Relebogile Manana
Student life plays an important role at university and multiple structures exist to allow students to meet like-minded people, partake in social activities and build connections that will help them throughout university. Navigating the different structures and what they do can be difficult, but this article will give you an idea as to who does what.
All students at UP belong to a faculty house, as determined by the faculty within which they are registered. Faculty houses do not have any membership fees; however, students can buy merchandise as well as pay to attend camps and events hosted by faculty houses. These events can range from industry visits to guest speakers and focus on academics, helping to link students and staff members.
These organisations also participate in activities such as RAG Day as well as competitive sport leagues hosted by the Student Sport Committee (SSC) and Student Culture Committee (Stuku). The faculty houses at UP include Commercii (EMS faculty), Health House, EBIT House (Engineering, Built Environment and IT), House Education, House Humanities, House Theology & Religion, Law House, NATHouse (Natural and Agricultural Sciences) and OPVSC (Faculty of Veterinary Sciences).
Under faculty houses, there may be sub-houses that form part of these structures. These structures exist to offer specialised activities within respective departments. They consist of student volunteers within the department that they represent. Some sub- houses in the EBIT Faculty include B.E.S.T (Built Environment Society Tuks), Chemical Engineering Sub-House, EEC Sub-House and Metallurgical Sub-House. Commercii sub-houses include BAadmin@Tuks, Fin’est, House CA, HR Tuks and more. Further information regarding sub-houses can be found on UP’s official website.
Day houses are another avenue which allows students to engage with all the activities that happen at UP, and they provide academic support and tutoring programmes for their students. The day houses at UP include Docendo, Dregeana, Luminous and Vividus. Only day students, meaning students living in private accommodation or travelling students, may belong to one of these organisations. Students can belong to both a day house and a faculty house because these two structures fulfil different aspects of student life.
Day houses allow for day students to partake in activities that are exclusively available to TuksRes students . Day houses allow students to build networks and expand their academic and social lives through relationships with all organised student structures. These organisations have access to office facilities on campus where students can socialise with other members, find a space to study, or find assistance with the administration of their membership. Day houses require an annual fee, but there are many membership and payment options to ensure all students from different backgrounds can enjoy a membership.
These structures exist to encourage student life and improve the overall university experience. Further information regarding these structures and how to join can be found on Blackboard as well as the official UP website.