Photo: From left: Kamvilihle Matsila and Boipelo Mokgobo at the Bram Fischer International Airport, Bloemfontein.

Two CUT students, Boipelo Mokgobo, currently enrolled for Advanced Diploma: Public Management at Bloemfontein Campus, and Kamvilihle Matsila, currently enrolled for Advanced Diploma: Information Technology at Welkom Campus, are set to embark on an exciting academic journey as they head to Germany for a semester of outbound exchange studies.

To be eligible for an exchange program, students must be registered at CUT for a full-time Diploma/Bachelor/Master/PhD program, have an overall minimum pass rate average of 65% or above at the time of application, have successfully completed at least one academic year, and know and embody the CUT graduate attributes.

While abroad, Boipelo will be pursuing various courses under international business at Aalen University, while Kamvilihle will be studying Information Technology at Technische Hochschule Ulm, both CUT international academic partners.

CUT places great importance on internationalisation, and outbound student mobility plays a vital role in contributing towards this goal. Studying abroad provides students with a unique opportunity to experience a new culture, learn a new language, broaden their horizons and, most importantly, make global contacts. It also allows them to develop intercultural skills essential for their future careers and advance one of the CUT graduate attributes - Citizenship and Global Leadership.

Boipelo and Kamvilihle are not the only two CUT students participating in outbound exchange programs this year. Two more students are set to join the duo in Germany later, further highlighting the university's commitment to providing its students with international opportunities. All the students received the Baden-Wuerttemberg Scholarship that will cover their stay at their respective host universities.

We caught up with the duo before their departure to hear their thoughts on this opportunity. Boipelo expressed her excitement at the prospect of immersing herself in a new culture and learning from a different academic environment. She hopes to gain new insights and skills that will benefit her future studies and career.

Kamvilihle, on the other hand, is looking forward to meeting new people and making lifelong connections. As an IT student, he looks forward to learning more at the host university. He believes that studying abroad will provide him with a unique perspective on the world and broaden his understanding of different cultures and ways of thinking.