Welcome to Episode 62 of The Incredible Machines podcast! In this thought-provoking conversation, Jon Oliff and Luke Holden sit down with Professor Linda Meyer, an experienced higher education leader and passionate advocate for lifelong learning, women in leadership and greater access to quality education across Africa.
Professor Meyer reflects on a career that has taken her from working as a flight attendant and full-time trade unionist to the CCMA, government, justice, statutory institutions and senior leadership in higher education. She explains how these experiences shaped her understanding of dignity; fairness and the responsibility institutions have to improve people’s lives.
Jon and Linda discuss artificial intelligence in education, the challenges facing first generation students, graduate employability and the urgent need for stronger collaboration between public and private institutions. Professor Meyer also discusses Rosebank International’s partnership with the University of the Free State and her ambition to expand high-quality African education across the continent.
This episode is essential listening for education leaders, policymakers, employers and anyone interested in building a more accessible, collaborative and future ready higher education system.
⏱ Timestamped Overview
00:47 – Introduction to Linda Meyer and artificial intelligence in education
06:52 – The childhood experience that shaped Professor Meyer’s moral compass
14:27 – Trade unionism, the CCMA and discovering the power of education
24:29 – Working across community colleges, government, justice and higher education
34:31 – Financial pressure and sustainability within the public university system
37:04 – Why education must remain the purpose of every higher education institution
39:16 – Online learning and the disruption of traditional education
40:19 – Youth unemployment and the continuing value of a university degree
51:07 – Different learning styles and the importance of applying knowledge
57:44 – The leaders who taught Professor Meyer humility, kindness and commercial judgement
1:02:46 – The challenges facing first generation university students
1:07:00 – Building African solutions for African education challenges
1:11:36 – The four principles guiding Professor Meyer’s leadership
1:17:31 – Women’s access to education, unequal pay and leadership opportunities
1:23:31 – Patriarchal systems and recognising women’s contributions
1:29:40 – Creating opportunities through social responsibility
1:33:44 – What Professor Meyer would tell her younger self
1:36:47 – Why people must look beyond artificial intelligence summaries
💬 Quote of the Episode
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou.
🧠 Related Campaign Example
Me Too Movement: Although it’s not a conventional advertising campaign, “Me Too” is one of the most consequential global advocacy campaigns of our time. It transformed experiences that had often been endured privately into a collective demand for recognition, accountability and institutional change. Its power lay in two simple words that enabled millions of women to recognise that their experiences were not isolated and that silence frequently protects systems rather than victims.
“The campaign is particularly relevant to my work in leadership, higher education and labour-market policy because sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination are not merely interpersonal problems. They are institutional and workplace governance failures that restrict women’s participation, progression and psychological safety. “Me Too” demonstrated how personal testimony, shared at scale, can challenge entrenched power and compel organisations to examine cultures that formal policies alone have failed to change. Its enduring lesson is that institutions cannot claim to support women while tolerating environments in which misconduct is concealed, complainants are discredited and perpetrators remain protected.”
The campaign changed the global conversation; the continuing challenge is to translate that visibility into due process, prevention, accountability and lasting institutional reform.
Me Too Movement: https://metoomvmt.org/
👣 Relevant Links & Mentions
Professor Linda Meyer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-meyer-2b236866/
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