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DUT VICE-CHANCELLOR AND PRINCIPAL, PROFESSOR THANDWA MTHEMBU URGES FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS TO ALLOW DUT TO BUILD THEIR CHARACTERS
Pictured: DUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Thandwa Mthembu, welcoming first-year students.
The Durban University of Technology (DUT) Vice- Chancellor and Principal, Professor Thandwa Mthembu, extended a warm welcome to all first-year students who are now part of the DUT community. He officially welcomed the Durban-based students at the Curries Fountain Sports Ground on Tuesday, 6 February 2024, and the Midlands students at the Indumiso Campus Sports Centre on Wednesday, 7 February 2024.
Professor Mthembu’s welcome address marked the opening of the ADAPT@DUT First-Year Students Orientation Week. He began by welcoming all the first-year students who have come to join DUT and be part of this great university.
Professor Mthembu told the students that there were two things that he hoped would happen by the end of their studies, which were ability and character.
“Ability takes you to the top, but to remain at the top you need character. Haven’t we seen many highly educated people who have the ability, who have the capacity, the skills, go to waste? There are so many who are highly qualified but are roaming the streets because they lack character, they speak good English and got all the qualifications but forgot to build the right kind of character after they reached the top of their careers, to remain at the top,” said Professor Mthembu.
The Vice-Chancellor and Principal said building character would assist the students in becoming people that have deeper values and principles in all that they do. He further urged them to allow DUT to mould their character because if they come out raw and having adopted all sorts of bad behaviours at the end of their studies, that will affect their character.
“Here at DUT we have our own values and principles. Our values are
Transparency
Honesty
Integrity
Respect
Accountability
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DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY