Cape Town - While events around the world have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, UWC is using technology to bring some joy to its graduates.
The institution will host the country’s first virtual graduation ceremony during the lockdown on Tuesday.
“Since our announcement earlier this month that we will hold our April graduation virtually, universities from all over the country have been inundating UWC with calls about how we intend to do this.
“We have encouraged them to follow suit where possible,” said UWC in a statement.
This week, UWC chancellor Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Dr Thabo Makgoba was filmed constituting the ceremony and conferring the degrees.
The names of all the graduates from the various faculties will be listed in accordance with their original ceremony dates.
The virtual graduation ceremony will take place on Tuesday and will be made available on various platforms, including the University’s website.
UWC said graduate employability was one of the three pillars of their 60th celebrations and the university would not hold its graduates back from entering the job market.
UWC registrar Nita Lawton-Misra said most students who were eligible to graduate had completed their qualifications last year.
“Having patiently waited for their graduation to take place in March/April as initially planned, makes it more difficult to accept the possibility of a further postponement,” said Lawton-Misra.
“Having considered the risks, as well as the current unique situation we find ourselves in, UWC has decided to graduate its students virtually and send them their certificates via email.
“Once we return to normal working conditions, the university will arrange for students to receive their paper certificates and transcripts, as well as invite graduates to attend a ceremony.”
Emmanuel Slinger, who will graduate with a master’s degree in commerce, said having a virtual ceremony was welcome in times of uncertainty.
“I am glad that through the use of technology, we are still able to graduate and move forward,” he said.