Her role has since expanded from secretarial and administrative work to providing Postdoctoral Fellows and Distinguished Professors with immigration support in collaboration with the Postgraduate School, coordinating the student buddy programme, supporting the University of Johannesburg International Student Society, administering the International Student Fund in collaboration with the Director for International Fundraising and Administration, coordinating special short learning programmes and other special projects in the Study Abroad and Student Services portfolio and managing all the events of the section. She is developing skills to coordinate Erasmus+ student mobilities for both inbound and outbound.

Before joining the Division for Global Engagement, Ms Sam was a Residence Assistant at the Office of Student Accommodation and Residence Life. She oversaw the running of a senior residence, which included overseeing cleaning, gardening, maintenance, and supervision of services staff within the residence. She also worked in the Privately Owned Accommodation (POSA) office, where she handled accreditation applications, evaluations, and accreditation of off-campus accommodation for UJ students on NSFAS and other UJ-administered bursaries.
Ziyanda has good interpersonal and well-developed communication skills, which gives her the ability to navigate complex and diverse spaces in internationalisation