Graduate set to grace New York City stage (published February 2017)
MMus conducting student, Grant Snyman, is set to grace the stage of Carnegie Hall in New York City, USA. Grant was chosen as first clarinetist and as shadow for the KZN Youth Wind Band who will be competing at the International New York Wind Band Festival in New York in March.
The KZN Youth Wind Band is one of only six wind ensembles selected to participate in the festival, out of 36 international applicants. Furthermore, they are the only ensemble not only from South Africa but also Africa, to compete and have been selected to perform the world premiere of a newly commissioned work written for them to play at their gala performance in the famous Carnegie Hall.
Researcher selected as youth leader (published February 2017)
Alumnus Siboniso Dlamini, an NMMU postgraduate Marine & Maritime Studies researcher, who was recently selected as one of a handful of youth leaders in Southern Africa to provide-insights and guidance to the high level Southern African Ministerial Conference on Jobs for Youth in Africa (JFYA). The conference will be attended by Southern African Ministers of Finance, Education, Labour, Vocational Training and Youth Employment. It will address the new strategy being implemented by the African Development Bank Group to create 25 million jobs for the youth in 10 years – a $3 billion project.
He has also been appointed in the Advocacy and Marketing position of the South Africa Alumni Committee of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Regional Leadership Center (RLC) of Southern Africa (SA) Region where he will act as a brand ambassador for the YALI RLC SA projects. Siboniso has also been selected and nominated for various local, national and Africa committees focusing on civil, public and private sphere developments, challenges and providing high end sustainable solutions.
Doctor appointed as Chief (published February 2017)
DPhil graduate Dr Kwame Asmah-Andoh, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Management and Leadership, was recently appointed as a Chief of the Lower Dixcove, in his home-country of Ghana.
Dr Asmah-Andoh has had to appoint a Regent to act in his place since he is still engaged at NMMU. The Regent will act on his behalf until he returns to Ghana to take up his royal responsibilities.
Master's student selected for international conference (published February 2017)
Lichaba (Thabo) Mooko, a Master’s student in Public Administration and former SRC Deputy President who has been selected by the Institute of International Education together with the Kresge Foundation to participate in the 2017 Achieving the Dream Conference in California, USA.
Thabo was identified as an important participant in the Kresge’s $2.9 million initiative, Siyaphumelela (“we succeed”), which is designed to build South African data analytics capacity to enhance student success. Influential policy-makers, thought leaders and practitioners from over 200 institutions around the world will join together later this month to reflect on and share lessons from their experiences implementing student success related strategies on their campuses.