Covid-19 News South Africa

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#YouthMonth: Engineering her way to the top

Phola Kula has made a habit of overachieving. She's a chemical engineering graduate, she's landed her dream job where she's instrumental in developing a truly South African 100% organic disinfectant, she's embarking on a masters degree, and she's only 26.
Phola Kula, process engineer, Biodx
Phola Kula, process engineer, Biodx

“Yes, I’m one of ‘those’ people. I love my job at Biodx. I’ve had the rare opportunity to learn from the ground up, starting with the basics of project planning, implementation and manufacturing.

“A point of pride for me is being able to assist in the global front line of product development in the company’s quest to produce the world’s first 100% natural organic disinfectant. And the fact I’m making a real impact right now in the fight against Covid-19 with the responsibility ofmanufacturing our current range of disinfectants. It really doesn’t make sense that South African formulators, manufacturers and government are importing and buying old school toxic active ingredients when they have a far superior product on their doorstep here in South Africa.”

Finding the perfect chemistry

Kula always had a particular passion for chemistry, choosing analytical chemistry initially and then moving towards engineering.

“Although I mainly do process engineering work, I’m also involved in production and compliance to meet South Africa Bureau of Standards requirements,” she says.

“The best part of my job is that I’m constantly learning new things from my colleagues and even new suppliers, who share their knowledge with me. My knowledge base expands all the time and that’s what I look forward to each day.

“I’ve also completed a PDBA (post graduate diploma in business administration) and enrolled for my masters in management.”

Looking ahead

Kula is a dreamer with big plans for the future, and as the world opens up new doors every day, learning remains her focus.

I believe that life is a continuous learning curve. You can never know everything, and it’s so important to grab every opportunity to master new things wherever you can.
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