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Dr Paulette Naidoo, Director
of Student Counselling in the
Department of Student Affairs,
pointed out that this year’s
Orientation Programme “aimed
to promote a cohort of civic-
minded,
socially-responsible
first-year students who take
responsibility for themselves
and their communities”. Formal,
theoretical and practical aspects
of civic and social responsibility
were incorporated into the First-
Year Orientation programme,
and contextualised in terms of
student volunteerism. Professor
Busisiwe
Nkonki-Mandleni,
Director of the Institute for Rural
Development and Community
Engagement (IRDCE), unpacked
the concepts of community engagement and student
volunteerism for students, highlighted the range of
projects which different units at MUT are involved in,
and gave examples of student volunteerism in action.
The programme also encouraged students to use their
initiative and implement their own student volunteer
projects and activities. Dr Naidoo introduced the
volunteer Peer Helpers initiative to first-year students,
pointing out that the senior students in this Student
Counselling initiative served as positive examples of
student volunteerism.
The platform was also an important opportunity to
introduce students to a Commitment Register which
they could complete if they were interested in pursuing
Orientation 2020
First-Year Orientation plants seeds of social responsibility
among students
student volunteerism projects. Many students in the
audience completed the Register, expressing a keen
interest in and commitment to giving back to their
communities and the University in the duration of their
stay.
It would not have been a complete orientation without
a tour of the campus, where students were invited
to participate in the ‘Love Your Campus Clean-Up
Campaign’. This campaign saw students combining
their love for MUT and their passion for volunteering
as they collectively cleaned the campus. Students
responded with enthusiasm and together with the
Peer Helpers went around campus picking up dirt to
keep their University clean.
Happy to join MUT!
Research shows that the first year at university is a crucial period for young people,
posing numerous challenges but also serving as opportunities for growth and
development. The general First-Year Orientation programme at MUT takes cognizance of
first-year student needs by offering them a holistic orientation experience. On 14 and 15
February 2020, the University hosted first-year students at Seme Hall for orientation into
their new ‘home’ over the next three or four years.