Twelve of the Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) students are amongst GradStar’s Top 500 tertiary students in South Africa.

Now in its 6th year the GradStar Awards recognises the most employable full-time students in the country and is the only programme of its kind where thousands of students enter in order to be recognised by employers in the nation.

The GradStar programme and Awards Ceremony, sponsored by DHL, Accenture, Fasken, Absa, BP, BAT and Epiroc and partnered with NPO Golden Key, organised and developed by BlackBark Productions (who are the initiators of the Rising Star Awards) and using the judging knowledge of FutureFit, is designed to recognise and identify the most employable students across the country and introduce them to future employers.

According to the media release by BlackBark Productions, the awards has drawn over 10 000 entries this year, with the 12 DUT students having done exceptionally well to reach the Top 500!
The top 12 DHL GradStar DUT students are Shiara Ackloo, Thulasizwe Minenhle Freedom Nene, Ndimuhulu Ragau, Ayanda Sikhosana, Darius Marimuthu, Tasmiyah Ismail, Andile Shezi, Linton Paul, Sineliswa Innocent Vilakazi, Juhi Juglal, Nikita Singh and Nomfundo Majola.

GradStar DUT student, Sineliswa Innocent Vilakazi, who is currently doing his Advanced Diploma in Marketing, is over the moon to be in the Top 500. “I’m super excited for being in the top 500 in the Gradstar competition, because it shows that my hard work will pay off in due course. Although there is still long way to go but having people around the world who are supporting, makes the journey much easier,” he said.

The Top students will go through a 3-stage process where they will need to take a Future Fit assessment, followed by a video of themselves and then a Personal Development Plan, culminating in the Top 100!

Pictured: One of DUT’s 12 GradStar’s Top 500 tertiary students in South Africa, Sineliswa Innocent Vilakazi.

Tammy Brown/Waheeda Peters