More than 5,600 students are set to cross the stage during Nelson Mandela University’s autumn graduation which starts on Friday.
A highlight on its annual calendar, the graduation at the Gqeberha campuses follows the capping of more than 370 students over two sessions in George last week.
Setting the tone in her address to graduands at the start of graduation in George, NMU chancellor Dr Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi applauded the students, as well as their families and friends who supported them on their academic journey.
She also made special mention of the university’s academic staff for the sacrifices.
“To you all, and on behalf of our university, our heartiest congratulations.
“To our graduands, especially, our very best wishes go with you as you take your next steps into a new world which we believe you will shape,” Fraser-Moleketi said.
The George campus graduation ceremonies, held on the campus for the second consecutive year, saw the conferring of two doctoral degrees in nature conservation, and the capping of the first cohort of students in the new Bachelor of Honours in Natural Resource Management qualification introduced in 2023.
Friday will see the first of 16 graduation sessions take place at the Madibaz Indoor Centre when graduands in the business and economic sciences schools of management science and accounting cross the stage in the morning and afternoon ceremonies, respectively.
Fraser-Moleketi painted a picture of the world that the graduating students would be going into.
“The world we are releasing you into is beset with contradictions. It is a world of boundless opportunities, yet it is one that has become increasingly unequal.
“It is a world that is witnessing the ongoing rapid pace of technological and digital innovation, and yet so many are being left behind.
“It is a world in which exists consensus on the need to protect and promote fundamental human rights, yet for many, those same rights are being denied.
“The world you are going into is one that has broadly embraced multilateralism and the need to keep global peace.
“Yet that same world is at war with itself.
“The universal declaration of human rights and the sanctity of international rule of law is sadly presently under threat.
“There are also existential questions about neoliberalism and democracy, and whether it is still the ideal system of government.
“But that’s for a public lecture in future.”
Fraser-Moleketi said further that as products of NMU, graduates were urged to espouse the attributes of the institution, and use the critical thinking, tools, ethos and aptitudes acquired.
“We are also releasing you into a country that is at a crossroads, noting that this year marks the 30th anniversary of democracy, with the general election date set for May 29.
“We have made remarkable gains since 1994, and this ceremony is testament to that.
“We also know, and I quote our namesake Nelson Mandela, ‘a good head and good heart are always a formidable combination, but when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, you have something special’.
“Go out and prove that you are the embodiment of that,” the chancellor said.
HeraldLIVE
More than 5,600 students set to cross NMU graduation stage
Image: NMU/FACEBOOK
More than 5,600 students are set to cross the stage during Nelson Mandela University’s autumn graduation which starts on Friday.
A highlight on its annual calendar, the graduation at the Gqeberha campuses follows the capping of more than 370 students over two sessions in George last week.
Setting the tone in her address to graduands at the start of graduation in George, NMU chancellor Dr Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi applauded the students, as well as their families and friends who supported them on their academic journey.
She also made special mention of the university’s academic staff for the sacrifices.
“To you all, and on behalf of our university, our heartiest congratulations.
“To our graduands, especially, our very best wishes go with you as you take your next steps into a new world which we believe you will shape,” Fraser-Moleketi said.
The George campus graduation ceremonies, held on the campus for the second consecutive year, saw the conferring of two doctoral degrees in nature conservation, and the capping of the first cohort of students in the new Bachelor of Honours in Natural Resource Management qualification introduced in 2023.
Friday will see the first of 16 graduation sessions take place at the Madibaz Indoor Centre when graduands in the business and economic sciences schools of management science and accounting cross the stage in the morning and afternoon ceremonies, respectively.
Fraser-Moleketi painted a picture of the world that the graduating students would be going into.
“The world we are releasing you into is beset with contradictions. It is a world of boundless opportunities, yet it is one that has become increasingly unequal.
“It is a world that is witnessing the ongoing rapid pace of technological and digital innovation, and yet so many are being left behind.
“It is a world in which exists consensus on the need to protect and promote fundamental human rights, yet for many, those same rights are being denied.
“The world you are going into is one that has broadly embraced multilateralism and the need to keep global peace.
“Yet that same world is at war with itself.
“The universal declaration of human rights and the sanctity of international rule of law is sadly presently under threat.
“There are also existential questions about neoliberalism and democracy, and whether it is still the ideal system of government.
“But that’s for a public lecture in future.”
Fraser-Moleketi said further that as products of NMU, graduates were urged to espouse the attributes of the institution, and use the critical thinking, tools, ethos and aptitudes acquired.
“We are also releasing you into a country that is at a crossroads, noting that this year marks the 30th anniversary of democracy, with the general election date set for May 29.
“We have made remarkable gains since 1994, and this ceremony is testament to that.
“We also know, and I quote our namesake Nelson Mandela, ‘a good head and good heart are always a formidable combination, but when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, you have something special’.
“Go out and prove that you are the embodiment of that,” the chancellor said.
HeraldLIVE
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