In celebration of great academic excellence and achievement, Botho University released over 698 Class of 2019 graduates across the five Faculties in various programmes, on the 10th July 2020.
This year due to the ongoing pandemic, the institution decided to utilize the power of technology to recognize graduates by hosting its 1st ever Virtual graduation.
The historic event was officiated by Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Dr Douglas Letsholathebe as the chief guest, and also graced by the virtual presence of Industry Captains, Government officials, Media, parents and graduates.
This great milestone was achieved through creation of a portal by a student in the Faculty of Computing, Keemanao Mosedame.
The portal was accessible from the university website.
The virtual graduation ceremony also captured words of encouragement and appreciation from distinguished speakers and motivational speeches by the SRC presidents from Francistown and Gaborone Campuses.
As a technology driven institution, Botho University saw it fit to adapt to change and demonstrate its innovative skills.
In welcoming the attendees, the Vice Chancellor, Sheela Raja Ram emphasized how the institution strives to continue with daily operations, using technology as its backbone. ‘Botho University is among the few universities in Africa that leveraged on the technology investments we have and well trained staff and students – so that we switched overnight seamlessly to teaching online – I am so proud of all our lecturers and nonacademic staff across four Southern African countries who embraced technology and worked twice as hard keep learning ongoing and students engaged,’ she said.
Furthermore, she concluded by congratulating the graduates and encouraged them to continue being Tech Savvy – Change Ready and stay empowered. When giving his key note address the Hon. Minister, Dr. Douglas Letsholathebe said ‘I am reliably informed that BU has a firm focus on student employability, with everything they do evolving around producing a globally employable, entrepreneurial graduate with the knowledge, skills, competencies and attitude to drive productivity growth and value creation in our economy.
The Minister also acknowledged BUs contribution towards the COVID-19 Relief Fund, as this assisted government in its efforts to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.
During the ceremony, BU announced outstanding performances by top students in different faculties and the two top awards, the Festus Mogae Award for Academic Excellence with a prize of BWP5,000.00 which was awarded to George Green from the Faculty of Computing the Spirit of Botho Award carrying a prize of BWP10,000.00 which was scooped by Budani Bulayani from the Faculty of Health and Education.
With the quality of education, the graduates acquired from the university, Botho University continue to make significant contribution to the country’s human capital development by releasing industry ready graduates.
The Ceremony has cemented Botho University market leadership in using technology to overcome the challenges brought on by this pandemic by bringing together graduates, their families and friends to celebrate their achievement virtually and thereby fully comply with the COVID-19 protocols and regulations. Members of the community and Employers can still view this event by accessing it from our Botho University website www.bothouniversity.com.