This is brilliant! This is how the Acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Dr Bheka Ntshangase responded to the presentations by MUT leadership to the visiting US delegation, and how the US delegation responded to the presentations. The delegation was led by Ms Dana Brown, US Deputy Chief of Mission, US Consulate General, Durban. Dr Ntshangase said he saw this visit as opening many doors for MUT. He said collaborating with US universities would give MUT a chance to introduce unique academic programme.
Mbali Mkhize, Senior Director: Marketing and Communications, informed the US delegation of the solid relationship the University has with some US higher education institutions. “We have had a relationship with the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) for over two decades. Our Vice-Chancellor and Principal led a delegation to FAMU,” Mkhize said. The visit resulted in some positive spin-offs, one of which was MUT being given a chance to host the EnergyWaterFoodClimate nexus Summit in July 2024, in Durban. The Summit took place in Durban’s Coastlands Hotel from 1-4 July 2024 and was attended by delegates from the South African government, the USA, Europe, private business, MUT, and Umlazi Township high schools. This was the first time that this kind of meeting was held on the African soil Presentations from the Deans included a brief history of the University, and what it offers. The Deans said they desired improvements in their faculties, but there were hindrances. Professor Alfred Msomi, the Dean of the Faculty of Applied and Health Sciences, wanted to see the infrastructure of the University improving, to support the academic needs of the students. “We would like to have labs that can open 24 hours so the students can have a chance to do more,” said Professor Alfred Msomi. One of the issues that the University is grappling with, he said, is that most of its students are under-prepared for university after passing grade 12.
Professor Babatunde Bakare, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, said there was a dire need to reinforce the University personnel with staff that would drive the improvement processes at the University. In some cases, MUT loses qualified staff; this has been a sore point for the University for some time, as most of these staff are PhD holders, who leave because MUT does not have senior post-graduate programmes. There is only one Master’s programme in the Department of Nature Conservation. “Also, funding is a challenge. We struggle to attract funding from the US. In some cases, the collaborators from the US do not have funding,” Professor Bakare said. One of MUT’s leading researchers, Professor Bakare, recently won the DVC Prize for External Income. The two deans were supported by the Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences, Dr Kevin Ramsarghey, who said that staff morale is usually low because staff need “little things” like a staff café where they can sit and unwind with others.
Dr Phiwayinkosi Gumede, Acting Senior Director: Teaching and Learning Development Centre (TLDC), informed the US delegation that to meet both staff and students’ pedagogical and psychological needs, they need to have more infrastructure that will support that. This includes equipment that will make it possible for them to provide distance teaching, which they call e-learning. COVID-19 taught them that such a way of learning is possible, he said.
Giving closing remarks, Dr Ntshangase said the visit came at an opportune time for many reasons: “The visit will give us a chance to work with US universities in many areas. For instance, we are in the process of introducing Business Administration programmes. The delegation said they would link us with US institutions”. Dr Ntshangase further said that they would now have a chance to collaborate in common areas of research with US institutions, and that in time there could be joint supervision of students by supervisors from MUT and the US institutions. There would also be both staff and students exchange opportunities, and students could enroll with more than one institution and graduate with a qualification from both MUT and US universities. Dr Ntshangase said that it was important to make the collaboration work, as it would put MUT on the world map. MUT was committed to working with the US Consulate.