The Minister for Basic Education Honourable Unity Dow and Assistant Minister of Health Dr. Alfred Madigela paid a courtesy visit to Limkokwing Swaziland on Wednesday, 21 June 2017, whilst in the country for a SADC meeting.
Upon arrival, they were taken on a campus tour to familiarise them with the campus’ facilities and ecosystem. It was led by the Regional Director of Marketing and Recruitment Marcia Mangadi, with senior management and staff members.
During a briefing with the Ministers, Head of the Faculty of Business and Globalisation Hlobsile Tsabedze said that the Swaziland campus is currently running 13 academic programmes. “The campus has also received provisional approval from the Swaziland Higher Education Council (SHEC) to run eight degree programmes in 2018.”
“Currently, Limkokwing Swaziland has 15 Batswana staff members under the faculties of Design and Innovation, Media and Communication, Business and Globalisation, as well as Information Technology.”
Ms. Mangadi said, “As part of the Botswana team currently based in Swaziland, we thank both Ministers as custodians of our government for giving us the opportunity to be in Swaziland. Almost all of us were funded by the government to go and study outside the country and it is through those skills that we are now able to work anywhere in the world. We are happy to say that we do not only represent Limkokwing University but over and above, we are representing the government of Botswana.”
Speaking after the briefing, Honourable Unity Dow thanked Limkokwing Swaziland and said she was impressed by the facilities provided for students. She also added that she was able to see first-hand the creativity and innovation that Limkokwing brings out of its students, citing students’ works which she saw in the creative multimedia computer laboratory and in the projects exhibition room.
She expressed how amazed she was to learn about Limkokwing University’s role in the 36th SADC Summit which was held in Swaziland earlier this year.
In conclusion to her speech, Hon. Unity Dow acknowledged that Limkokwing indeed is a university that has truly bridged the gap between the classroom and the industry.
Honourable Assistant Minister of Health Dr. Alfred Madigela mentioned that their visit to the Swaziland campus was historic. He said he was inspired by the students’ works and proud to see the progress made by their countrymen and women, who dared to explore the diaspora in their search for better skills and knowledge.
He vocalised his pride to learn that Botswana could also produce some of the best teachers in the region as made evident by the lecturers he has met in the Swaziland campus. He encouraged them to continue working hard for the betterment of their students and themselves.
Limkokwing Swaziland currently has students from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Rwanda, Malawi, Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya, and South Africa.