Becoming the Durban July champion does not happen overnight. It takes bucketsful of training, nurturing and empowering – and the same goes for our students.

 

With an unemployment rate of 27,5% in South Africa in the third quarter of 2018, jockeying for positions in the workplace is a real challenge. To prepare our students for the competition ahead, the campus in Potchefstroom held its second Career Empowerment Workshop on 18 September 2018.

 

Hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth, 150 honours and master’s students learned from alumna and human relations front-runner Malefu Kgosiemang of the Nokeng Mine how to conduct themselves in interviews. She also told them what interviewers look for, while Dr Peet Roos from the NWU Career Centre gave them tips on how to compile a CV that will impress employers.

 

The race continues

 

On 17 October, esteemed businessman and alumnus Wouter Snyman addressed 700 final-year students at the vice-chancellor’s residence in Potchefstroom.

 

He gave them pointers about clearing possible hurdles in the world of work and keeping in touch with the university as alumni. NWU vice-chancellor Prof Dan Kgwadi also wished them well for their future endeavours and made it clear that the university would be cheering them on from the sidelines.

 

Ready for the London ‘derby’?

 

Next, off to London we raced for the biannual alumni event and graduation ceremony. After the ceremony, 45 guests attended the dinner for the new graduates and our alumni living in London and surrounding areas.

 

During the event, held at the beautiful Goodenough College in central London on 7 November 2018, Prof Daryl Balia updated the alumni on developments at the NWU. Daryl is the newly appointed deputy vice-chancellor who is taking over the reins on the campus in Potchefstroom.

 

The alumni were generous in their praise for the NWU and its ongoing efforts to foster the ties between them and their alma mater. Judging from their response, it seems that building stable relationships is a safe bet – for the university and its alumni.