The recent visit by California State University, Sacramento (Sac State) to Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) has not only deepened academic collaboration between the two institutions but also reaffirmed MUT’s growing stature and influence within the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province.
In preparation for the high-profile visit, the Vice-Chancellor’s Office, in partnership with the Marketing and Communications Directorate, worked diligently to identify and invite enabling stakeholders whose participation could help steer the collaboration toward tangible outcomes. Their efforts paid off when two key government entities joined the Roundtable discussions: the Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, Honourable Nontembeko Boyce, and a representative from the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Dr Nandi Madiba, the Chairperson of the Audit and Risk Committee.
Their presence underscored the value of higher education partnerships in strengthening civic and governmental engagement. Addressing the Roundtable, Honourable Boyce highlighted the potential for MUT to play a more active role in capacity building within the public sector. “There are a lot of things that we would like to do with MUT in terms of civic engagement. But we also need MUT to consider conceptualising training programmes to build capacity among our staff. It cannot be that MUT, being a grassroots university, cannot offer training programmes. We would like to propose that MUT engages us in a more structured approach so that we can all be on the same page insofar as programmes from MUT could be tailored for us,” Speaker Boyce said.
Boyce’s remarks were warmly received by MUT’s leadership, who recognised the opportunity to strengthen the University’s impact beyond academia. The Institution has since committed to developing a structured engagement framework to facilitate such partnerships.
Mbali Mkhize, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications, noted that the University would ensure proper coordination of these follow-up engagements. “There are many protocols universities must follow in government relations. We will be briefing the VC’s Office so that MUT can prepare itself for such follow-up engagements to succeed,” Mkhize said.
The participation of government leaders in the Sac State Roundtable discussions has further positioned MUT as a trusted partner for skills development and innovation in governance. As MUT continues its journey toward internationalisation, its strengthened provincial ties signal a University ready to shape both local and global futures.