Mpho Makgotlho, 40, from Mabopane, Pretoria, worked as a cleaner on the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Pretoria campus while completing a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering, graduating cum laude last week.

He first earned a diploma in metallurgical engineering in 2011, followed by a BTech qualification, before taking a trainee supervisor role at a gold mine in Mpumalanga.

The mine closed after nearly four years, leaving him unemployed just before the Covid‑19 pandemic.

To support his young son, Makgotlho borrowed money from his mother and started a small homemade detergent business.

In 2020 he applied for a permanent cleaning position at TUT after seeing an advertisement, and began work at the Pretoria campus in January 2022, turning down a more senior offer from another company.

Holding a BTech, he enrolled in the master’s programme and organised his schedule so that afternoons after his cleaning shift were devoted to research.

His research focused on extracting platinum‑group metals from chrome tailings using flotation and leaching processes.

Upon receiving his results, Makgotlho described the achievement as an emotional, mixed feeling and said it reshaped his view of work and dignity.