Top of his class
ACHIEVER: Dean Berry is the recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s Medal.
Friday, 20 April 2012
Graduates of the Faculty of Applied Sciences rose the roof this morning as they cheered on a classmate who had achieved one of the highest honours the University can bestow on its students.
Dean Berry, who graduated cum laude with a BTech degree in Horticulture, is also the recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s Medal. This medal is awarded to the top Btech student across all 6 Faculties. Berry achieved six out of six distinctions in his final year of study with an aggregate of 85%.
Four MTech degrees were also awarded to Nina Septoe, Andre Lambrechts, Jade North and Natalie Newman. These candidates’ graduated with their Masters Degrees from the Departments of Consumer Science: Food and Nutrition, Environmental Health, Horticulture and Nature Conservation, respectively, while Adegbenro Peter Daso and Janes Doughari Hamuel were awarded Doctoral degrees in the Environmental Health Department.
Guest speaker Dr Gansen Pillay, the Deputy CEO of the National Research Foundation of South Africa spoke passionately of the quality of research being done in South Africa.
He says that in moving from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy, South Africa offered a wealth of opportunity for bright young graduates to exploit.
“We have to focus and prioritise education in South Africa. I advocate the concept of liberation through education – it’s the one thing that can never be taken from you. And at the centre of everything, excellence and integrity needs to be non-negotiable. “
Graduation continues this evening on the Bellville campus where the Faculty of Engineering holds its second ceremony. On Saturday, the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences holds the final two ceremonies on Cape Town campus that bring a week of Autumn graduation to a close.
By Jan Weintrob
Photograph by Clive Galant
Written by CPUT News
Email: news@cput.ac.za
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