The Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) Mpilo Mbulelo Tatana graduated Cum Laude for his Bachelor of Engineering Technology: Electronic Engineering. The 24-year-old hails from Clermont in Durban and he was conferred his degree at DUT’s Autumn Graduation ceremony held at the Olive Convention Centre this morning ( 22 May 2023).
Tatana divulged that Electronic Engineering was not his first choice, but he always knew that wanted to do engineering.
“I wanted to be part of the group of people who build the world around us and the technology we use, so I chose other engineering courses, it was only when I was doing electronic engineering that I truly discovered my love for electronic engineering and academia,” he shared.
Tatana shared that his journey at DUT has been a rollercoaster, as he have faced many challenges but he did not give up.
“It’s been a journey full of ups and downs, especially considering that I was part of the 1st year group in 2020, where we had the COVID-19 pandemic a few months into the start of our studies, and we had to adjust to online learning. To overcome this, I joined the group study and till this day we still do the same, but it has expanded to beyond just academic discussion,” he explained.
Furthermore, the newly conferred graduate shared that like most students he also faced the issue of outstanding fees, he almost didn’t register for his second year due to the issue of fees, but lucky he was awarded fee remission for his first year (2020) of study. He continued to receive this fee remission in his remaining years of study as well. He added that he also received a bursary in his second year and third year of study which allowed him to continue with his studies.
Tatana shared that he is ecstatic with his academic milestone achievement as this is a reward of his hard work and dedication over the past years. He added that he is currently doing Bachelor of Engineering Technology Honours in Electronic Engineering and he is planning on enrolling for Master’s degree next year.
The Cum laude graduate shared that he is also part of the Golden Key DUT Chapter as the Campus and Community Outreach Director.
“I’ve also noticed that helping others and explaining things to others is the best way for you to understand the work, since you can’t explain something to someone if you don’t understand it yourself,” he said.
His grandmother Dudu Dimba (80) boasted out about her grandson’s milestone achievement. She believes that she is an inspiration to his grandson.
“ As a retired professional Nurse it fulfils me to witness my grandson achieving great things academically, I have worked in different municipality clinics for over 40 years. Judging by the way the youth of today behaves, it gives me peace to know that my grandson chose to focus on his academics. Like Gogo like grandson!” she said proudly.
Pictured: Mpilo Mbulelo Tatana with his Grandmother Ms Dudu Dimba
Lethukuthula Ngubane
