Today (Tuesday, September 3, 2013) will be a day forever cherished by many families who witnessed their loved ones graduating at the Durban University of Technology’s Fred Crookes Sports Centre, Steve Biko Campus during the University’s Spring Graduation.

In the first session, degrees and diplomas were conferred to students in the faculties of Accounting and Informatics, Art and Design as well as Applied Sciences. Five doctoral degrees were conferred in this session, two of which were to students in the Faculty of Applied Sciences and three from the Faculty of Arts and Design. A total of nine Master of Technology degrees were also conferred during the ceremony.

In his welcome address, Professor Ahmed Bawa, DUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal, congratulated all the graduates, adding that he was particularly pleased to see the “red gowns” which appeared in the audience, making reference to the doctoral graduates.

While the moment of graduating was familiar for some, it was a new experience for others. To those graduating for the first time, Prof Bawa said, “You have migrated from a phase of life of being in school to the workplace. Remember that with this rite of passage, comes great responsibility. With only 24 percent of the youth able to study towards a university qualification in South Africa, consider yourself elite. I hope you’ll all play an active role in advancing our economy and your communities.”

Prof Bawa also urged the graduates to return to the University in order to pursue higher qualifications.

As is ritual for selected graduation ceremonies at DUT, a guest speaker was invited during this session. Brett Powell, the Operations Designer for Chillisoft Solutions Services, gave and inspirational talk, motivating the graduates to always keep their passion for their chosen careers alive. At the company, Powell is responsible for continually designing and improving the Chillisoft operational structures. His skills and expertise include business analysis, program management, scrum, and Management Consulting.

“It is a huge honour to talk at DUT today. My talk is focused on the pursuit for delight, and that relates to how we can love our work and never lose the passion for it,” Powell said. “It is human nature to lose passion for something one loves once he or she gets paid for it. Through doing research, I learned that the brain does not know the difference between imagining something and actually doing it. From then, I started pouring love into all the different aspects of my life- my family, friends and work- and the passion came back. This is because the mind can filter all the things that we are not interested in and surface only what’s of interest to us. It took me 23 years to figure out the power of the mind, I hope this can help you to never lose your passion,” he said.

– Naledi Hlefane

Pictured: Brett Powell with wife and business partner Anujah Powell.