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Compliments on the new season. I wish you well in your efforts to make this University a better place for our community. I would like to inform you that we have made significant progress with the intake of first-year students. Our target is 4004 for the entire year, and as of Friday, 23 January 2026, we have registered 2229 students. Although this milestone is unprecedented, I believe we can still improve in the future. Admittedly, we faced initial technical glitches, but the contributions of our various teams and supporting staff have demonstrated the greatness of MUT people. I would like to applaud everyone who contributed to ensuring the registration process did not collapse despite the unexpected challenges we faced on day one of registration. I encourage all staff members to share their suggestions for best practices to enhance our registration procedures. Your insights will be valuable for discussion among our

Watching the events of this week unfold was a powerful reminder that we are here to make a meaningful difference, not to create divisions. In these stories, we celebrate our colleagues who united with a shared vision, declaring, “Registration 2026 will be a success in our lifetime.” It has been a week of remarkable collaboration, with various departments working together harmoniously, free from threats or overbearing attitudes. The executive has actively listened to junior, middle, and senior managers, evaluating what will truly work. This spirit of togetherness is unprecedented and may it continue to illuminate our path. It reflects the future of MUT, especially as we embrace transformation through our Vision 2026-2030. IGNITE 2030, My-MUT—we are here for you.

Despite technical glitches slowing down the registration process, MUT’s visible walkabouts showed students and parents that MUT is a caring University. The interventions by the Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Resources and Planning, Bulelani Mahlangu have also been noted. He remained on campus right after 21h00 to ensure that the meals ordered for students were on their way. The on-the-spot solutions provided by the Registrar, Dr Karen Lazenby and her deputy, Zolisa Gqamane, are a reminder that “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success.” — Henry Ford. Let us keep the spirit of togetherness.

The CFO has profusely tanked the Department of Marketing and Communications for making themselves available to help in the registration process. “Thank you so much for the leadership, for caring, for the spirit of self-sacrifice demonstrated by yourself and your team,” Bulelani Mahlangu said. Mahlangu praised the level of professionalism shown by the four members of the department that started helping in the registration process on Tuesday, 20 January 2026. The CFO said, Sthembile Maphumulo-Ndlovu, Ayanda Bulose, Nganele Dube, and Jade Mthiyane, provided high level of assistance. The team reported that the queues are getting shorter and shorter. “The queue is moving fast, look!” said Sthembile Maphumulo-Ndlovu. The Marcomms colleagues are doing a very crucial part of the process, issuing the firm offers to prospective students. The freshmen and women cannot register without this stage.  Another “unsung hero” in this effort is Lizwi Masondo, the Safety, Health and Environment Officer.

In January 2026, a dream came true for someone. A big dream. Zoleka Ndwandwe was able to enrol for a Diploma in Office Management and Technology. Ndwandwe passed her matric two years ago. This freshman said she was “very happy; “it was my dream to study at MUT. It feels like I am dreaming”, Ndwandwe said. “I spent two years not studying I passed matric it 2023,” she continued.  Ndwandwe is from KwaNongoma, in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

The Student Affairs’ Disability Support Unit (DSU) of the Student Counselling department is appealing to all students living with disabilities to come out and contact them so the division can offer them the help they need. The Unit has five students with disabilities assisting with registration; they wear grey T-shirts with the message “how can we help you” on the back. The aim is to ensure that students with disabilities are treated fairly and with dignity. The DSU’s Peliwe Sanele Hofah and Samukelisiwe Mthembu said she they had to go and check the queues with the help of peer helpers, looking for students living with disabilities. They said they can identify some. Hofah said it was very important for the students living with disabilities to come out and register with them so they can benefit from the services the Unit is offering. They said it becomes much easier to deal

Towards the end of 2025, two staff members from the Faculty of Engineering had a life-changing experience. Mlungisi Dlamini and Nondumiso Makhoba, Technicians: Process Automation and Control/Mechatronics: Department of Electrical Engineering, were awarded with a UNISA’s Senate Graduate Excellence Award in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology for the 2025 academic year, for being top performers in the category “Best Results for BAC Eng Tech Hons in Electro”.  The award includes a study bursary valued at R12 000.00, to be utilized within five years for further studies at UNISA. They both gave well measured responses to this development in their lives. Both said they were “honoured and grateful to have received the award. Dlamini said: “This recognition is both humbling and motivating, as it affirms the hard work, discipline, and commitment that went into my studies. This award is also a reminder of the responsibility to continue striving for

In a clear demonstration of business continuity and institutional focus, the Directorate of Institutional Planning and Research (DIPR), led by Dr Liile Lekena-Bayaga, has officially set the tone for the 2025 Annual Report process. Anchored in its core mandate, namely institutional planning and strategy support, performance monitoring and reporting, data analysis and institutional research, and ensuring compliance with Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) reporting requirements, DIPR convened a strategic engagement meeting with senior management to initiate reflections on departmental contributions to the 2025 Annual Report. The Annual Report is a mandatory submission to the DHET and a critical accountability instrument for the University. The meeting provided a platform for early alignment, with various departments offering thoughtful, insightful input on how their work would be articulated within the reporting framework. The collegial nature of the engagement fostered shared ownership of the process and reinforced the importance of integrated and

The sight of students arriving hungry, exhausted, and dehydrated has weighed heavily on Dr Anette Mienie, Acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Mangosuthu University of Technology. For her, leadership is lived, visible, and deeply human. In recent days, Dr Mienie has been a constant presence on campus, taking walkabouts, engaging directly with students, and listening carefully to their stories. Her emotional intelligence is unmistakable. With a quiet, motherly touch, she asked where students had travelled from, how long the journey had taken, and how long they had been waiting to be assisted. One such encounter was with Olwethu, a first-year student from KwaMhlabuyalingana in the far north of KwaZulu-Natal. Olwethu’s journey, like many others, was marked by determination and sacrifice. “We left home in the afternoon by taxi,” Olwethu explained, “then had to take a meter taxi from town to the University. We arrived at 1 am on Monday, 19 January

On 22 January 2026, at 3:19 a.m, when most of the people were either waking up or taking their deep sleep, some MUT staffers were having sleepless nights about how best to solve the registration delays; hunger being experienced by first year students trapped in queues, not wanting to go anywhere in case their turn comes while they are not in the queues, and most also worried about where the next plate would come from. That hour tells you everything you need to know about MUT. MUT cares about its students. However, it needs partners and strategic stakeholders to reach its dreams. There is a saying: “Show me your friends, and I will tell you who you are.” At MUT, partnerships are not transactional; they are relational, built on trust, consistency, and shared purpose. When the systems strain, as they often do in a township shaped by water shortages, load