Orientation Kicks off in the College of Agriculture, Engineering & Science

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First years at the College of Agriculture, Engineering
and Science’s Orientation Day on the Westville
Campus.

UKZN’s College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science treated their new crop of first year recruits to some fun and laughter when they gathered for the College’s annual Orientation Day.

Held simultaneously on the Pietermaritzburg, Westville and Howard College campuses, the events aimed to put the 2 000-odd newbies at ease, introduce them to the College and to university life, unravel the labyrinth of registration, and send them on their way  with a dose of good, old-fashioned scientific fun. 

On the Westville campus, Dean and Head of the School for Chemistry and Physics, Professor Andy Kindness, explained to the students the differences between School and University – no more teacher meetings, no more reports and no more spoon-feeding.

He warned against the slippery slope of missing lectures and spelt out the dire consequences of plagiarism and cheating.

Given the speed of the modern world, Kindness explained that the College’s role was to educate problem solvers for the future, rather than train students for jobs that might currently exist, but which would soon be obsolete.

Counselling psychologist Ms Neeshi Singh-Pillay gave the students an insight into services offered by the university to help them on their way, including counselling, and career and financial guidance.

Suddenly faced with “freedom overload”, she cautioned the students about the dangers of following a “B-Caffetaria” degree.

On the Pietermaritzburg Campus, students were treated to a Chemistry show with all the accompanying bangs and flashes before heading off on a campus tour, whilst Engineering students at Howard College tried their hands at the ‘Amazing Race’,  after being introduced to the intricacies of studying Engineering.