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A few decades ago, Tholisu and Sawela Primary schools as well as Velabahleke and Vukuzakhe high schools at Umlazi Township opened doors to a little girl through her teenage years to prepare her for post high school qualifications. The University of Zululand would be her chosen higher education where she graduated with a degree in nursing, and never looked back. Her terminal qualifications are Doctor of Technology in Nursing from the Durban University of Technology. She is a C-rated researcher who has successfully supervised 60 Masters and 33 PhD students. Today, we announce that the young girl Professor Nokuthula Maureen Sibiya, who experienced first-hand the socio-economic challenges of township life, faced township school challenges, and demonstrated academic excellence despite resource limitations is MUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal to take reigns with effect from 01 August 2024. Professor Nokuthula Sibiya was appointed at Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) in October 2022 as

Prof Sibiya joined DUT in August 2003 as a lecturer in the Department of Nursing. She graduated with her doctoral qualification in 2009. She then went on to serve as the Head of Department (HOD) of Nursing from 2011 to 2017. During her tenure as HOD, in 2017, she received from the Nursing Education Association (NEA) an Excellence Award for Leadership in Nursing Education for the successful implementation of an undergraduate nursing programme at DUT with a strong Primary Health Care (PHC) philosophical underpinning at a tertiary institution to address the shortage of nurses in the KwaZulu-Natal province. DUT was also the first university of technology to offer such a programme in South Africa. She has previously served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning, Executive Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences, Head of Department of Nursing. Prof Sibiya is an NRF-rated scientist. For recognition for her excellent contribution to primary

The University will celebrate the annual Women’s Day in style this year. The event will have a very strong human rights element in that will highlights the University women’s gain in the form of the newly formed Gender Forum. Some leaders of the forum will feature strongly in the event, which will take place on 8 August 2024. The venue will be announced in due course.

For successive weeks, the relevant department reported on Mandela Month-related stories, which are part of the University’s CEAD programme for the whole month.  In the last few days, the spotlight has fallen upon an academic from the Department of Nature Conservation. Dr Sibonelo Mbanjwa has visited at least two schools in less than five days, getting involved in activities that are “in honour of Nelson Mandela”, which are reflecting his values of empowerment and self-reliance. On July 19, 2024, Dr Mbanjwa, together with members of the Department of Nature Conservation, collaborated with the Durban Municipality, eLovu Township’s Siyabonga Secondary School, Umgeni Water, and the Department of Waste Management in the Amanzimtoti to celebrate and honour Nelson Mandela through a coastal clean-up initiative because they are “committed to raising awareness and promoting environmental responsibility among young people”. Dr Mbanjwa, a man with an extensive environmental background, has observed that “our environment

A local high school will also have a long-term benefit from the Mandela month. On 17 July 2024, the University Campus Health Services honoured President Mandela by sharing some valuable information with 97 learners of Naleni High School in V Section, just down the road from the University. The Head of the Health Services, Sister Nomusa Mkhwanazi, said they used the Mandela Day initiative to educate the learners about their reproductive rights. Sister Mkhwanazi said “the conversation included what contraceptives are, and the basic information about STIs and HIV & AIDS. We shared information and demystified myths around this subject”. Sister Mkhwanazi said their decision to discuss this subject with the leaners was because of the inadequate level of understanding of this subject that comes up during clinical consultations in the campus clinic. Sister Mkhwanazi said they intended to adopt this school and start a health education at least from

On 24 July 2024, 120 University students had their lives changed for the better. These students heeded a call from the TLDC’s Writing Centre, and attended academic writing workshop whose theme was appropriately called “unlocking your academic ‘write’ mind”.  The workshop is part of the TLDC’s Student Writing Empowerment (SWE), a programme which aims at empowering students with proper academic writing skills, “which were crucial for success in their studies and future careers”, according to the Centre’s Dr Nondumiso Shabangu. Dr Shabangu defined academic writing as “a formal style of writing used in universities and scholarly publications. It is characterized by a clear focus on the topic or research question, a logical structure, evidence-based arguments, and the use of scholarly sources”. Dr Shabangu said this type of writing often involves critical analysis, synthesis of information, and the precise and objective presentation of ideas. Dr Shabangu said the workshop aimed to

The 2024 edition of the MUT Schools and Community Cup tournament that will take place at MUT on 16 August 2024, will be very different from last year’s; its level of professionalism will be up by a few notches. At the tournament preparation meeting that took place on 25 July 2024 at the University’s Student Centre, a very important element of Sport was discussed. This was the safeguarding element. According to the Department of Sport’s Nikiwe Ngobese, “the topic was covered because the tournament is inclusive of children and young adults. It was important that educators were informed about this topic as safeguarding is mandatory in sport”.  According to the South African Police Service Missing Persons Bureau, a child goes missing every six hours in the country. The bureau says that  in a year, a total of 1 460 children go missing. More than 87% of these children are found within

On Mandela Day the University’s departments fanned out to honour a call that was made years ago – honour Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela’s 67 years dedication to human freedom by spending 67 minutes to help the needy. The following is a series of story articles that illustrate the commitment and dedication of the University towards the welfare of its neighbours that now need someone to get through the day.

The grade 6 and 7 learners of Umlazi Township’s Ngilosi Primary School will always remember the 2024 Mandela Day as day that changed their young lives for the better. On 18 July 2024, the University’s community engagement division teamed up with a private company and offered some life changing lessons to the learners. The two organisations were encouraged by the Nelson Mandela Foundation call: “It’s still in our hands to combat poverty and inequality”. The University’s CEAD and Go Digital SA Foundation spent 67 minutes teaching the learners coding and robotics. The Director of CEAD, Professor Busisiwe Nkonki-Mandleni, said the learners “engaged in an exciting project using coding and robotics tools to develop automated models of a flying bird and an automated forklift. Learners demonstrated remarkable proficiency in coding and engineering principles as they meticulously designed, programmed, and assembled their projects”. The impressed Professor Nkonki-Mandleni said “the flying bird model,

Nokukhanya Thembane, a Lecturer in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, and Community Engagement and Stakeholder Co-ordinator, reports that they went to Mandlenkosi High School, and Umtapo High School in Lindelani Township, in Durban to commemorate the Mandela Day, on 18 July 2024. They defined their activity as a careers day. Thembane said what motivated them was that “at the core of our profession is a commitment to providing information and services to disenfranchised communities. This year, our entire staff complement participated in this meaningful community engagement”. Thembane said their visit focused on sharing the importance of Biomedical Sciences as a scarce skill and the backbone of diagnostic medicine. “This outreach allowed us to engage deeply with students and staff of the schools, sharing our knowledge and expertise in the field of Biomedical Sciences. We highlighted how our profession is crucial in advancing healthcare and improving public health outcomes,” she said.