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FoAD’s first year student orientation boasts famous former students as guest speakers

ANDILE DUBE, SANELE XABA AND WAHEEDA PETERS

First year students in the Faculty of Arts and Design (FoAD) were treated to a remarkable day at this year’s FoAD’s 2020 Orientation Programme, which took place on Thursday, 30 January 2020 at City Campus’ Arthur Smith Hall.

Guest speakers were FoAD graduates, actress Anathi Gobeni from Drama and Productions Studies and fashion entrepreneurs Sipho Mbutho and Ben Nozo from the Fashion and Textiles department.

Gobeni, who is known for her role on e.tv’s award-winning telenovela, Imbewu: The Seed motivated the students and spoke about her journey from being a drama student at DUT to landing on one of South Africa’s most watched television programmes.

Fashion designers, Mbutho and Nazo, are the duo behind bespoke menswear brand Reign SA, known for its Zulu-inspired pieces. The two have taken the fashion industry by storm with their unconventional designs that use sustainable materials. Mbutho and Nazo shared with the first year students about their days as fashion students at DUT and now running their own thriving clothing label.

FoAD’s Executive Dean, Dr René Smith, and Deputy Dean, Professor Brian Pearce, delivered the welcome address and gave the closing remarks, respectively.

Other speakers included FoAD’s Faculty Officer, Pragasen Reddy, and Teaching & Learning Practitioner, Roshnee Sunder.

Earlier in the week, the students and their parents had attended the university’s week-long annual first year orientation programme, where they were addressed by Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Thandwa Mthembu, on the first day. In his address, Professor Mthembu congratulated the matric class of 2019, especially the majority of DUT students who were born and raised in KwaZulu-Natal and who had achieved the 81.3% pass rate. “We really appreciated that we (DUT) have students that come from the broader

region around KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Free State. We really appreciate that you (students) considered DUT as your next step in your educational career. There are 790 000 pupils who wrote matric last year: only 291 000 got what is called Bachelor passes; only 225 000 of those got Diploma passes, so you are very special because from such a cohort of about just under 800 000 younger people, you are here today,” he said. Professor Mthembu also added that there is also a responsibility that comes with being a student as there are societal challenges that they will face. “We need solutions to societal challenges; we need a lot of innovations in this country to ensure ourselves of a brighter future. I am calling on all young people to think creatively about all the challenges we face in this country and try and find new solutions to these. Being at university also means you must be a game changer,” he stressed. Pic 1: (L-R): FoAD Deputy Dean Brian Pearce, Sipho Mbutho, Anathi Gobeni, Ben Nozo and FoAD Executive Dean Dr René Smith.