President of the University of Waterloo from Canada, Professor Feridun Hamdullahpur emphasized the importance of producing students that will come up with new solutions that don’t exist.
“We all need to get into the basics and the fundamentals, which should be about how do we really understand the talent needs, and the challenge of making sure that we have the right kind of talent to be consistent with the needs and aspirations of the 21st century and beyond,” he said
He was delivering a speech at the annual Dr Richard Maponya Lecture on Entrepreneurship, which was hosted by the Durban University of Technology (DUT) in partnership with the Dr Richard Maponya Institute for Skills and Entrepreneurship Development on Tuesday, 17 July 2018 at the Ritson Exam Auditorium, Ritson Campus.
Speaking under the topic of, ‘Fostering Talent That Will Lead the New Economy’. Prof Hamdullahpur said the advent of new technologies is threatening ancient and traditional solutions because innovators are disrupting the status quo. “65% of the Fortune 500 companies as admitted by their CEOs, will not be existence by the year 2030 because they are going to be distracted and moved out of existence, as innovators are going to come up with something better and more efficient,” explained Prof Hamdullahpur.
Prof Hamdullahpur said most universities around the world have entrepreneurship and innovation mentioned as part of their visions and missions, but cautioned that this was not enough because entrepreneurship and innovation should be part of their ecosystem.
“This is more than just adding entrepreneurship in your documents. It is something that has to be in the ecosystem and in a right environment. One of the things that creates the right environment is that you have to be very curious and have courage as well as hunger. If you don’t have the fire in your belly and not willing to take a risk, then there is no chance of entrepreneurship, and those are some of the things that I think we need to understand in order to groom these talents of entrepreneurship in our universities,” he added.
DUT Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Engagement and Innovation, Prof Sibusiso Moyo said DUT is happy to host the President of the University of Waterloo, and proud to be part of the ecosystem that inculcates entrepreneurship and innovation. “We need to produce students that are not going to be just jobs seekers, but we need to produce students that are going to be creators and innovators,” said Prof Moyo.
She also highlighted the importance of connectivity between the university and the community where it is located because partnerships are very important in driving entrepreneurship. “We need to think about the role of the university within the society,” she said.
The youngest daughter of Dr Richard Maponya, Bonnie Maponya who was speaking on behalf of the Maponya family, expressed gratitude on the hosting of the annual lecture as well the partnership between DUT and the Dr Richard Maponya Institute for Skills and Entrepreneurship Development.
“This partnership is underpinned by mutual respect, and a commitment to design and implement projects that will benefit the student entrepreneurs and SMMEs. The joint work of this partnership have it significance by what each partner can bring into the table, including engagement and innovation,” said Maponya.
This lecture received impressive support from different key industry stakeholders of DUT. Some of the notable attendees include the Deputy Mayor of eThekwini Municipality, Cllr Fawzia Peer, DUT Chairperson of Council, Wiseman Madinane, SASCE President, Carva Pop, a delegation from Thailand and many honourable guests.
Director of Co-operative Education at DUT, Shakeel Ori conveyed the vote of thanks to everyone who supported and attended this important lecture.
Pictured: Wiseman Madinane, Prof Sibusiso Moyo, Cllr Fawzia Peer, Prof Feridun Hamdullahpur, Bonnie Maponya, Faranah Osman and Prof J.J Van Vlasselaer at the annual Dr Richard Maponya Lecture.
Nduduzo Ndlovu
