The first graduations session for Bloemfontein commenced this week, 16 March, and will continue until Friday, 20 March. On 16^th and 17^th, Faculty of Management Sciences graduated 1056 students and out of the total number that graduated, 60% were Bachelor of Technology degrees! 

When addressing the Faculty of Management Sciences graduates, Prof. Thandwa Mthembu, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, mentioned the long and longer dreams that graduates have to fulfil in their lives to complete their mission of serving a purpose. “Today we are celebrating the success of super men and women! This is the beginning of a real life. A graduation ceremony is an abrupt end of a long dream. The longer dream is when you as a graduate, will be participating actively and productively in the regional, national and global economy,” he said. Prof. Mthembu challenged them to become real leaders and come up with solutions that will bring change and remedy the economic situation of South Africa. He further said that they have an obligation to innovate in every sector they will be heading. “As we release you to the world, we are certain that you are ready and equipped with all the knowledge and skills that will assist you to take a stance in the country and the world,  become innovators and entrepreneurs and actively participate in the global economy so that you can keep your longer dream alive. You must not to rely on government, business, or industry for employment but rather, look up to yourselves as individuals or a collective and face the challenges. You are amongst the 17, 4% of young people between the ages of 20-24 who had a privilege of earning a qualification out of the 5, 4 million South African youth without education. We are the third highest country with unemployment rate in the world between the ages of 15-24 and our economic growth is just 1, 5% - a percentage that is far lower than our neighbouring countries. Go out there and make us proud, go out there and make a difference, go ahead and show the world that you are ready to get into action,” he concluded.   

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Dr Lineo Dzansi receiving her Doctor Technologiae: Human Resources Management with her Promoter Prof. Crispen Chipunza. Her study was titled “An Organisational Justice Perspective on the Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on the Quality of Service Delivery in Municipalities in the Free State Province of South Africa”.