Four Engineering alumni from the Durban University of Technology (DUT) will soon be leaving for Germany to be part of a three-month Bell Equipment learnership programme consisting of 22 Engineering students from various universities in South Africa.
One of them is a Mechanical Engineering graduate, Mr Mondli Mchunu (32) from Hammarsdale, who returned to DUT in 2018 to complete his qualification after dropping out in 2011 due to financial reasons.
Recalling his journey at DUT, Mchunu said he enrolled at the university in July 2009 for his Bachelor of Engineering Technology in Mechanical Engineering. However, as a self-paying student, his journey was rather a difficult one.
“By the end of 2011, I only had two modules left ( Design and Steam Plant) but I encountered money problems as I was a self-payer and I had to go look for work. I worked for five years as an educator in Mdepha High School. It was only in 2017 that I realised that I had to go back to university and fulfil my dreams,” said Mchunu.
He returned to DUT in 2018 to do the two modules that were left and completed his in-service training under the Composite Research Group which forms part of the DUT Department of Mechanical Engineering. The research group consists of Post-Doctoral Fellows, Doctoral and Masters students, and In-service trainees who manage a variety of topics and projects. He then graduated at DUT in 2020.
The determined Mchunu is currently working for Bell Equipment as an assembler for the Articulated Dump Truck (ADT).
“I received this opportunity through the Co-Operative Education Unit at DUT. In a total of 22 students there are four of us from DUT, three are from Mechanical Engineering and one from Industrial Engineering. The proposed date to leave is 24 February 2023 pending the visa applications,” Mchunu said as he reflected on his opportunity to work in Germany.
He expressed that he was excited about this trip based on the experience he will gain from working outside of the country. He believes this experience will open up new doors for him. According to Mchunu, the one thing he is looking forward to is to see how first world countries function when it comes to productivity and quality.
Looking into the future, Mchunu plans to further his studies until he achieves a Master’s degree level.
Advising the first-year Mechanical Engineering students, Mchunu urged them to never give up no matter the challenges they face as it took him more than 10 years to reach his dream job.
“My advice to first-year students is to never give up no matter what happens as it took him more than 10 years to reach his dream job,” reiterated Mchunu.
The other three former DUT students who will also be jetting off to Germany are Sajen Singh, Luvelle Naidoo and Cyril Ndlovu. All are excited to have been given this opportunity of a lifetime.
“It is incredibly encouraging to see our students professionally progressing in the industry and making an impact. It is even positively overwhelming to see that very impact of crosspollinating beyond our South African borders. I would like to express our utmost gratitude to Bell Equipment for affording our students such a privileged opportunity,” said Dr Festus Mwangi as he congratulated the former students.
The students’ supervisor at Bell Equipment, Mr Zeyn Adam extended his gratitude to DUT Co-Operative Education unit. “We would like to thank the DUT Co-Operative Education unit, they have been amazing and are always willing to go the extra mile to get students for us. Our relationship with them goes back to approximately +/- 20 years and we are looking forward to many more years of working with them,” added Adam.
Pictured: The four DUT Engineering alumni, Sajen Singh, Mondli Mchunu, Luvelle Naidoo and Cyril Ndlovu.
Simangele Zuma
