Meet Tanzanian teaching in Chinese university

Lyatamila Ndyali alias Lyata Ndyali 36 is the first Tanzanian to work in a Wuhan university as a full-time lecturer in any major course.

Since September 2016, she has been working as a full-time lecturer in the Business Management Department of this university, teaching four Business Management courses.

During her two years of working and research as a postdoctoral researcher, she published three papers and attended many academic conferences, workshops and competitions.

“This experience enabled me to deal with my teaching work at the South-Central University for Nationalities with ease,” she says.

Dr Ndyali says since September 2016, she has been working as a full-time lecturer in the Business Management Department of the university, teaching four Business Management courses.

She mentioned that the book used for her marketing classes is mainly about the American marketing system. She teaches more than that because she knows that it is necessary to understand different marketing models in each region because trade and business are being carried out between China and many countries along the Belt and Road.

She has introduced her students to marketing procedures in Tanzania and other African countries. “I’m very glad that my students are becoming more interested in the countries along the Belt and Road since this great initiative is having a major impact on the world,” she says noting that some of her students are planning to work in Africa in the future

She explains that since February 2019, she had started writing an academic book that she hopes will be published soon.

Her parents come from Itete, Morogoro.

She attended Olympio Primary School then she did her O- Level at St Anthony’s. Secondary school.

However Lyata joined Benjamin William Mkapa High School and completed her Advanced Secondary Education in 2003. Then studied law between 2004-2007 at Mzumbe University.

In 2008, with a scholarship from the Tanzanian government, Ndyali became a student in the Business Administration Department at the Wuhan University of Technology and she graduated Master’s degree at Wuhan University of Technology 2010 MBA.

She joined Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) for PHD in 2010 to 2014 and attained PhD in Marketing Management and did Postdoctoral Research: Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.

While at HUST, she published five papers while the requirement was only three. Her excellent academic performance made her professor encourage her to apply for a teaching position at the university.

Dr Ndyali says despite her repeated failures in procuring a place, she did not give up and she applied for a postdoctoral research place at the Zhongnan University of Law and Economics. There were around 100 applicants for the job.

Three of them were from Africa, and Dr.Ndyali was the only female applicant. After an interview, she was short-listed with nine other candidates and then was selected for the position.

She says in order to qualify to work in a Chinese university the first step is to complete your PhD plus paper publication in reputable journal or conferences. A postdoc research definitely is a plus and this could lead you to be recognised as an expert in China.

She says, “There is this belief that African or black person isn’t qualified to work in such a position in a country like China but reality is your qualification, hardwork,discipline and determination that can change people’s perception and not your skin colour.”

Dr Ndyali says in ten years she would love to produce students that are competitive and accountable to the society.

She is married to Edgar Mtakwa and have two children.