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VC'S WELCOME MESSAGE TO DUT STAFF
DUT is a relatively young university that is rapidly distinguishing itself as an emerging leader in the university sector. Being recognised by the Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings as one of the top five universities in South Africa and 10th globally on citations, is no meanfeat.Thisiswhytomanyofus,DUTalsostandsforDifferent,UpendedandTransformed.
So, congratulations on taking a conscious decision to become a member of a university that is on a rocket to greatness! People often perform background checks on organisations they want to join. I trust that you did it too and I hope that you discovered many exciting and unique features of DUT that made you want to be a part of us.
The ultimate goal of our strategy we call ENVISION 2030 is to contribute towards improving the lives and the livelihoods of our people in our broader society.An integral part of ENVISION 2030 is DUT’s two strands of DNA: people-centred and engaged on the one hand; and on the other, innovative and entrepreneurial. We also pride ourselves on the glue that binds these strands: our values and principles that we don’t just espouse but commit to live by every day of our lives.
With every day you will spend at DUT, I hope that you will realise the premium value we place on our DNA, on our values and principles and on creativity as the source of innovation. We yearn for and seek liberating ideas that will help DUT to contribute towards improving the lives and the livelihoods of our people in our localities, in the region, nationally and internationally. While we may be physically located in Durban and Pietermaritzburg, the novel ideas we seek from our staff and students must equally have the potential to advance national, continental and global agendas, including the NDP, Africa Agenda 2063 and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, respectively.
When I joined DUT in 2016, I pointed out to colleagues that we had been ignominiously labelled the ‘protest capital’ of the South African higher education landscape. I also pointed out that our infrastructure had become dilapidated. We have moved rather far away from such negative characterisations to becoming, as I pointed out earlier, one of the leaders in the sector. In addition
to outperforming many older universities in research-and innovation-related benchmarks, our average student pass and throughput rates surpass the national average.
Our multi-million rand infrastructure development programme is arguably the most extensive in our sector, based on its rand value and the fact that most of it is funded by us. Yes, we still have many other challenges to tackle in our quest to become a great and a distinctive university.
Some of you may have heard the phrase: it is your ability that will get you to the top, but you will need character to remain at the top. We hope that you have the character to keep us at the top and not drag us into historical and future ignominy we have already departed from.
I am fully aware that our Planning Office will be making presentations on ENVISION 2030, I hope you will also be referred to ENVISION 2030 videos I produced last year as they offer the nuts and bolts of the strategy. We hope that many of its aspects will resonate with you.
May you commit to contributing towards improving the lives and the livelihoods of our people. May you commit to our values and principles and live by them all the time. Through your ‘atomic habits’ and atomic contributions, may you help to embed an institutional culture and a DUT Way in which creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship thrive.
Ultimately, these ‘atomic habits’ and atomic contributions will cumulatively help us to build and sustain a Different, Upended and Transformed DUT, revered by its peers all over the world.
Welcome to DUT!
DUT LAUNCHES AGRI-HUB TO FIGHT POVERTY AND
HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
Simangele Zuma
The Durban University of Technology (DUT) Midlands Entrepreneurship Centre and Student Desk, in partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development; Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) and the Agribusiness Development Agency (ADA), recently launched the Agri-Hub.
The infrastructure for Phase One of the hub is located at DUT’s Indumiso Campus in Pietermaritzburg, on a 700m2 plot of land. EDTEA has pledged a three-year partnership with DUT and committed an amount of R2 million towards the Agri-Hub.
DUT Midlands Entrepreneurship Centre and Student Desk Manager Ms Nontokozo Ngcobo said that the Agri-Hub is seeking to build resilient and profitable agribusinesses within the Midlands region and in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Besides fighting poverty and unemployment, Ngcobo said that the hub’s objectives are to create a space for knowledge creation and transfer through research and development. It aims to promote participation in the Agricultural Sector as a sustainable vehicle for economic growth and create a third- stream income for the sustainability of the Midlands Entrepreneurship Centre.
“The hub has three 5x10m Greenhouse Tunnels that are currently being used to grow over 500 cucumber plants using the hydroponic system. The cucumbers have been carefully selected in line with the current market demand against product supply. A nursery has also been provided to grow high demand seeds of cabbages, onions, carrots, garlic and spinach, that will be sold to staff and at nearby markets,” said Ngcobo.
She said that the centre had recruited a further 15 students with an interest in agriculture to use the space for practical learning and for growing their skills.
DUT’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagement Professor Sibusiso Moyo applauded the Centre and its stakeholders on the establishment of the hub as DUT is an entrepreneurial university.
“One of the key things that we are focusing on is to ensure that our graduates and students become entrepreneurial and innovative before they graduate. For us at DUT, the Agri-Hub launch is very special, which is a testimony to the University and our strategic partners. Like soldiers in a war, we remain resilient in our quest to pursue the dream of productive participation in the development of our region, country and the world,” said Prof Moyo.
She also encourages internal and external stakeholders to purchase plants and vegetables from the centre.
The Director for Youth Economic Empowerment at the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Mr Thami Zondi said that their engagement with the Midlands Entrepreneurship Centre began two years ago. “ We took our time in understanding what they wanted to do and making sure that what they were talking about was not a fly- by-night project. We want to sign a three-year MOU with DUT because we are not about once-off projects. We want to make sure that the taxpayer’s money we invest into projects is being monitored,” said Zondi.
The Centre is excited and ready to welcome new entrepreneurs who have exciting business ideas and want to be a part of their entrepreneurial journey towards building sustainable businesses.
They are open to sponsors and partners who are willing to collaborate with them in implementing their 2021 plans. You can contact them on 033 845 9065 or email MidlandsEntrepreneurs@dut.ac.za.
Pictured: The Midlands Entrepreneurship Centre’s staff harvesting cucumbers.
Pictured: DUT Midlands Entrepreneurship Centre and Student Desk Manager Ms Nontokozo Ngcobo and DUT’s DVC: RIE Professor Sibusiso Moyo at the Agri-Hub, which produces fresh cucumbers.
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