The vibrant African flavoured name of ‘Hlomisa’ by Industrial Engineering B-tech student, Sandiso Mjikelwa was chosen as the winner of the Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) Skills Academy naming competition.

The competition which was open to both staff and registered students required a vibrant name for the DUT Skills Academy. Mjikelwa won a laptop and a bag for his impressive effort in successfully naming the academy, DUT Hlomisa Academy.

Expressing his excitement, Mjikelwa said he was delighted to have his name chosen as part of the DUT legacy.

“The name originates from the Xhosa word of ‘Xhobisa’, a saying that most Xhosa parents use to encourage their students to study harder. Xhobisa means to empower yourself. It means to army yourself. In terms of education, it means arm yourself with skills, arm yourself with knowledge so that you can have a better future, “said Mjikelwa.

Dr David Mohale, Director: Special Projects in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor said the winning name met all the requirements and was fitting in terms of the vision of the institution.

“The winning entry met all the requirements and we found it quite fitting and relevant in terms of what we want to achieve. The Academy targets younger staff members, students, and alumni within the University. Ideally, we want to support people younger than 35 years, because we want to grow our own team as a University. What makes this programme exciting and different from others, is that it is not just an academic enterprise, we will also be focusing on soft competencies that you need as a leader. So in between, there will be seminars that focus on enhancing those kinds of soft skills which you don’t get from academic programmes,” said Dr Mohale

He further said the academy encourages young staff members, students and alumni to obtain higher qualifications.

“It could be that you are not registered this year, but you should be registered in 2019 to make sure that you become a beneficiary of the scholarship,” added Dr Mohale.

Pictured: Sandiso Mjikelwa with Dr David Mohale.

Sandile Lukhozi