Hats off to Unam graduates!

Over 800 University of Namibia (Unam) students graduated at the institution’s first graduation ceremony for the year among all 12 campuses.
Octavia Tsibes
Ester Kamati

The graduation ceremony took place at the Safari Court Hotel in Windhoek. The ceremony was hosted by Dr Maggy Beukes-Amis, director of Unam’s Centre for Open, Distance & eLearning and took place on 11 April.

The master of ceremonies congratulated the new doctors and honours, masters and diploma holders, with the management sciences faculty leading the way.

The education and human sciences faculties’ graduates received their qualifications on 12 April at the same venue and the northern campuses ceremony is scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

The ceremony was led with the conferment of an honorary doctorate handed over to Prof Heinrich Semar by acting chancellor Kenneth Kamwi Matengu.

He was also the keynote speaker.

Matengu said Unam is carrying through with its plan to prepare Namibians and take charge of human resource production in the country.

Matengu shared that he too is a product of the university, adding that the institution has grown tremendously and is showing significant improvement in the research culture, with an increase in research productivity.

He acclaimed the dedication of academics and researchers from the institution, who have published 300 internationally refereed journal articles and had 395 other publications in 2018, despite financial hardships.

The graduates were reminded that the responsibility to develop Namibia to what it should be is about the actions that individuals so daily. Matengu further advised them to be deliberate on their actions and occupy themselves with continuous professional development.

“The secret to successful life is effective time management,” he said.

He said they should not aim to change the world on their own, but rather create a ripple effect as alumni of the university.

“Take the lead and create your ripple effect!” he said

One of the graduates, Atanasius Shaningwa, advised struggling students not give up on their education and said they will eventually succeed.

Shaningwa was driven by the fact that he is from a previously disadvantaged background and wants to make an improvement in his life. He is adamant about going out into the world and giving back to the community.

Another graduate, Kamary Mupupa, said time management is very important, and at the end of the day, you should retain your focus on the things that truly matter. She holds a diploma in paralegal studies and is now pursuing her law degree at the university.