East London Chapter breakfast meeting

The East London Chapter held its Alumni Breakfast meeting on 2 June 2012 at the East London International Convention Centre. The meeting was organised for alumni to have the opportunity to network and to hear about the developments within the university.

The Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Mandla Makhanya, delivered the keynote address, highlighting the functions of the Research and Innovation Portfolio. He said that these functions include building the capacity of research within the university and also assisting the various industries within South Africa with research. He also spoke about the introduction of e-tutoring at Unisa which will enable students to be tutored online wherever they are be in the world.

In her Convocation address, Council Member and Convocation President, Dr Claudelle von Eck, defined the word “convocation” as the “action of calling together” and moved on to outline the functions of the Convocation. She stated that Unisa alumni are products of the institution and represent the university wherever they are. They must therefore ensure that they uphold the reputation of Unisa. Moreover, she encouraged the attendees of the meeting to be leaders and not followers.

Outgoing Registrar, Prof Louis Molamu, also attended the event. He thanked alumni for the support they had given Unisa over the year. He bade them farewell, as it was his last month with the institution, and said he would miss them dearly.

Upon closing the event, Mr David Farirai, Director of the Unisa Foundation and Alumni Relations, encouraged the alumni within the chapter to network with one another. He also spoke about the Affinity programme for alumni through Standard Bank.