On 21 February 2024, the University accepted a certificate of acknowledgement from Umlazi Township Tourism. The organisation’s Chairperson Sandile Dlamini, and its Secretary, Sabelo Ngema, said the certificate was an acknowledgement of the University’s “positive contribution towards Umlazi Township and rural tourism promotion for the year 2023”. Dlamini and Ngema said they were aiming to do more with the University. “We are going to request that MUT give us a chance to show their international students around, for free, and partner with MUT for Africa Month.
Accepting the certificate on behalf of the department, the Department of Marketing and Communications’ Nganele Dube, thanked the Umlazi Township for acknowledging the University’s role in Umlazi Township Tourism. “For Umlazi Township Tourism to request to take our international students around, that would be great as it is aligned to MUT’s Anchor Strategy. But there would have to be some protocols to be followed. But by and large, that would be nice for our international students to be shown around the township by the professionals,” said Dube.
The University has developed very strong ties with Umlazi Township Tourism. Towards the end of last year, the two organisations collaborated in hosting the Umlazi Township Film Festival, which was a huge success. The Umlazi Township Tourism had a weeklong workshop in the University’s North Campus.