Page 5 - DUT Excellence Semester 2

FOREWORD
MAGUBANE’S BOOK EXPLORES LOVEIN THE ERA OF
Mr Alan khan, senior director: corporate affairs
The year started out with pandemic The university also launched a new tagline:
protocols and government regulations
related to mask mandates, social distancing, public events and gatherings. Thankfully, as vaccination rates improved and infection rates declined, we managed to return to our pre-pandemic routines. The second semester saw a return to in-person lectures and physical events, after more than two years of “I think you are muted” or “can you hear me?” as we became experts on operating online.
The joy and jubilation of our celebratory autumn
graduation ceremonies in July were invigorating
and they were only matched by the elegance and
excitement of the DUT Spring graduation ceremonies in September. In this edition of DUT EXCELLENCE, you will read stories of our graduates, our staff, our students and alumni, who have excelled and made positive headlines.The selection of stories in this publication does not encapsulate every success story at DUT.We sadly do not have sufficient space to cover all the stories.
Some of the second semester highlights included the official launch of the DUT Business School in August and the unveiling of the DUT ENVISION2030 DNA double-helix monuments on the Steve Biko Campus in Durban and on the Indumiso Campus in Pietermaritzburg. DUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Thandwa Mthembu, entombed a time capsule in the base of the ENVISION2030 monuments, which will be unsealed in 2031.
was 92%.This is the highest that it has ever been and illustrates a significant improvement from 58% in 2015 and 79.2% in 2022.
Finally, I am extremely grateful to the DUT Communications team, the editorial contributors and to our DUT EXCELLENCE Project Co-ordinators, Ms Noxolo Memela (Communications Manager) and Ms Waheeda Peters (Publications Officer). DUT EXCELLENCE, which is published once per semester, is a team effort and I truly value and appreciate the time, energy and effort that is invested into bringing DUT EXCELLENCE to life.And thanks to you for reading this edition of DUT EXCELLENCE.
Season’s greetings to you and your loved ones and best wishes for a safe and successful 2023...
Pictured: Mr Alan Khan
CREATIVE.DISTINCTIVE.IMPACTFUL.
In October,Times Higher Education announced the 2023 World University Rankings in London. The Durban University of Technology was ranked number 5 in South Africa and in the top one third of all universities in the world. Congratulations to the entire DUT community.
In November,Youth Dynamix (YDx), the market research company appointed to independently conduct the DUT Brand and Image Survey, confirmed that after more than 3700 responses were received, that DUT’s positive brand image
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DUT EXCELLENCE 2022 // SEMESTER 2