling such a Toolkit for postgraduate students across all disciplines cannot be an easy task, I am sure. Yet I found your Toolkit simple to navigate and the topics you cover more than relevant. I have no doubt that the users of your Toolkit could also attest to this.
“In fact, I used your Chapter 5 on “How to write and publish an academic paper” as a guide as I wrote up my Master’s research. This was hugely helpful and I actually received news this week that my research will be published in October in the Journal of Psychology in Africa.
Your dream of enabling others to fulfil their dreams, including my own, is certainly coming to fruition. Congratulations Layla and well done! I have no doubt that your fourth edition is going to be a huge success ☺.”
Phillipa Haine, PhD student
Rhodes University
“I am Denis, one of the Master’s NMMU students who attended your workshops. Please be informed that l finished my dissertation in May 2017 instead of December 2017.
Please be also informed that l have just had my provisional final examination results and all 3 examiners had no objection to giving me 75% above for my dissertation. I owe it to your research workshops. Thank you so much; your workshops opened my mind and motivated me in terms of research.”
Denis Nyirenda, Master’s graduate
Nelson Mandela University
“Thank you so much for the workshop you presented on 18 to 20 August 2020. You really helped me understand concepts of research I was struggling with for years. The way you explained them has motivated me to study further.”
Nomaza, Master’s student
Stellenbosch University
“I just wanted to email and personally thank you for an incredible 3 day workshop. I found it really helpful and insightful. The recorded voice-overs [voice recordings on the Toolkit] are a super great idea because it allows us to go back to places we felt a little confused with. I really appreciated the morning stretches and the self-defence video! The stretching reminded me to check in with my body and the self-defence video gave me such an empowering feeling of being able to watch my own back being a woman in this scary world.
Thank you again for an awesome workshop! I reckon it was one of my favourites. I look forward to future workshops!”
Samantha Cunningham, Master’s student
Nelson Mandela University
“Dr Layla Cassim is the best facilitator that I have ever met. Her toolkit is designed in a way that makes it so easy for students to understand.”
Rolex Aluoch, Master’s student,
Vaal University of Technology
“Dr Layla is an exceptional teacher; her teaching skills are excellent. The content of her tool kit is above everything. Her training methodology allows you to learn on your own and yet provides you with all necessary tools. I was so impressed by the content of her voice recordings. I wish many books and other study materials could be in an audio format as I learn so much better listening than reading. She has met and exceeded my expectation.
I am so motivated to further my studies and I will be making sure I work closely with Dr Layla. I already have a good feeling about the journey I am about to embark on; I feel confident enough to enroll with any university of my choice because I now know where to begin. Thank you so much for bringing so much positivity in my life and career. Please continue planting the seeds and shine brighter.”
Omphile Khutsoane, prospective Master’s student,
SANBI
“The workshop was amazing and most enjoyable from start to finish. Dr Cassim had a wealth of knowledge to share and was extremely practical in her approach. I loved that she had an interdisciplinary approach to her training. She was genuinely approachable and so generous of her time. She made us feel so comfortable with who we were and this just provided me with the motivation I needed to get me going. We also gained from her responses to other participants. I was never bored with her discussions as she made the effort to reflect on aspects from different angles. With the skills I received in this workshop I definitely will conquer the fears I have had with regards to my research. I love the fact that we have so many tools to now refer to for confirmation as we progress. I will certainly attend further workshops with Dr Cassim and recommend her training to others.”
Pavina Moodliar, PhD student,
Mangosuthu University of Technology
“Dear Layla
Congratulations on your 10th anniversary and the launch of the fourth edition of your Postgraduate Toolkit! It is an impressive achievement that in the last ten years, the Toolkit has reached more than 10000 postgraduate students and researchers across the country and continent. It is also very encouraging that the University of Limpopo has secured a license to make the Toolkit available on its website to all staff and students. Let us hope that this vote of confidence will encourage other Universities to do the same. I am sure that the extensive updates to improve functionality and new material that you have added into this new edition will be invaluable to postgraduate students.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to re-evaluate how we work, and has prompted the switch to online teaching, learning and research at our institutions of higher learning. I commend you for making the Toolkit available as an electronic and online resource. I am convinced it will play an important role in assisting students to complete their research projects successfully in this challenging context and, possibly, encourage a much higher number of students to consider postgraduate research.
I am extremely proud to be involved and to continue to support this pioneering initiative. May your contribution grow from strength to strength and the numbers multiply to reach many more over the years. It is a contribution that is undervalued but one that adds enormously towards building a body of knowledge to solve our challenges.”
