Nkosinathi Miya’s first year of study was a rollercoaster of emotions from moving into Res at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), to attending classes, and being exposed to DUT’s first class infrastructure, which was an amazing experience for him.
The confident 24-year-old hails from Welbedacht East, a small township that divides Umlazi from Chatsworth in the East of Itheku.
He happily spoke of him graduating with his Diploma in Public Administration in Supply Chain Management, achieving Cum laude and the esteemed Dean’s Merit award, which took place at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) 2026 Autum Graduation ceremony, at the Olive convention centre on Tuesday, 26 May 2026.
He shared that his curiosity regarding his field of study regarding supply chain management had always been the field he was curious about since high school and he was eager to learn about the journey of a product from point of its production until it landed in the shelves for end users.
“Obtaining Cum Laude and the Dean’s merit award brings tears to my eyes,” he said.
His emotions comes from being rejected by NSFAS, even registering late, but through all the adversity he had experienced, he had fulfilled his goal he had set out to achieve.
For Nkosinathi, being exposed to lecturers and competitive class mates, as well as huge lecture rooms was something that he had to get used to as he had only seen such a scenario in movies.
“It took me the whole semester to find my feet and by the second semester I was up and running, chasing that dream, driven by my hunger to succeed. I then met the man who changed my life forever academically, my Supply Chain lecturer, Dr VJ Hadebe. He changed my perspective on education and made me fall in Love with the subject, most all, he believed in me and said that nothing is impossible as long I work hard for it,” he explained.
Sadly, by the time of my graduation, Dr Hadebe had passed on, not being able to witness me being the top achiever in 2023 and 2024 and winning the exemplary academic performer award in my second year.
Nkosinathi went on to share that his mum is his biggest cheerleader and both his mother and his siblings encouraged him to preserve to work hard until it pays off .
“I dedicate this sterling achievement to my mum and thank her for all the support she has given me throughout my journey. Thank you to her for playing the role of a mother and father to me, and for her prayers when I was writing my tests and exams,” he relayed.
Currently, Nkosinathi has enrolled for his Advanced Diploma in Public Administration specialising in Supply Chain Management at DUT, aiming to deepen their expertise in public procurement, logistics, and supply chain legislation.
He indicated that he will continue in this journey of study until he obtains his doctorate in the field of Public Administration specialising in Supply Chain Management.
His advice he imparts to first year students is that university must never be viewed as a place where one can escape from home to come and party and enjoy life.
“In this tough economy where jobs are scarce the best thing to focus on is graduating with good marks. Never deter from your journey and it will pay off,” he shared.
Pictured: Nkosinathi Miya
Waheeda Peters
