About 5000 first-year students at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth are about to undergo a life-changing experience, thanks to the institution's namesake.
In a first for a South African university, NMMU students will attend a day-long workshop as part of their orientation next month. They will be encouraged to act and think like the world statesman.
The initiative is a partnership between the university and Life College, the organisation founded by television personality Pat Pillai. The aim is to develop the students' "critical thinking as well as their self-reflection and self-leadership skills".
Titled Nelson Mandela: The Champion Within, the workshop will impart the values of ubuntu, respect for the natural environment and diversity. Students will watch video footage of Madiba's early life, his involvement in the underground movement, his imprisonment on Robben Island, his release and his tenure as president.
Discussions will be based on a workbook developed by the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, Mandela Rhodes Foundation and Life College.
NMMU vice-chancellor Professor Derrick Swartz said: "Our belief is that we will succeed in making our country and world a better place only if each one of us live the changes we want to see in the world."
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