Student Life and Development
The strategic focus for the Student Life and Development Unit is to adopt a student-centred approach to governance that prioritises the holistic development of students. This is achieved through data-driven, research-based operations that inform and enhance the unit’s effectiveness. Additionally, the unit aims to advance both student and community engagement, fostering a dynamic and inclusive campus environment that supports student growth and involvement.
The Student Life and Development (SLD) unit focuses on student governance, development, career services, and arts and culture. We support students through various programmes and activities designed to foster critical thinking and innovation while promoting servant leadership.
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Our programmes range from leadership courses to workshops and volunteer opportunities. These initiatives help students realize their leadership potential and create an active and vibrant student community. We collaborate with students and their leaders to design programs that prepare them to contribute to the university and society.
Inspired by the SPU motto, “Lesedi la Afrika – go Batho,” we believe every student can contribute to their own development. Our role is to guide you and provide resources that empower you on this journey. Development is a partnership between you and us.
The Student Governance Office is committed to promoting student leadership, representation, and meaningful involvement in university decision-making processes, in alignment with the student governance framework.
Career services provide students with the assistance, support, and resources they need to effectively develop and execute their career plans. Our office is available to help you with both short-term and long-term career strategies, explore various industries and graduate school options, conduct internship and job searches, write CVs, prepare for mock interviews, and engage with employers effectively. We facilitate these services through webinars, individual sessions (which can be scheduled through our office), and career fairs, among other platforms.
You can find the Career Services Office on the 2nd floor of the DSA block in Moroka Hall, Central Campus. For further inquiries, please reach out to Mrs. Zipho Khumalo via email at zipho.msimango@spu.ac.za.
Arts and Culture seeks to contribute to the mandate of advancing a positive student experience and holistic development. In ensuring a diverse society and promoting social cohesion, arts and culture are critical to social justice. SPU consists of students with various interests who embrace culture, and the arts are crucial in promoting a sense of belonging. Therefore, Student Life and Development (SLD) seeks to promote arts and culture within students by promoting all elements that are sustainable to the university life towards institutional culture and the student experience.
Arts and culture have the potential to create university awareness through exposure to the various platforms locally and nationally. SLD furthermore, seeks to ensure an increase in student involvement that promotes cultural diversity and engagements that ensure the holistic development of students.
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At its core, through the establishment of Arts and Culture space within Student Life and Development this seeks to advance the Sol Plaatje University Strategy. This is by advancing student engagement and involvement within Arts and Culture with a focus on social justice, social cohesion and critical diversity, ultimately the aim is to create an engaged student who advances democratic practices and active citizenship towards an inclusive and cohesive society.
Core Areas:
CO-CURRICULAR PROGRAMMES
- SPU Drama Club
- Student Leadership Developments Programmes
- SPU Choir
Student Affairs Leadership conversations: Leadership conversations aims to broaden student engagement and debates, to sharpen their analytical, presentation and writing skills.
Africa Day celebration: This is an Edu-Entertainment event: Creative writing competition, Cultural performance: Cultural performance, Africa day lecture, Speeches, stalls, African attires & Cultural dishes
Youth Day: Lecture/Webinar
Women Day celebration: Celebrate the heroine struggle of August 1955
Heritage Day celebration: Erfenisdag, Usuku Lwamagugu, Usuku Lwamasiko
The involvement of students across student affairs and university initiatives will be rewarded through the Student Affairs Awards held annually at the end of each academic year.
The categories are as follow:
- Student Governance Leadership
- Student Leadership
- Social Responsibility
- Entrepreneurship
- Student Mentoring
- Student Tutoring
- Academic Support
- Student Orientation
- Sports Awards
- Student Assistants
- Overall Achiever of the Year – male
- Overall Achiever of the Year – female
- Vice Rector’s Outstanding Achievement Award
GCI is a dynamic programme that conducts research, pioneer technological innovations, engage schools, staff, students and encourage community partnerships.
The SPU GCI team aims at addressing the climate change challenges by reducing global warming emissions and by integrating sustainability into the curriculum to better serve students and meet social mandate to help create a thriving, ethical and civil society.
By taking on this responsibility, ensuring that we provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to address critical, systematic challenges faced by the world in this new century and enable them to benefit from the economic opportunities that will arise because of the solutions
GCI GOALS
- To preserve natural resources for the future generation
- To provide waste management solutions through recycling
- To promote a clean environment
- To reduce carbon footprint at SPU and its surrounding
- To reduce the water and energy consumption
- To conduct research and design context intervention strategies that address climate change challenges
- To identify and foster strategic partnership with key stakeholders towards the promotion of environmental sustainability
- To create a platform for students to express themselves through art
- To promote and influence the mind-set of communities towards environmental consciousness
GCI KEY PROJECTS
- I Love My Campus (SPU): A Zero-Littering Campaign “Let us take care of our environment so that it can also take care of us”.
- Eco-Anxiety Project: fear of environmental damage or ecological disaster. This sense of anxiety is largely based on the current and predicted future state of the environment and human-induced climate change.
- Positive Intervention to support a Waterwise Campus: To improve student and staff understanding of the waterwise planting principles, planting of succulent plants in various planters and to promote the development of a future food security garden for self-catering students with Senior Management.
Follow the SPU Green Campus Initiative Facebook Page.
Read more about the SPU GCI here.
Mr Buntu Mnyaka
Mrs Zipho Khumalo
Mr Gobonamang Merahe
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