The Welcome Day saw students being accompanied by their parents, guardians and loved ones to meet the Vice-Chancellor – Prof Dan Kgwadi, and the different management and student leader structures of the campus.
In his welcoming address Prof Dan Kgwadi, applauded the new intake of first-year students for choosing the university as their academic home. “Each year I enjoy meeting the new students and marvel in the fact that they join our university with a sense of excitement and anticipation. I also take great pride in knowing that when you complete your studies you will be fully equipped to go out into the world to make a tangible difference in your respective communities,” said Prof Kgwadi and urged students to make the most of the opportunities at hand.
Prof Kgwadi said that all members of the university family are bound together by a shared dream. This dream is to vest the North-West University as an internationally recognised university in Africa, distinguished for engaged scholarship and social responsiveness. According to Prof Kgwadi a shared dream translates into a shared vision. “Collaboration has been at the heart of some of humankind’s greatest moments of progress, and it is my firm belief that it will continue to be so,” he said and added that what is true about humankind is equally true of institutions such as universities. Having said this, he applauded the campus management as well as the Campus Student Representative Council (CSRC) for the way in which they collectively ensured a smooth transition into the 2017 academic year. “Let me be clear: when it comes to quality and safety there is no compromise. Today, as a campus community, we enter into a binding contract with each other.”
Parents to play a key role
Prof Kgwadi told the parents that the NWU prides itself on fostering and maintaining close links with the parents, guardians and sponsors of its students. “As a university, we believe that it is essential to promote and encourage the involvement of parents in the education of their children as they commence an important new chapter in their lives. Parents provide important financial and moral support which students will need in the challenging environment of higher education today.”
“There is a big adjustment that first year students need to make when they transition from school to university,” said Prof Kgwadi and explained that while the NWU provides substantial and effective academic and psycho-social support to its students, university study demands an enhanced responsibility from students to ensure that their studies are successful.
Personal invitation to reach out
In closing, Prof Kgwadi assured parents and guardians that they can rest assured that the university will take “excellent” care of the students. He furthermore invited the parents and the students to frequently engage with the lecturers, student leaders and even the different management structures to ensure that information is shared and that any issues are dealt with proactively.
“I personally wish to invite any students or parents who experience anything that is not in accordance with our values, to contact me directly. I make this offer from an abundance of caution, as I do not expect your experience to be anything other than exciting and rewarding,” said Prof Kgwadi.
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| The campus welcomed more than 1 500 new first year students | Prof Dan Kgwadi (Vice-Chancellor) and Prof Linda du Plessis (Campus Rector) |
