I interviewed well known Namibian scholar, administrator and content writer, Elizabeth M. Ndura, yesterday. This was my first interview of an African technical or content writer. It was very informative and lasted for well over an hour.

Professional Background

Elizabeth’s academic profile and resume are impressive. She’s schooled in Namibia, South Africa, Germany and the UK. Amongst her notable academic acheivements are a postgraduate diploma in Business Administration from the University of Namibia, and a MSc in Strategic Human Resouces Managment from the University of Roehampton, UK. Elizabeth has worked in many levels of the Namibian government and is currently is Senior Controller of the City of Windhoek. She is also a part time lecturer at the Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL). In her spare time, Elizabeth is an aspiring writer and recently released her autobiography titled ‘My life journey from Ashes to Hope, a story worth telling’. 

Interview Topics

I structured the interview questions around seven themes:

1. Personal Background
2. Background and Career Path.
3. Content Development Process
4. Editing and Quality Assurance
5. Software and Tools Used
6. Challenges and Solutions in Content Development
7. Future Trends and Industry Insights.

The interview focussed on Elizabeth’s experience with technical writing, editing and content creation.

• Elizabeth has seven-years of experience creating content as a full-time union representative.
• Elizabeth has four years of experience in moderating and editing distance learning content for NAMCOL’s diploma and bachelor’s programs in Youth and Community Development. Elizabeth’s role at NAMCOL allows her to merge her expertise in training and labour relations, with content development. 

Tools/Software

Elizabeth uses Moodle and Blackboard for managing online content, and Turnitin for plagiarism detection.

Approach to Content Development

Elizabeth discussed her structured approach to content development and how it ensures the training material she teaches keep audiences engaged. Her approach uses anecdotes, humor, thought provoking questions and interesting but relevant trivia to keep learner attention. She also descibed how she ensures training material are accurate and meet Namibia’s educational standards. The steps she follows include:

• Stay Updated on Industry Trends: Elizabeth continuously monitors the latest industry and technological trends to ensure her content remains current, valuable and aligned with industry developments.
• Needs Assessment: Elizabeth identifies learner requirements and curriculum objectives.
• Research and Content Structuring: She verifies sources and organizes content logically.
• Content Creation and Editing: She writes and formats for clarity, accuracy and engagement.
• Quality Assurance: She ennsures content is free from errors and meets accessibility standards.
• Feedback Integration: She routinely collects feedback from learners and refines her content.

These experiences and achievements highlight Elizabeth’s commitment to improving educational quality.

Future Trends

Elizabeth noticed the increasing use of Artificiall Intelligence (AI) in editing, graphics and writing. This has made content creation a lot easier but raises questions about copyright. AI is used increasingly in teaching, lesson planning and evaluation. Students´use of AI has made plagarism detection harder. She predicts increasing opportunities for content creators in education, as distance education expands globally, coupled with a reduced demand for classroom teachers. 

Conclusion

Elizabeth says NAMCOL and other Nambia government institutions incorporated new technologies when relevant, and adhere to the most stringent international standards in ethics, curriculum and content creation. These standards are reviewed routinely to ensure compliance.

 

Obinna Ikeako

March 21, 2025.