New Era College of Arts, Science and Technology has capped 526 graduates from the 2022 convocation ceremony held under the theme, 'Women, Building Opportunities for the Future in Engineering: Creativity & Innovation'. The event held at Boipuso Hall at Fairgrounds on Tuesday (November 15, 2022) was rather a special occasion as four (4) cohorts from the Classes of 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 were all capped on the day.
The outbreak of Covid-19 in late 2019 had forced the postponement of graduation ceremonies from 2019 to 2021. Speaking at the jubilant occasion, the Minister of Communications, Knowledge and Technology, Hon. Thulagano Merafe Segokgo gave a 'hero' status to the graduates as he said they had shown some determination despite having to complete their studies under the worst times in recent years.
He implored the graduates to also seek to use the skills learned in the institution to create jobs as that way will help the country's economy. "It is a fact that the Covid-19 pandemic disturbed most and disrupted how we do business in our daily basis. Surely, the reason we are graduating four (4) cohorts today is due to the pandemic. Today you are here as testimony that indeed 'Education is for Life'. Whilst we have been impacted heavily by the pandemic, I believe that with credentials bestowed on all of you today, you are going to do tremendous things in the industry here, locally and some of you internationally”.
"I have a firm belief that you are going to support the government in realizing pillar one of the vision 2036 which speaks to sustainable economic development. You may wonder how this could be achieved through yourselves. As graduates, the government needs you to establish startups in the areas that you are qualified in so that you create employment for others. We expect you to take part in meaningful research, which will change the landscape of our country’s economy. We expect you to compete internationally and fly Botswana’s flag high by setting up multinational companies," Hon. Segokgo said.
The New Era College Chief Executive Officer and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research, Professor Amos Thapisa said due to the outbreak of Covid-19, the institution changed the landscape of their business model and teaching aids as well as events such as graduation ceremonies.
Prof. Thapisa said New Era College withheld the graduation ceremonies during the period to allow the graduates an opportunity to celebrate with their loved ones. "This is truly a special occasion as we are here to recognize and celebrate achievements of not one but four cohorts of graduates. This ceremony was long overdue and reasons for that are embedded in our struggle with Covid-19. The Covid-19 pandemic had brought the full world to a standstill and we had not been an exception. We have had to fight, adapt, and be made strong.
"We had to rethink not only our graduation strategy but also our entire business strategy. We rapidly made unplanned changes to overwhelming teaching in terms of adapting and adopting online forms. It would not come as a surprise to you that our class of 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 made it absolutely clear to us throughout the pandemic that they would not allow their celebration to be stolen by the pandemic," Thapisa said.
The four cohorts of the New Era graduating classes were conferred with Degrees, Advanced Diplomas, Diplomas and Certificates in Engineering in Telecommunications, Electrical and Electronics, Construction Industry, Accommodation Operations and Services.