Donning the TUT Mantle of Academic Excellence

On 28 October 2026, we gather once again, to contemplate and to recognize excellence in its purest form - academic excellence. Of all the forms of excellence that exist in the world, academic excellence is the most exponential in its impact. Academically excellent individuals have an exponential influence on the greatest number of people across space and time.

Think of the inestimable and timeless impact of Albert Einstein, Toni Morrison, Tiyo Soga, WEB Du Bois, Hamilton Naki, Tebello Nyokong, Marie Curie, DC Marivate, Magema Fuze, Sol Plaatje, Stephen Hawking, Thomas Mofolo, Ada Byron Lovelace, JM Coetzee, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Homi Bhabha, Nadine Gordimer and Cheikh Anta Diop, amongst others. We cannot even begin to enumerate the ways in which these scholars have impacted our lives, and continue to influence human knowledge in general.

Similarly; although the vast majority of those to whom awards will be made on the day are individual achievers, their immediate and long-term impact on generations of fellow scholars and students is as considerable as it is invaluable.

The relentless pursuit of academic excellence is precisely what defines TUT as an institution that is no longer satisfied with merely being a good university. Our uncompromising pursuit of excellence drives our unstoppable movement from good to great.  The individuals and academic units which will receive awards on Wednesday, the 28 October 2026 are the proof of how hard we have been pursuing excellence, both as a value and a goal. The awardees, fully deserve the right to wear the TUT mantle of excellence!

Prof Tinyiko Maluleke
Vice-Chancellor and Principal: Tshwane University of Technology