These ceremonies follow the start of the graduation season in George last week, and will see a total 6 219 graduates crossing the stage to receive their qualifications, including 241 master’s degrees and 38 doctorates.
The reflective and celebratory mood characteristic of graduation filled the hall, where Vice-Chancellor Professor Sibongile Muthwa addressed the proud graduates, their families and academic and support staff.
Speaking directly to graduates from the ICT field, Prof Muthwa emphasised their pivotal role in shaping an inclusive and ethical digital future.
“You are the pathbreakers. The world that we are facing is going to rely on the integrity of your scholarship, on your innovation and on your new ideas,” she said.
“And I urge you to do this in a way that is inclusive, that understands that we come to the place of understanding from different places. We have not all had the access that you have had … the intersection of machine, humans and digital developments and new trajectories is something that you will have to lead us into – and to lead us with compassion and integrity.”
Highlighting the University’s mission of fostering transformation and social justice, Prof Muthwa reiterated its commitment to “humanising education”, where the dignity and diversity of every individual is respected.
“We are all born equal. The social circumstances that we find ourselves in differentiate us, but as a university, we believe in the indivisibility of human rights and social justice. We have all the obligation. We have no choice, because of our name, in which we walk,” she said.
The autumn graduation ceremonies will also see the University bestowing honorary doctorates on four distinguished individuals who embody the institution’s values. These legendary musician, Letta Mbulu; trailblazing accountant, Ntombifuthi Mtoba; feminine scholar and activist, Professor Amina Mama, and environmental lawyer and human rights advocate, Professor David R Boyd.
Their contributions in their respective fields represent the institutional ethos of excellence, agency and societal impact.
Among the doctoral graduates celebrated today was Dr Agyei Fosu, whose PhD research developed a framework to assess ICT adoption among small-scale farmers in the Amathole District Municipality of South Africa.
Supervised by Professor Darelle van Greunen, Dr Fosu’s study combined Communicative Ecology and Technology Acceptance Model frameworks to explore how socio-economic characteristics, information-seeking behaviours, and perceptions of ICT usefulness influence adoption.
His findings highlighted that rural farmers largely depend on interpersonal communication, resulting in low ICT usage. The research offers valuable insights for communication practitioners and policymakers developing inclusive digital strategies for rural communities in the Global South.
Another doctoral milestone was achieved by Dr Ntsewa Mokobane, who explored the influence of organisational culture on employees’ susceptibility to social engineering attacks.
Supervised by Professor Rossouw von Solms, the study applied Structural Equation Modelling to a sample of 374 respondents across 20 organisations. It investigated whether the dominant organisational cultures — clan, adhocracy, market and hierarchy — play a role in social engineering vulnerabilities.
While the study affirmed existing theories on organisational culture types, it found no statistically significant link between culture and susceptibility, suggesting that awareness and training programmes may not need to be tailored by organisational culture type.
Prof Muthwa closed her address by reminding graduates of their duty to both compete globally and uplift locally:
“Our community-based ethos across all disciplines aims to cultivate civic-minded graduates, who can compete globally, but who also have a deep passion to change the lives of vulnerable, underserved communities in our country. This is central in our approach to deploying our academic missions of learning and teaching, research and engagement; hence we call ourselves a socially embedded university.”
Students graduating in the EBET faculty’s schools of Built Environment and Architecture will cross the stage during the afternoon session.