Handing over the special awards is the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof. Pamela Dube. This is her first time officiating graduation ceremonies at the institution since her appointment earlier this year. 

Amongst the recipients of special awards was the Executive Chairperson of Kalagadi Manganese, Daphne Mashile-Nkosi, who received the Conferral of Honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Management Sciences (entrepreneurial and small business operations). She says this award means a lot to her, as it has also motivated her to finish her current qualification on a high note.

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Mashile-Nkosi encourages people who aspire to do well in life to always focus on the prize and what is important. “If you have the desire to fulfil a specific dream in your life, you need to be patient and remember it is not going to be overnight,” she added. 

Another recipient of a special award was George Ellert Cohen, who is Managing Director, hotelier, and expert in the Hospitality Management Industry, managing the best Saxon Hotels, Villas and Spa. He was awarded the Conferral of the 2023 Chancellor’s Excellence Award in Hospitality Management on 8 May 2023. 

This season will see 3 756 undergraduates, including 62 Master's and 21 Doctoral recipients. The prestigious ceremonies occur at Kingdom Academy Ministries in Welkom and the Boet Troskie Hall at the Bloemfontein campus.

Daphne Mashile-Nkosi received the Conferral of Honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Management Sciences. PHOTO: Facebook

“Our aspiration remains to equip young people with the skills and knowledge that are a prerequisite for growing their businesses and creating job opportunities for others. Entrepreneurship and innovation are now embedded in our teaching and learning, research, and community engagement programmes. We have established robust innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems,” said Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagement, Prof. Alfred Ngowi.

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Dube previously said she has always been passionate about higher education and feels lucky that she has always had the opportunity to work in higher education. "I consider myself lucky to have always worked [in an environment] I’m passionate about, I also worked at the national government level at the time when education transformation was happening. That inspired me, even more, to play a meaningful role within the sector," she added. Dube explained that through her experience, she saw an opportunity for women to lead and play a vital role in the sector. "CUT became important to me because of its track record. It has a great track record of good performance and there’s also room for improvement."

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