Dr Bonita de Swardt named as a woman of power in STEMI by Mail & Guardian

SARAO has a new feather in its cap with a prestigious award being bestowed upon one of its own.

Dr Bonita de Swardt, Programme Manager: Strategic Partnerships for Human Capital Development at SARAO, was recently nominated and subsequently named as one of the Mail and Guardian’s 100 Power of Women, an annual showcase of South Africa’s women frontrunners celebrating their achievements. This achievement was bestowed on De Swardt in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Innovation (STEMI) category.

Celebrating the 19^th anniversary of the Mail & Guardian’s annual flagship event, Power of Women marks nearly two decades of recognising and celebrating the immense contributions made by South African women.

De Swardt joined SARAO more than a decade ago, and has helped shape the landscape of women working in radio astronomy and related sciences by adding to the national skills base through scientific support and creating opportunities to expand their knowledge in the field and apply it to simulated real-life scenarios.

“When I first joined SARAO over a decade ago, my work focused on building the national skills base in radio astronomy and engineering to support South Africa’s participation in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project. At the time, the priority was to ensure we had the scientific and technical expertise needed to design, operate, and sustain one of the world’s most ambitious astronomy projects,” says De Swardt.

“As the SKA evolved and data became the new frontier, our focus shifted toward developing expertise in data science, artificial intelligence, and Big Data technologies — skills that not only serve astronomy but have far-reaching applications across sectors,” she adds.

The result of De Swardt’s hard work is that a programme to train radio astronomers and engineers has grown into a continent-wide initiative building Africa’s digital and data science capacity. According to De Swardt, young people — particularly women and students from historically disadvantaged institutions — are coached and taken through the steps to apply data-driven thinking to global challenges. “It has been inspiring to see this transformation from building telescopes to building talent that is powering innovation far beyond astronomy.”

Being nominated for the award came as a surprise to De Swardt, but she realises that it is a testament to her hard work. This year’s 100 Powerful Women represent a diverse range of sectors and communities — from science, social justice, the arts, education, entrepreneurship and beyond. This initiative is a celebration of women’s resilience and determination, stories that often go unseen but are truly empowering and uplifting.

“This award is deeply meaningful — not only as a personal honour but as recognition of the collective effort of the teams, partners, and young people who make these programmes possible. Coming from a background where opportunities were limited, I understand the transformative power of access, mentorship, and belief. The Power of Women award celebrates every woman who dares to step into spaces where she was once told she did not belong. It reminds me why I do this work — to make sure that others can dream even bigger,” says De Swardt.

She has big plans for her portfolio at SARAO and focuses on expanding and zoning in on big data opportunities and specialities. “The next phase of our work will focus on strengthening Africa’s data and innovation capabilities — expanding our Big Data Africa and Open Data for Social Impact initiatives, deepening partnerships with Historically Disadvantaged Institutions, and scaling up women-led innovation programmes. I’m also passionate about growing cross-sector collaborations that link astronomy data with real-world applications in health, agriculture, and the environment. The goal is to position South Africa and the continent as a hub for socially impactful science and technology.”

Seeing more young girls and women in STEM fields is one of De Swardt’s passions, one that she drives every day in her work. “Celebrating women in STEM is not just about visibility — it’s about changing the narrative. Recognition like the Power of Women awards creates role models, validates the hard work often done behind the scenes, and inspires the next generation to see that science and technology are for them too. When women are recognised, entire systems begin to shift towards greater equity and innovation,” she concludes.

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