The North-West University (NWU) hosted its first-ever virtual conferral of degrees and awarding of diplomas due to the challenges posed by social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
The virtual graduation ceremony* was hosted online on 29 May. It included the conferral of all degrees and awarding of diplomas that would originally have been bestowed on graduates from 23 March to 22 May this year.
The disruption of this special awards season by the coronavirus could not dampen the excitement as a total of 9 195 qualifications were conferred and awarded. Proud graduates from all eight faculties on all three of the NWU’s campuses reaped the fruit of their hard work. The conferred degrees included 167 doctoral, 553 master’s, 1 224 honours and 4 992 bachelor’s degrees. The Class of 2020 also received 94 postgraduate diplomas, 1 439 diplomas and 726 certificates.
Prof Dan Kgwadi, vice-chancellor, said that although it was unfortunate that the coronavirus put the NWU community in a situation in which the graduation could not be celebrated in person with students and their families, it could not take away the overwhelming sense of achievement.
He said that NWU graduates leave the university with an appreciation for diversity. “Go out there and celebrate the diversities of this world that you are going to enter.”
Because of the pandemic, the Class of 2020 enters a world that was not anticipated by anyone. However, it is a world filled with opportunities and the new graduates have a purpose like no generation before.
“We at the NWU are very confident that we have instilled in you a vision to imagine possibilities. As you do that, let us all be thankful for what the Lord has enabled us to achieve,” said Prof Kgwadi.
To see Prof Dan Kgwadi’s message to graduates and the graduation programmes, follow this link: https://services.nwu.ac.za/student-academic-lifecycle-administration/ceremonies.
*The virtual ceremony started at 12:00 on Friday, 29 May and was part of the NWU’s efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
