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Your future, your sound

NUST FM’s striking logo radiates the vibrancy of the recently launched Poly radio station.

The Polytechnic of Namibia soon to be The Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST) officially launched NUST FM on 17 July and was on the air a week later.

The fresh-look students’ radio station has been so well received, the Economist just had to speak to station manager, Vivette Rittmann, to get a glimpse of the vibrant new airwaves.
Rittman said that they cater mostly for the Polytechnic staff, students and other stakeholders. “We had a very positive reaction and the turn out from both staff and students was more than expected. Students are especially excited to hear about the radio station that acts as a means of reflecting their identity,” she added. She said the best response they got was form the public at large, who are eager to participate with NUST FM.
Rittman emphasised that the primary goal of the station is to disseminate information pertinent to the target audience as well as to transfer skills and provide a training ground to administer the practical application of the academic education at the Poly.
“We are completely online and we broadcast to anyone with internet access, and you can log on to www.nustfm.na, to listen,” she announced.
She said that NUST FM is here to innovate and that they are looking to make the station into a digital gateway for the community. “Our offices are located on the lower campus and as a community station, it was best to have the offices in the centre of the community,” she explained.
She informed The Economist that NUST FM has been in the pipeline for many years, but the transformation committee discussed how to get the students more involved in the change and how to establish a dialogue that is immediate, last year. “Therefore the concept for a radio station was once again discussed and this time Ms Oliver, Head: Institution Planning, drove the project forward to make it a reality,” she said.
Explaining the seemingly long delay, she said it took the station long to be on air because the process of selecting the staff to assist in running the station as well as recruiting and training presenters, had to be well done. “Due to the fact that this was a brand new endeavour for the Polytechnic, a completely new infrastructure had to be developed to accommodate the project, hence the delay,” she concluded.
Tune in by logging into www.nustfm.na .

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