UKZN and East Coast Radio (ECR) came together to celebrate postgraduate Media students who were awarded bursaries and to acknowledge the radio station’s generous donations and contributions. The ceremony was held at ECR’s headquarters in Umhlanga.
In her welcome address ECR Human Resources manager, Ms Yvette Pillay said: ‘The aim of the programme is to provide bursaries for Media students focusing on scarce and critical skills in media and broadcasting. Our mission is to upskill the youth of today and address unemployment.’
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ECR has worked remotely with the University and had not had the chance to meet bursary recipients face to face. ECR managing director, Ms Boni Mchunu, who is passionate about education expressed her excitement at meeting the faces behind the names. ‘As a brand we always say KZN matters are our matters, so it pains me when I see students burn institutions due to a lack of funding. Through education, one liberates oneself and one becomes a different person once one has a qualification. I also think it is important for students to have connections with a brand and management team,’ she said.
Executive Director of the UKZN Foundation Mr Steve Camp commented: ‘Education and passion make somebody successful in their career. Many students struggle to obtain bursaries and we appreciate organisations like ECR which make bursaries available for fine art and media studies that don’t attract a lot of funding.’
Professor Lauren Dyll of the Centre for Communication, Media and Society (CCMS) and Academic Leader for Community Engagement in the School of Applied Science, also thanked ECR for their contribution.
Two groups of students from CCMS and Media and Communication Studies were excited to be part of the event and expressed their gratitude.
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