VUT alumni share industry insights with OMIESSO group
VUT alumni share industry insights with OMIESSO group
VUT Alumnus and Specialist at Transnet, Miss Wezi Banda
Qhawekazi Memani
On 30 August, the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) Operations Management and Industrial Engineering Student Society (OMIESSO) gathered for a meet- and- greet seminar in auditorium 200 with some of their lecturers, Head of Department (HOD) and former students (alumni).
“The OMIESSO society aims at bridging the gap between students and industry, thus making the transition easy from theoretical study to applications needed by the industry,” said the chairperson of OMIESSO Mr N Manengu as he opened and welcomed the dignitaries and students.
The purpose of the gathering was to share ideas and talk about the challenges students face and equally to enable the invited alumni a platform to share their experiences from the outside world.
“Industrial Engineering involves the integration of technology, money, information, materials and human resources to produce goods and services optimally. There are challenges when it comes to what the industry expect from students. As someone who is passionate about community engagement, I would love to see students exposed to industry projects already being run and seeing alumni contributing to the university,” said Professor Thomas Tengen; Acting Head of Department: Industrial Engineering and Operations.
The first alumnus Mr Machivha, who works as a production engineer for Toyota, shared that the work environment and varsity are similar. “There are also project outcomes, presentations, KPI-targets and punctuality is crucial. Social skills are also very important; respect, commitment, uniqueness and confidence are key,” he said.
Working with students from various universities as a continuous improvement specialist at Transnet, Miss Wezi Banda, another VUT alumnus, highlighted that there is a gap between expectations of students and the employers. Students have a tendency of expecting more from their mentors in terms of assistance with tasks and at the same time the industry expects 100% effort from students. The 100% constitutes 20% student attitude and 80% theory knowledge.
“Theory is employed in the industry. Study to understand and always remember that success is a result of efforts put in. Don’t give up even if you fail,” she said
Sipho Maduna, an insurance company owner of (Elegant financials) and alumni, shared his life story and childhood experiences, which he believes are proof that he is the ‘born entrepreneur’ he says he is. He shared his story with the aim to inspire the students to become better people, saying he is a product of resilience. “You only fail when you stop trying,” he said.
Ms Tabitha Mallane, a lecturer and an OMIESSO co-ordinator encouraged students to study hard, setting examples for others coming next. She mentioned that two of the alumni were her students and believes that all is possible with determination, hard work, avoid time-consuming activities and not lose focus. She added that success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm until positive outcomes are reached. She closed by saying that the greatest failure and weakness is giving up.