UL commemorates 60 years of success

The University of Limpopo (UL) celebrated its 60th anniversary with alumni and stakeholders during a weeklong series of events hosted at the Onkgopotse Tiro Hall from 9 to 13 September.
The celebrations saw prominent alumni addressing various themes through talks and panel discussions within the faculties of Health Sciences, Management and Law, Science and Agriculture and Humanities.
The celebrations reflected on the university’s decades of struggle, social activism, excellence and finding solutions to African challenges.
Speaking on the theme: ‘Turfloop, a fertile ground for a career in media’, one of the university’s own products and Chairman of MSG Afrika Investment Holdings, Given Mkhari, praised the university for its achievements of six decades.
He said current students should focus on how far the university has come as an institution of learning by showing respect for their studies and being responsible. “Students should invest their time in things which will take them to the future. The university’s staff are more than equipped to give every student the opportunity to become someone.”
UL alumnus and Judge President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Judge Dustan Mlambo highlighted that the Judiciary had to be autonomous to protect the citizens from exploitation. “The essence of constitutionalism is to protect the interest of society by limiting the power of the state through the law. The doctrine of separation of powers requires that the arms of government perform the different functions of the state to prevent centralization of public power.”
Fellow alumnus and Judge President of the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court, Francis Legodi told the gathering that his success was a direct result of good attitude towards life. “Attitude can make or break you, lift up or bring you down. Many students during our time saw their attitude as their assets guided by hope and patience.”
Speaking on preparations for the 4th Industrial Revolution (Artificial Intelligence and Digital Environment) Professor in Physics and Director of Materials Modelling Centre at UL, Phuti Ngoepe highlighted the challenges of the 4IR in teaching and learning. He said new techniques and approaches are needed to develop the curriculum for the 4IR. “To prepare graduates for the workspace, the education sector should introduce new technologies offered by the revolution to learners from early grades such as Grade 1.”
Language expert Prof Mbulungeni Madiba from the University of Cape Town spoke on Preparations for the 4th Industrial Revolution and highlighted that the 4IR presents opportunities for marginalized African languages to gain equal status to colonial languages.
Madiba further stated that although the development of African languages in South Africa is a constitutional requirement, the challenge of colonity is still thorny despite several language bodies being instituted to accelerate the promotion of indigenous languages. “Such bodies include the Pan South African Language Board and National Language Service, Arts and Culture,” he said, adding that Africa has over 2 000 languages, about a third of the world’s languages, “None of these languages are used as a language of instruction in various disciplines anywhere other than in Sub-Saharan Africa,” he reminded.
UL Vice-Chancellor and Principal Mahlo Mokgalong said the institution’s sixty year journey was replete with achievements. “Our institution was launched as a college, and now one would have been ridiculed then as being excessively ambitious had one imagined UL as it is today, being a leading producer of today leaders in various disciplines. We are the University that produces the best. We have produced a President of the country and Premiers of various provinces. We have produced 30 judges, we have also produced trendsetters, administrators and entrepreneurs.”
He said their infrastructure has grown in leaps and bounds over the years, servicing a population of over 21 000 students. “We have left solid footprints in our environs through scholarly community outreach. Not only did we open the first medical school since the democratic dispensation in South Africa, but we have also developed a relevant programme qualification mix that addresses the job market in the millennium while producing innovation among our graduates.”
He stressed that the next chapter beyond the sixty-year feat will be the building and sustaining of an international reputation. “We have established a portfolio of Research, Innovation and Partnership to begin positioning the university as a global player in knowledge generation,” Mokgalong said.

Story and photos: Herbert Rachuene
>>herbert.observer@gmail.com