PDMM 2010: a kaleidoscopic mix of students
by Monique Senekal
11 March 2010
“Hard-core”; “stimulating”; “engaging”; “different” ; “versatile”; “inspiring and motivating”; “accommodative”; “innovative”; “interactive”. These are just some of the words students use to describe their experience of the Post Graduate Diploma in Media Management (PDMM) course thus far.
Knight scholar and experienced Zimbabwean journalist Boldwill Hungwe adds that the course is “revealing”: “The course is revealing because I come from a certain given media environment. This course is not just about learning something new, but about transforming one‟s existing knowledge, pushing the boundaries, and thinking innovatively.”
With a total of 22 students; 14 locals, 4 Zimbabweans, one Mosotho, one Swazi, one Motswana and one German, this year‟s PDMM class not only proves to be the largest, but also the most diverse in terms of cultural and experiential background.
Everyone seems to appreciate and respect this kaleidoscopic mix of students. MTN scholar Luzuko Buku explains this phenomenon like this:
“It‟s like we have been doing this course for so many years, even though we just started three weeks ago; we bonded in a second.”
The Atlantic Philanthropies scholar Mzoxolo Budaza adds,
“I have learnt so much from my fellow classmates with their variety of experiences in the media, in such a short space of time; this really adds great value to the theory learnt.”
Many agree that the SPI is living up to its mandate of "Educating leaders in all aspects of media management". Hungwe explains, while waving his arms in the air: “It‟s provoking the entrepreneurial spirit that I did not know I had because now I find that I am actually analysing, from a distance, the day-to-day running of the company I come from.”
Looking at the year ahead, students explain that they are both apprehensive and excited at the same time. “Right now 
we are a little bit exhausted having lecturers in the morning AND afternoon. I would rather we keep it to three times a week, instead of every day,” says aspiring fashion designer, Jade Oates. Kate Douglas agrees. “You feel exhausted then you don‟t even feel like reading at night. The positive thing is that we love the course.” Kathrin Koebke echoes: “I love that I‟m being treated like an adult!”
Indeed, it would not be a far cry from the mill to state with confidence that, for students, the PDMM course is, truly, cutting-edge.
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Last updated » 2010-03-29