All set to take on the world
The Limkokwing University of Creative Technology branch campus in Lesotho is producing graduates equipped with 21st century thinking and problem solving skills
Graduates with their skills and creativity are all set to design the future and bring Lesotho forward.
LIMKOKWING University of Creative Technology celebrated its first decade in Lesotho with its latest batch of 800 graduates who received their scrolls during the eighth convocation ceremony.
The graduates presented university founder and president Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing with a framed picture of appreciation, thanking him for transforming their lives.
Lesotho is the university’s second branch in Africa, opening in 2008. The first campus was opened in Botswana in 2007 with another in Swaziland (2011) and the most recent in Sierra Leone, which was officially launched last year.
Godfrey Semethe, 25, graduated with an Associate Degree in Information Technology.
He regards his future with optimism as he feels that his time at the university has changed him and made him a team player. “I’m proud to say that I can work as part of a team.
“During my time at the university, I learnt that everyone in the world has something to share,” he added.
Semethe dreams of addressing unemployment as it is an issue in Lesotho.
“I want to reduce the high rate of unemployment in my country as many don’t have a job,” he said.
He hopes to open an Internet cafe, to provide university students with printing services.
Malikeketlana Mafa, 23, a graduate in an Associate Degree in International Tourism, received a full scholarship to study in the university from the National Manpower Development Secretariat for her outstanding high school results.
“My dream is to turn Lesotho into an international tourist destination as many are not familiar with the country,” she said.
Mafa will be pursuing a Master’s degree in tourism as a result.
Mokethi Khomo-ea-majoe, who has albinism and extreme short sightedness, obtained a degree in Broadcasting and Journalism. He obtained the President’s award for leadership. “I’m very proud and excited,” he said about his graduation. Khomo-ea-majoe wants to pursue a career in investigative journalism after completing a Master’s in the field.
Semethe, Mafa and Khomo-ea-majoe are among the 800 graduates who received their scrolls.
During the ceremony which was graced by Lesotho Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso, parents were seen screaming ecstatically as they cheered their children who went on stage to receive their scrolls. The graduates were equally expressive as they danced and roared with pride upon receiving their scrolls.
It was a joyous event, accompanied by amazing performances by the university’s choir group, which saw standing ovations and cheers from the crowd.
More to achieve
Lim is no stranger to Africa as he first met the late Nelson Mandela in 1993, when he requested for Malaysia’s help to prepare the African National Congress for South Africa’s first free elections.
It was then three years after Mandela had been freed from 27 years of imprisonment for championing equality in white-minority ruled South Africa.
Upon his release, Mandela assumed the leadership of the ANC, and approached Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for assistance.
Mandela’s request was an enormous one - to provide voter education in a country where nearly 18 million out of the 20 million citizens would cast their ballots for the first time.
The ANC needed to set up facilities, train and educate workers and volunteers.
The premier recommended Lim, one of Malaysia’s foremost branding and communications guru, for the task. The ANC subsequently won the elections.
On his feelings after witnessing the 800 ecstatic graduates, Lim who has received numerous awards for his philanthropic contributions, said that more has to be done.
“On such an occasion, it will make you feel that much has been done, but a lot more has to be done.
“The Lesotho people expect us to further transform the workforce as they know that if they don’t reinforce their technology and human resource, they will not be able to move forward as quickly as they must,” he said.
Lim regards the university’s presence in Lesotho also known as the Kingdom in the Sky, as a sincere act of lending a helping hand to developing African countries.
“We came here to lend support.
“I think we have made an impact because we are sincerely lending support and we work easily with various people,” he added.
Lim is hoping that the Langkawi International Dialogue (LID) can be revived.
The first Limkokwing campus opened its doors to Africa in 2007, following a meeting with Lim and African leaders during the LID in 2005, which subsequently saw an invitation by the Botswana government to set up a campus in the country itself.
Lim said the university will continue emphasising on the Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in its courses.
“True education is not only about excelling academically, but also possessing skills which are useful to the 21st century workforce, a role that must be nurtured through the application of TVET.
“If the people don’t have the specific skills needed by the industry, then they will need to go through skills development via TVET.
“We will actively engage in enhancing TVET delivery here,” said Lim.
The university, he added, also plans to open four more campuses in Africa by the first quarter of 2019, namely Uganda, Namibia, Nigeria and South Africa.
Also present at the graduation ceremony were Education and Training Minister Prof Ntoi Rapapa and Deputy Prime Minister Monyane Moleleki, who came on behalf of Prime Minister Tom Thabane, university vice president (Industry Empowerment) Datuk Raja Aznil Raja Hisham and senior vice president Datuk William Low.
Moleleki who spoke on behalf of Thabane, said the university is a unique global institution, which managed to defy all odds in producing well-equipped graduates.
“It is the first university in this country to focus on TVET-driven programmes.
“I am also informed that it is the first to do so here before the other campuses in Africa.
“Unconventional in its nature, this university still adheres to the highest quality assurance standards and offers a portfolio of courses directly relevant to the economies of developing nations like ours,” he said.
The university, he added, is using TVET as part of its plan to create a large pool of skilled workforce for economic development across Africa.
Last April, the Accreditation Service for International Colleges (ASIC) from the United Kingdom presented Lim with two awards – one for his personal contributions and another to the university – for Transformational Leadership in Global TVET Education.
This award acknowledges Lim’s pioneering
endeavours to bring industry into education, which has changed the landscape of private education in Malaysia as well as in the countries that house the Limkokwing brand.
Rapapa said during his speech that the university has changed the landscape of tertiary education in the country, with its graduates equipped with 21st century thinking and problem solving skills.
“This university places emphasis on practical applied knowledge and ensures its graduates are industry relevant and ready.
He also praised the university’s alumni for being brave in embarking in new businesses to make a living.
“They have the resilience, the passion, the drive and fire to get things done,” he added.