Siphile Hlwatika - President
Siphile Hlwatika obtained a LLB ‘17, PGDip (Labour Law Practice) cum laude ‘18 and LLM (Labour Law) cum laude ‘22 from the Nelson Mandela University. He is currently a practicing attorney at ENSafrica, Africa’s largest law firm, specialising in employment litigation and general employment law. He has acted for clients in a variety of industries in the public and private sectors, including the agricultural, automotive manufacturing, aerospace and defence manufacturing, aviation, fast-moving consumer goods, construction, energy, engineering, financial services, healthcare, hospitality, mining, retail and telecommunications, amongst others.
During his time at the University, he actively participated in the student movement and further took a keen interest in other extracurricular activities. Siphile was a member of the Student Representative Council (“SRC”), and by virtue of his office, was further assigned to serve in various institutional committees of the University. The latter exposed him to the University’s institutional regulatory codes as well as the statutory and institutional prescripts which are in place to ensure effective governance.
His message to alumni is the following:
“We aim towards reigniting our alumni’s interest in the Alumni Association’s work. It is without doubt that our alumni constitutes the largest stakeholder of the University and it continues to significantly grow each year. As a result, wherever we go, here and abroad, we ought to carry our namesakes’ legacy, ethos and values.
The University’s alumni is central towards achieving the University’s Vision 2030 Strategy, which is aimed at, amongst others, pushing the frontiers of knowledge and cultivating socially conscious graduates who make a positive impact on society. We are thus required to collaborate with our respective areas of expertise and experience, through strategic enablers, to ensure the achievement of transformative engagement and impactful research, innovation and internationalisation. As the University’s alumni, it is certainly in our hands to make a difference.”