Expressive dancing, shouts of ‘halala’ from the excited audience, the adorning of traditional ethnic wear in Spring colours of green and red dominated the first session of the 2022 Spring Graduation ceremony which took place at the Durban Exhibition Centre, Durban on Thursday, 30 September 2022.
The exhilarating ceremony saw four Degrees of Doctor of Philosophy being conferred and awarded to Dr Musa Gumede. His dissertation focused on the: Development of a policy framework for the establishment of physical programmes in reducing non-communicable diseases in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
The dynamic Dr Amile Olwethu Mavundla looked at: A framework supporting the mother-daughter relationship in the adoption of positive sexual health behaviours-A study of adolescent girls in the eThekwini District, KwaZulu-Natal.
Dr Nomhle Mvunelo delved into: Evaluating the effectiveness of virtual buddy support to improve treatment adherence for patients suffering from schizophrenia in KwaZulu-Natal: a model of care.
The final Doctoral graduate, Dr Bornface Chinene’s dissertation tackled: A framework to mitigate disruptive behaviours of radiographers at selected public tertiary hospitals in Zimbabwe.
In absentia of Professor Thandwa Mthembu, DUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal and DUT Chancellor, Ms Nonkululeko Nyembezi, Prof Suren Singh, the Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning, conferred the degrees and awarded the diplomas, whilst recognising the achievements of all the graduates.
DUT graduates celebrate their academic excellence
The Faculty of Accounting and Informatics had 37 Master’s graduates, setting the academic bar high for the rest of the sessions over today, 29 September 2022 and for Friday, 30 September 2022.
Giving the welcome at the session was Mr Alan, Khan, Senior Director of Corporate Affairs, who shared more insight into DUT’s sterling achievements.
“In all reality it is fantastic to be back on stage to witness our graduates walk down the red carpet to receive their degrees, diplomas and certificates. Despite the pandemic challenges last year, on a positive note, our university, the Durban University of Technology was ranked in the top five of all South African universities at the Times Higher Education World University rankings in London, rated in the top 500 of all universities around the world. DUT is also one of the top six universities of the African continent. Yesterday, (Professional Market Research (PMR) Africa named DUT as the number one higher education institution in KwaZulu-Natal and presented our university with the 2022 Leaders and Achievers award,” he relayed ecstatically.
Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at DUT, Prof Gugu Mchunu did the presentation of graduates which was followed by the congratulatory message given by Prof Oludayo Olugbara, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Accounting and Informatics at the Durban University of Technology (DUT).
The second session at 14h00, saw graduates from the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment take the graduation stage. The third session will see graduands from the Faculty of Applied Sciences and a group from the Faculty of Management Sciences.
Pictured: PhD graduates from the first session of the 2022 Spring Graduation ceremony, at the Durban Exhibition Centre.
Waheeda Peters