Dr Wendy Luhabe
Social Entrepreneur
“[We] received the PG Toolkit and downloaded it. It is rich with information and I hope the UL community will use it efficiently.”
Prof. Mosa Selepe
University of Limpopo
“I wanted to say thank you very much for the workshop.
You explained everything that one needs to know about research and more. Listening to you for the 3 past days and hearing how much you love what you are doing. You have given me courage to continue with my Master’s but more importantly you have given me a navigator for my research journey. With all the recordings and the toolkit I have no excuse but to navigate until I reach my final destination. You have opened my eyes to a lot of things and now I see light out of the darkness.
I may be quiet but I was observing you and learning occurred through observation. Just to mention a few things from my observations, I have learnt the following: Firstly, it is important to keep time and stick to it. Secondly that you need to keep on reading and also read things outside the scope of what you are doing. I saw how you were able to comment and answer all different questions that we threw at you; that shows how well informed you are in and out of your area of research. Finally proper planning yields good results; in your planning, plan for errors that may occur and solve them. Besides the fact that you spoke about these things in your toolkit, I have seen you living them for the past 3 days.
Some of us just enter the postgraduate field clueless and we just go with the flow. No one is willing to explain to you what is research all about and often this leads to mental health issues. People are not willing to talk about their research and I have learnt that we can help each other if we talk about our research during this workshop.
I believe that your workshop needs to be part of the Honour’s curriculum of every university and it should be a compulsory course for anyone who wants to do any research.”
Mogomane Digashu
Master’s student, CSIR
“This is just to express my hearty appreciation. You may recall that I nagged you when I was about to start my studies last year. I want you to know that I made use of your toolkit and, finally, I went through. I was actually surprised that I finished my Master of Theology in a year instead of the usual two years. My supervisor and other colleagues in the faculty were shocked. I don’t know how to thank you for saving my time and money. I am now fighting to start my PhD this year and with just the same approach I am hopeful. God bless you.”
Pastor Suspicion Mudzanire, PhD student
Stellenbosch University
“I can’t thank NMU enough for bringing us Dr Cassim to hold a 3-day intensive workshop for us on Thesis Writing! What a life changing experience with her after attending a series of other research workshops that left me half educated and half confused. I am an academic working in a higher education institution but also completing my MSc in Chemistry. I’m the only one doing environmental analysis in the Chemistry Department and this means I don’t have an overseer or a senior student to help me navigate through my MSc program. Being in my last year and feeling shallow in content and experience in carrying out research and writing a thesis, Dr Cassim came from nowhere to open my eyes and stimulate my innovative abilities in thesis writing. Now I am ready for my future as a researcher, publisher, future students’ supervisor, and mentor to upcoming researchers in my institution. Thank you once again Dr Cassim. Thank you NMU.”
Relebohile Hlabana, Master’s student,
Nelson Mandela University
“Herewith my sincere appreciation and gratitude for an excellent and well-structured workshop. The workshop was a great eye-opener and it put the essence of a PhD research project into perspective. It was well presented with excellent supporting learning material that will be of great benefit to me on this challenging and exciting journey. Sincere thank you once again.”
Hilton Adonis, PhD student
Stellenbosch University
“Absolutely amazing and mind blowing. I went into the course a bit skeptical as I wasn’t sure how different this would be from what universities give you but it’s very different. She teaches you to be an open thinker as well as to be the best researcher you can be. The course motivated me to do the best I can for my Master’s.”
Aaliyah Motala, Master’s student,
SANBI
“A quick note from my side to say thanks once again for the amazing workshop that I attended in May 2019. I managed to pass my mini-dissertation (MCom Industrial Psychology) at the University of Pretoria with 81% and also submitted it 4 months before the due date. I incorporated all the concepts that were covered during your workshop for the proposal stage in 2019 and also for the submission of the mini-dissertation in 2020.”
Sherwyn Roussouw, Master’s graduate,
University of Pretoria
“Dear Dr Layla
I feel so sad that your workshop has come to an end. The three days have changed my academic and personal life for the better. The highlight for me was the inclusion of audio notes (Powerpoints) in your package, something I have never experienced in all the classes and workshops I have attended before. I looked forward to each class and as a result I prepared well in advance; you took me back to childhood when I was always eager to learn something new.Your passion and kind spirit have inspired me in ways I can’t even explain.”
Nolitha Nkobole, PhD student,
UNISA