Offering a ray of hope despite all that keeps us away from social gatherings and splendid celebrations, the University of KwaZulu-Natal graduates will be honoured for their dedication and hard work at a virtual graduation ceremony on Friday.
The university’s annual and traditional graduation ceremonies are at the heart of the academic calendar, and this year is no different. Students will be conferred with degrees and will experience an unconventional type of graduation ceremony – one to tell their children about.
Graduands will join UKZN's first virtual graduation ceremony via the university’s link: https://virtualgraduation.ukzn.ac.za while the prestigious ceremony will also be livestreamed on IOL at 1.30pm as well as on SABC 3 (DSTV Channel 193) and Ukhozi FM.
Among the graduands are Durban sisters Gillean and Stephanie Fraser, who will graduate with an MSc in Chemistry cum laude and summa cum laude with a BSc Chemistry Honours degree, respectively.
Gillean sailed through her BSc and BSc Chemistry Honours degrees with outstanding results, before moving on to a Master’s degree in organic synthesis under the supervision of Professor Neil Koorbanally.
Currently working as a data insights analyst at Touchsides, Gillean attributes her ability to branch out and thrive in the business world to her background in science.
Younger sister Stephanie registered for a BSc degree at UKZN as she felt the institution gave all students an equal opportunity to succeed regardless of their background. She praised her lecturers’ scientific advancement and commitment to tackling global changes, citing this as her inspiration to pursue a similar scientific career path.
Stephanie says her Honours degree was a transformative year, where through an intense period of learning and development, she was able to establish a clearer vision of a career in research.
Graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree with Economics and Marketing majors is songwriter, guitarist and YouTuber, Angel Mazibuko. While the love of music was ignited by her parents at an early age, she felt it was important to pursue business studies in order to run her music business in a professional manner.
Angel Mazibuko
Mazibuko has done well in the music business. Having decided to learn to play the guitar in 2018, she started playing in public venues and outdoor events around Pietermaritzburg. In 2019, she entered South African Idols and received a golden ticket. The same year, she won residency at uShaka Marine World. One of the highlights in her music career was opening for The Parlotones at the Ballito Beats music festival.
She believes that her qualification has taught her about diversifying her business interests, and learning about the business world opened up new ideas and led to the understanding that with the right skills anything can be bottled and sold.
Ntuthuko Zungu graduated with a Master’s degree cum laude in Biochemistry after an unconventional academic journey, which included two years of service in the South African National Defence Force’s SA Military Health Service (SAMHS) branch through its Military Skills Development System (MSDS).
Ntuthuko Zungu
Zungu’s parents funded his first year at UKZN but due to lack of funds for further study, he and his friends began exploring alternative funding mechanisms. Casting a wider net led them to the MSDS programme, which brought with it funding for further studies as well as the possibility of future employment.
The two-year programme began with six months of basic military training. Trainees either pursue studies during their service or are appointed as active force members. Given a choice of studying medicine or joining the SAMHS 7 Medical Battalion Group, which concerned chemical biological radiation defence, Zungu opted for the latter.
His two years in the SAMHS involved a regime that included physical training, attending classes and other duties depending on where his group was assigned.
His service enabled Zungu to continue on to his Honours studies through sponsorship from the MSDS programme. And now having completed his Masters with distinction, Zungu is pursuing PhD research on the topic of the effects of drought, soil nutrient deficiency and plant-microbe symbiosis on crop legumes.
All these remarkable students graduate on Friday, in their first-of-its-kind virtual graduation.