The Centre for Communication, Media and Society (CCMS) within the School of Applied Human Sciences proudly distributed sponsored laptops with bags to their 2020 Honours cohort recently.
The generous sponsorship from telecommunications company RewardsCo comes at a critical time when the University has transitioned from residential to remote teaching to cater for the safety and wellbeing of staff and students.
Academic Leader of CCMS Professor Eliza Govender, highlighted that ‘the CCMS staff worked tirelessly to prepare for remote teaching, but this generous grant from RewardsCo has created an enabling learning experience for students to study remotely.’
CCMS honours student Ms Minenhle Mnguni said, ‘I couldn’t do my assignments and sometimes my cellphone wouldn’t allow me to download documents from Moodle because of space, but today I am able to do my assignment without being inconvenienced. Receiving a laptop really brought hope and renewed my spirit of studying. We can never show enough gratitude to the CCMS staff and our sponsors for blessing us with these laptops.’
Mr Simphiwe Mabona added, ‘It has been a tough academic year for me as a student, since universities transitioned to online learning. I did not own a laptop and online learning became impossible. I would like to thank Professor Eliza Govender and the CCMS team for doing their best in saving our academic year. It is up to us now to do the rest and use this opportunity very wisely.’
Managing Director of RewardsCo, Mr Dylan Koen said, ‘RewardsCo believes in creating brighter futures for all. We are delighted to know that our donation to UKZN has equipped students with the tools and opportunities to learn, grow and prosper within their chosen careers. Education is the cornerstone of a better South Africa, and we see the value of investing in this sector to help grow our nation.’
The UKZN Foundation is also grateful for continued support from RewardsCo. Director of the Foundation Professor Anesh Singh said, ‘Due to their generosity, 18 students were given the opportunity to complete their studies during these trying times. This donation helps us achieve greatness at UKZN.’