BUILT ENVIRONMENT STUDENT BRINGS THE HOUSE DOWN AT POTSDAM SITE AS SHE OBTAINS AN 87% AVERAGE FOR HER FIRST-YEAR

Pandemonium broke out at the Potsdam Site Great Hall recently when Anelisa Mboyiya, a second-year student from the WSU Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and IT’s (FEBEIT) built environment department, was honoured with multiple academic awards during an Academic Prize-Giving ceremony.

Mboyiya, who is from Mdanstane, exemplified academic excellence with an impressive overall average of 87% in her first-year academic studies.

She attributed her success to careful listening to her lecturers, not only during lectures but also in relation to effective study methods.

"There’s no secret to this achievement. It all comes down to consistently dedicating time to studying and revising, and, most importantly, following the guidance provided by our lecturers regarding the importance of practicing and studying our materials," Mboyiya said.

In his address, FEBEIT Executive Dean, Prof Didibhuku Thwala highlighted the significance of the day’s proceedings – a day that not only aimed at celebrating academic excellence and perseverance, but also the emergence of young professionals in the built environment discipline.

Thwala said the ceremony was also particularly significant in that it was a reaffirmation of the faculty’s effort to nurture future-ready graduates who’re both technically skilled and socially conscious.

“This is a moment to reflect on your achievement, recognize potential, and honour the individuals who’ve gone above and beyond in their academic journey within the faculty,” he stated.  

In a bid to further encourage and inspire the students to dream big, the 2024 Construction Industry Development Board’s (CIDB) Empowerment and Recognition of Women in Construction (ERWIC) Award winner, Dr Lulu Ngomane, took to the podium in her bright red PhD academic gown to share her lessons and experiences learnt within the industry.

Ngomane, whose construction company is responsible for, among many others, the newly-built Shell Service Station located opposite the Hemmingways Mall In East London, spoke candidly to students about her journey from a small projects office in Bhisho to a self-owned consortium.

“My journey fully started in 2001 when, after being inquisitive and curious, convinced one of my colleagues in the projects office in Bhisho to let me join them when they were putting together a proposal for a huge project in Johannesburg. When I got to Joburg, I realized this is what I want to do – to run my own consortium, and by 2008, I had gone completely independent,” she said.

Speaking about the critical discipline of quantity surveying, Ngomane said she found it quite alarming that most of projects offices within the country’s municipalities don’t have the skill in their midst.

She argued that the detrimental phenomenon of miscalculated and overpriced projects that eventually become abandoned would drastically reduce with the addition of quantity surveyors in the municipal project offices.

The final results of the top achievers per academic year were as follows.

MAINSTREAM TOP STUDENTS IN LEVEL 1

SURNAME          LEVEL 1          AVERAGE %

MBOYIYA           YR1 (BTW)          87%

NTONGAZANA   YR1 (BCC)           82%

EXTENDED PROGRAMME TOP STUDENTS IN LEVEL 1 & 2

SURNAME          LEVEL 1 & 2        AVERAGE %

PHANDLE            YR1 (BCC)           79%

MDAWENI         YR1 (BTW)          79%

MANDLEVU       YR2 (BTW)          92%

SEBAMBA           YR2 (BCC)           87%

MAIN & EXTENDED PROGRAMME TOP STUDENTS IN LEVEL 2/3

SURNAME          LEVEL 2/3           AVERAGE %

MQAYAMA        YR2 (BCC)           81%

NGXOLA              YR3 (BTW)          71%

MAIN & EXTENDED PROGRAMME TOP STUDENTS IN LEVEL 3/4

SURNAME          LEVEL 3/4           AVERAGE %

BOOI                   YR3 (BCC)           84%

PIYOSE                YR3 (BTW)          84%

TOP BEST PERFORMING STUDENT – LEVEL 3

SURNAME          LEVEL 3/4           AVERAGE %

BOOI                   YR3 (BCC)           84%

PIYOSE                YR3 (BTW)          84%