Top Students from BEDS Recognised at Awards Function

Top performing students from the School of Built
Environment and Development Studies (BEDS)
were awarded for their academic excellence.

The School of Built Environment and Development Studies (BEDS) recently awarded its top performing students from undergraduate to postgraduate level at the UKZN Innovation Centre.

Students from all six disciplines within the school- Architecture, , Community Development, Development Studies, Housing, Population Studies, Town and Regional Planning- attended the special event, all dressed to impress. 

The awards ceremony is an annual event of the School at which students are recognised for their hard work and dedication in their respective disciplines. The award is given to those students with an aggregate of 75 percent or more in the second semester of 2012 and/or the first semester of 2013. 

During this function, the following prizes were awarded to the fellow Architecture students: 

One of the award recipients from Architecture was 5th year student Mr Craig Cullen who was both thankful and grateful to the School and UKZN for recognising and acknowledging all the hard work he put into his studies.  

‘It is a great feeling to be recognised in this way and both my parents are excited and proud of my achievement,’ he said.  

Cullen also advised other students to follow their dreams and to achieve their goals. ‘Set your mind to whatever you hope to achieve and believe in yourself. And always remember to have that dedication and passion in all that you do.’

Ecstatic Postgraduate Architecture student Ms Nompumelelo Kubheka was awarded the Sherwood Bond Bursary worth R5000. 

‘The typical lifestyle of an architecture student has financial stability as a constant concern. Not only regarding school fees but also the demands of projects: printing and building materials expenses factor in. The bursary has been a much needed intervention to remedy the financial crisis I had found myself in especially regarding my year-end project. I am very grateful to the donor.’

Speaking at the awards function, Dean and Head of the School Professor Thokozani Xaba congratulated the students and wished them well in their studies and future ventures.

‘This Awards function is an attempt to recognise your performance and your abilities. These awards are evidence that you have the skills, knowledge and capabilities to make change in the world and to make a meaningful contribution to society,’ said Prof. Xaba.