OFFICE OF THE DEAN OF STUDENTS

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utside the academic pressures, students may have to deal with stress such as moving away from home for the first time: financial stress, physical or mental illness (e.g depression, anxiety), the end of important relationships, or the illness of death of a loved one. Sometimes coping with one or more of these stress can prove to be overwhelming.   The professional services section is committed to provide a broad range of high quality, innovative, and ethical services that address the psychological, educational, social, physical and developmental needs of Unam students.

Moreover, we actively contribute to the campus` broader academic mission by training and developing students and professionals. This help to build a multicultural learning community. In forming partnership among students by providing services such as: A full professional, independent and confidential counselling services, individual or group counselling no problem is too small,

Help Desk of the office of the Dean of Students

workshops on a range of different topics.  The counselling centre is a service dedicated to the needs of University students and its immediate community. Therefore, counsellors work from the centre as a team to provide treatment, counselling and advice for medical and personal problems. In addition, a general practitioner visits the primary health care clinic twice a week whereby, the office also provides consultations and advocacy for students, information pamphlets on a range of issues and de-briefing to individuals and groups involved in traumatic incidents [accidents].  Lastly, counsellors in the counselling section also apply community work to address problems experienced on campus. 

UNAM GRADUATION: A MILESTONE

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t is important and remarkable milestones laid by the graduates of the University of Namibia. Students who graduate are the public and private personalities of our country. It is the responsibility of the university to recognise hard working students with their great achievement.

This year it was very unique that students showed standard improvement in the performance. One may have a self opinion that the high number of graduates demonstrates the up-gradation of UNAM. “I can’t believe I have passed all my modules through reading information from the Internet. The wireless Internet initiative really assists me to elaborate more on what I was given by lecturers,” says Media student graduate. Recently this has been taken further that wherever you are on any UNAM campus, wireless Internet is accessible.

20th Graduation ceremony

The records are showing that students who registered with UNAM are very creative by looking at their attributes, history, personalities as well as characteristics that distinct from any high institution in Africa. “It was dejavu when I moved from Port Elizabeth University to UNAM but now here I am with my Bachelor of Arts in Geology,” said graduate from Zambia.

We believe that Unam graduates within any field of studies are very well prepared to tackle Namibia’s social problems.  Most of us strongly believe that the University should be world-wide recognised for its outstanding work.

SOCIETIES ON CAMPUS

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he university offers students with various cultural, artistic, academic and social clubs or societies. Societies focus on getting students involved on campus. Many students find their social life centred on club activities. Here you will find a vibrant community of young students looking to get involved in a wide variety of campus activity.

Office of UIS

These societies’ help students discover and explore their skills. An academic society is a platform where students learn from one another and exchange ideas. These societies provide them with vital information on their field of study. It is beneficial as it provides important information regarding internships and activities such as visits to organisations. Most societies also invite prominent speakers to lecture on a regular basis and organise trips and events of interest to its members. Academic societies inspire intellectual growth and independent thinking.

UNAM has a tradition of celebrating the cultural diversity of the campus and community. The cultural societies or groups reflect the diverse range of backgrounds found within our student body. These groups share their culture with the rest of campus through a cultural festival. Participating in a society can play a major role in your personal development.

Meet people, be a leader, have fun, play, learn, work, debate and be active!!

COULD TRANSPORT BE A PROBLEM AT UNAM?

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ach and every Namibian has the right to education. In a country where poverty is rife, parents are making great sacrifices to ensure that their children have a head start through education. One of the greatest achievement is to be accepted at the most prestigious and only University in Namibia. The issue however is the fact that students find themselves stranded without reliable transport from the campus which is located on outskirts south of Windhoek. In the past UNAM had the arrangement where students were dropped at a common and safe location in city centre from where students could have access to taxis. That practice has since been stopped.

In the past few years the four UNAM SRC presidents have raised the issue with the institution’s management, but aside for a survey UNAM conducted, no feedback has yet been given. In the meantime students are subjected to harassment in the form of verbal insults and threats. Adding to this is also the common practice of taxi drivers to refuse to take student passengers to requested routes, thus leaving students stranded at the UNAM gates. Another issue is the safety aspect whereby students are robbed of their possessions and even threatened with physical violence when they take taxis after dark.

For some students like Martha, the issue should enjoy immediate attention. “Last month I was robbed of my cell phone by a taxi driver, but because it was dark I couldn’t get the number plate of the taxi. I was really scared an almost didn’t come to class the next day. I can’t help but wonder what UNAM is going to do about this issue.”

Since then more students have come forth with horror stories of how they had to fend of criminals and would-be sexual predators. This raises the question of how far UNAM is going to go to ensure that it stays the top institution of choice. How important do they view the safety of their students with regard to the lack of reliable and safety transportation?

SPORT ON CAMPUS

Unam Basketball team aka Rebels

Over the years the University of Namibia has been at the forefront of providing the labour market with skilled academics and even though it has not really been highly publicised, the univeristy has also been providing the nation with a fine breed of talented athletes.

There are currently 16 sport clubs registered with the SRC for Sport of which the most active are the male and female football clubs, the netball club, the rugby club, the athletics club, the male and female basketball clubs as well as the tennis and squash clubs. If you ask most hostel students where they all are on a Saturday afternoon you will get the same reply from all of them "at the soccer or netball field watching the Unam teams destroy all their opponents!" Because of the talent that Unam students possess it is no surprise that the national football squad the Brave Warriors has five Unam students in the team and that the national netball team has six unam students wearing national colours. Most Unam students can be found training with the respective sport codes through out the week either as a form of pleasure, a way to keep fit or a chance to score a busary with partner universities abroad.

Unam netball team in action

If You Don't Know, Now You Know

*The current Brave Warriors captain is a Unam student.

*Two Unam students play netball in the Singapore super league

*The Unam volleyball team are the current male national league champions

*The Unam hockey team won the silver medal at the University Sport of South Africa hockey championships

*The Tisan team consisting of mostly Unam students were the first and only country to represent africa at the World student games

*For the first time ever Namibia will be represented at the 2012 netball world championships and yep! you guessed it six Unam students made the team

*The University of NorthUmbria in the UK, University of North West and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa offer full scholarships to top performing athletes at Unam

Bet you didn't know Unam had all that talent in it's midst, so if you just want to have fun, lose a little winter weight or play competively for any Unam team feel free to visit the Unam Sport Office situated in the gym block of the main campus.