The 2024 Annual Principal’s Seminar hosted by the Student Recruitment unit at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) encompassed a wide range of topics, including DUT postgraduate programmes, bullying in schools, health, engineering, artificial intelligence, coding, and robotics.
The highly attended seminar hosted at the Southern Sun Elangeni Hotel on Thursday, 22 August 2024, was superbly directed by Mr Zwakele Ngubane, Director of Advancements and Alumni Relations at DUT.
Mr Ngubane warmly welcomed the officials, principals, and educators from each of KwaZulu-Natal’s twelve education districts before introducing the first speaker, the DUT Honours Degree student, Ms Thembelihle Hadebe to share her success story in Coding and Robotics.
Hadebe presented her project, dedicated to training educators from grade R to nine in coding and robotics. Equipping educators and students with fundamental knowledge of coding and robotics. “I hope that the Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal will respond positively, and partner with us to reach more schools, and teachers,’’ added Hadebe.
Before inviting Professor Eric Oscar Amonsou on stage, Ngubane lauded Thembelihle for her dedication to equipping schools with the latest technology skills.
Prof Amonsou gave an insight into his recent research, Boosting Health and Workplace Productivity through Effective Food and Nutrition Strategies.His research explores health and nutrition, and the consequences of being not healthy. And how it affects one’s performance and productivity at work. He shared his advice on smart weight loss solutions and how the frequency of meals affects weight and health.
“Obesity is associated with all diseases. It reduces quality of life, and of cause, it affects your work productivity. When you are overweight, you suffer from fatigue and low energy. Let us all adopt the comprehensive approach to nutrition,’’ said Prof Amonsou.
After Prof Amonsou, the stage was graced by the Faculty of Management Studies’ Deputy Dean, Professor Melanie Lourens who gave thorough information on the postgraduates-masters and PhD opportunities in the faculty, mentorship, funding opportunities, guidance, support structures, and research. She revealed that this year alone more than 1500 students are doing their Master’s.
“In our faculty, we even have a 69-year-old PhD student this year so Doing PHD is a journey. Everything is impossible until you make it happen. I hope this inspires you to enrol and become a DUT member,’’ said prof Lourens.
Professor Ian Lazarus, under the theme; A Practical Approach to Sustainable Energy, emphasised the importance of investing in sustainable energy and reflected on the remarkable journey of the Siyahamba Solar Boat. Prof Lazarus led the DUT team including students who invented the Siyahamba Solar Boat to compete at the prestigious Monaco Energy Boat Challenge (MEBC) in Monaco this year.
He also shared innovative projects like Energy Drive, which has reached 150 schools nationally, twelve expos and exhibitions, over 50,000 school pupils, and fifty members of the public.
“Competing in Monaco with our Siyahamba Solar Boat was a remarkable journey. A filled with challenges. Imagine a small team of five members competing against teams made up of forty or more members. But we did well and next year we will come back stronger. Now we are researching to improve, reinvent, and make some adjustments to the boat,’’ said Prof Lazarus.
‘If you recreate that passion, you can make a difference,’ these were Mr. E Asmal’s inspiring words while emphasising the necessity of Artificial Intelligence in schools and projected reality. He taught the attendees about AI and its benefits.
“AI has become part of our daily lives, kids and adults use it daily in everything we do. It is here to make our lives easier. Therefore, it is a must-use to enhance your skills. Take advantage of AI and make use of it to make your life easy,’’ said Mr Asmal.
He also demonstrated a short task using AI, showing how AI can be used as an advanced at workplaces or in general.
DUT Drama students also performed a very educational sketch about bullying in schools, as an awareness on how it affects learners. Teachers were intrigued, engaging posing questions to all the speakers on the day.
Mr Alex Mdletshe: Student Recruitment Manager at DUT, extended his appreciation to all the guests his team, and everyone who made this seminar a success. “Thank you for taking your time to be here with us. A special thanks to my team as well for organising this success. And please whenever we visit your school, please do welcome us,’’ said Mr Mdletshe.
Pictured: Some of the principals who had attended the DUT Annual Principal’s Seminar.
Photographer: Khulasande Tshayile.
Vukani Langa
