Vice Chancellor, Professor David Norris, has assured first years students that their experience of staying and studying at the University of Botswana would be a memorable chapter of their life. Professor Norris was speaking at a virtual ceremony that was live streamed through Facebook to welcome new students to the University of Botswana last week. He said the University had just rolled out a new strategy through which it undertook to deliver quality service and operational efficiency.
Professor Norris highlighted that the new strategy, themed Creating a Future of the Knowledge Generation, was student centred hence committing the University to produce quality and well-rounded employable graduates. Therefore, he urged the new students to take their studies seriously and to avoid social ills such as drug abuse and alcohol that could derail or curtail their plans of completing their studies besides destroying their future.
He said by studying at the University of Botswana, they made a good choice given its status as a premier institution of higher learning in Botswana. The University of Botswana, he observed, boasted highly qualified staff that would no doubt sharpen them into highly skilled and knowledgeable future leaders.
Professor Norris appealed to the new students to take advantage of the state-of-the-art facilities on campus to create a memorable experience of their stay at Mmadikolo. Above all, he advised them to cherish their African values such as “Botho” and to learn to give back as part of the alumni. Professor Norris further impressed upon the new students to become entrepreneurial as early as possible so that the University could assist them to venture into business lest they became part of the unemployed statistics at the end of their studies.
Earlier on, Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Mrs Motsei Rapelana, also reaffirmed the University’s commitment towards providing the students with quality service because they were valuable stakeholders without which there would be no University of Botswana.
Mrs Rapelana urged the new students to invest heavily in their personal growth and to abide by the University’s code of conduct and regulations for resolving problems. She informed them about the various services and social structures that were generally created for self-edification on campus and in society. Both Mrs Rapelana and Professor Norris cautioned the new students against COVID-19 and appealed to them to adhere to all health protocols to avoid infection and transmission.
Director of Student Welfare, Ms Barbra Pansiri, also shared a word of advice with the new students as they navigate through their personal and academic journey. Ms Pansiri called on them to make their time at the University a fruitful experience by embracing new beginnings, if not a new environment and friends.