The word ‘survey’ naturally brings a key assumption: someone is intending to measure how people feel or think about a particular issue. At Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT), surveys are conducted from time to time to do just that. On 27 and 28 May 2026, the Department of Marketing and Communications conducted its latest survey targeting staff and students. The objective was to measure how well the University community knows the Institution’s core values, collectively known as MY MUT, under the IGNITE 2030 strategy.
While the overall response from staff and students was highly encouraging, the Marketing team was pleasantly surprised by voluntary and advocacy from a group of students from the Department of Accounting and Law. Nokwabelwa Zwane, Amahle Dladla, and Siziwe Mchunu, all Advanced Diploma in Accounting students, actively recruited their peers to participate in the survey. Their motivation was simple, they wanted to ensure that MUT students familiarise themselves with the Institution’s guiding principles.
The initiative began when Nokwabelwa Zwane engaged with the Department of Marketing and Communications staff to understand the purpose of the survey. Realising she had to rush to a lecture, Zwane promised to return. True to her word, she rushed back to Anniversary Lane, where the Marketing and Communications department had set up shop. Zwane did not return alone; she brought three students with her and proceeded to recruit five more on the spot. Her friends, Dladla and Mchunu, quickly joined the cause, recruiting even more students to do the survey. All three of them saw a need for the MUT students to know the values of MUT, which are the guiding principles.
The three students’ spontaneous leadership significantly boosted participation, contributing to a total of 594 respondents who completed the MUT Values survey.
The Department of Marketing and Communications was highly impressed by the students’ civic-minded spirit and dedication to the University’s vision. Zama Sishi, Director of Stakeholder Relations in the Department of Marketing and Communications, extended high praise to the Accounting students for their unexpected support. “They clearly saw the reason for us conducting the survey and sprang in to help. We were all pleasantly surprised,” said Sishi.
Sishi also extended a warm thank you to every member of the staff and student body who took the time to participate in the survey over the two-day period, noting that their feedback is vital to driving the IGNITE 2030 values forward.