Mobicel and Dr Maria du Preez, Business Development Director of Bidvest Panalpina Logistics who serves on the Board of the Department of Industrial Engineering, joined forces and brought unexpected joy to ten deserving students.  On Friday 25 May Ms Aysha Tshose, brand manager of Mobicel, donated ten tablets to Prof Sarma Yadavalli, Head of the Department of Industrial Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technolgy (EBIT). 

 The Dean of the Faculty, Prof Sunil Maharaj, attended the ceremony and expressed his heart felt gratitude towards Mobicel and Dr du Preez for supporting disadvantaged students.

Access to technology and technological instruments is vital to the success of engineering students.   UP’s teaching and learning model is transforming to a hybrid model with a focus on online and blended learning methodologies  that involve face-to-face teaching and learning enhanced by appropriate technology to support student engagement outside the contact sessions. 

Students rely on technology to assist them with nearly everything in their day-to-day lives, yet access to technology is not always in everybody’s reach, which makes this gesture from Mobicel and Dr du Preez meaningful.   It will enable financially disadvantaged students in the EBIT Faculty to have access to smart technology which in turn creates an enabling environment for their success.

“We will continue our efforts to garner support from business for this initiative in donating smart phones, tablets and laptops to the faculty for the financially disadvantaged students.  Despite coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, these students have managed to gain access to the EBIT faculty and we should support the faculty to make the necessary equipment available to them.  If we don’t, they will continue to be at a disadvantage, in a field where technology is driving the future,” said Dr du Preez.