University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)

The University of KwaZulu-Natal was formed on 1 January 2004 as a result of the merger between the University of Durban-Westville and the University of Natal. The new university brings together the rich histories of both the former Universities. T ch histories of both the former Universities. The University of Durban-Westville was established in the 1960s as the University College for Indians on Salisbury Island in Durban Bay. Student numbers throughout the 1960s were low as a result of the Congress Alliances policy of shunning apartheid structures. This policy gave way in the 1980s to a strategy of education under protest which sought to transform apartheid institutions into sites of struggle. Student numbers grew rapidly and in 1971, the College was granted University status. The following year, the newly-named University of Durban-Westville moved into its modern campus in Westville and was a site of major anti-apartheid struggle. UDW became an autonomous institution in 1984, opening up to students of all races. Founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg, the University of Natal was granted independent University status in 1949 owing to its rapid growth in numbers, its wide range of courses and its achievements in and opportunities for research. By that time, the NUC was already a multi-campus institution, having been extended to Durban after World War 1. The distinctive Howard College building was opened in 1931, following a donation by Mr T B Davis, whose son Howard Davis was killed during the Battle of Somme in World War I. In 1946, the government approved a Faculty of Agriculture in Pietermaritzburg and, in 1947, a Medical School for African, Indian and Coloured students in Durban. The two KwaZulu-Natal universities were among the first batch of South African institutions to merge in 2004 in accordance with the governments higher educational restructuring plans that will eventually see the number of higher educational institutions in South Africa reduced from 36 to 21. Confirmed by a Cabinet decision in December 2002, the mergers are the culmination of a wide-ranging consultative process on the restructuring of the Higher Education Sector that began in the early 1990s. VISION To be the Premier University of African Scholarship. MISSION A truly South African university that is academically excellent, innovative in research, critically engaged with society and demographically representative, redressing the disadvantages, inequities and imbalances of the past. VALUES STATEMENT UKZN is at work to establish a value-driven organisational culture that empowers the institution and its people to achieve institutional goals. The guiding values are respect, excellence, accountability, client orientation, honesty and trust - represented as R.E.A.C.H.T The gist of these values is that the behaviour and actions of everyone at UKZN will demonstrate: Respect: UKZN undertakes to promote mutual respect, courtesy, and inclusiveness. Excellence: UKZN undertakes to display quality, leadership and energy in all that it does. Accountability: UKZN promises to be responsible and accountable in the behaviour displayed towards all its stakeholders. Client Orientation: UKZN undertakes to satisfy the needs of all its clients, stakeholders and partners, on a consistent basis. Honesty: UKZN promises to deliver with integrity steadfastly and with adherence to good governance. Trust: underpins all the other institutional values. The implicit trust enjoyed by every member of UKZN and their well-defined actions that embrace the R.E.A.C.H.T values are the important ingredients of the moral fibre of the institution. The Goals of the University are: Excellent Teaching and Learning Attract high-potential students and develop them to their full potential to become globally aware professionals, leaders and citizens. Excellent Student Experience Produce graduates with knowledge, skills and networks to build meaningful and agile careers that can be sustained and adapted over the course of their lifetime. Excellent and High-Impact Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship A globally ranked research-intensive university responding to major societal, economic and environmental challenges. High-Impact Societal and Stakeholders Community Engagement Achieve meaningful interactions with stakeholders and communities for mutual benefit. Targeted Internationalisation Achieve an international outlook that is integral to the University’s aspiration to be a world-class African university. The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-Natal on 1 January 2004.[2] It was founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg and expanded to include a campus in Durban in 1931. In 1947, the university opened a medical school for non-white students in Durban. The Pietermaritzburg campus was known for its agricultural engineering programmes, hence the nickname "the farmers" whilst the Durban campus was known as "the engineers," as it concentrated on other engineering programmes. On 1 January 2004, the University of Natal was merged with the University of Durban-Westville to create a new legal entity called the University of KwaZulu-Natal, as part of a broader reorganisation of South African universities. ...view more