CPUT’s first December Graduation kicked off today with the capping of Faculty of Informatics and Design students in the Major Sports Hall on Bellville campus.

In total some 5 220 graduands from six faculties will be capped at 12 ceremonies, which will include the conferring of 49 Masters and 10 Doctoral degrees over four days.

“Graduation is a major highlight of the academic year and we are very pleased to end off this rather challenging year with such a big celebration of our students’ achievements and our institution,” says Acting Vice-Chancellor Dr Chris Nhlapo.

Nhlapo will be present at all 12 ceremonies, some of which will be presided over by CPUT’s new Chancellor Thandi Modise.

He looks forward to sharing in the joy of the graduands and their families. “I am greatly honoured to witness our students reaching the pinnacle of their academic journeys so far. It is indeed a great cause for celebration and I feel really privileged to have a front-row seat,” Nhlapo adds.

The Faculties of Business and Management Sciences, Informatics and Design as well as Education will award Dean’s Medals to their outstanding students.

There will be three ceremonies per day at 09:00, 14:00 and 19:00 and all ceremonies will take place on Bellville campus.

Each ceremony will be live streamed.

Use the hashtags #WeAreCPUT and #CPUTsummerGrad2017 when posting memories on social media.

Written by Abigail Calata

Business Administration 1 students in the Business and Information Administration Department have donated R85 385 to The Children’s Hospital Trust of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

The students and their lecturer who is the project’s facilitator, Belinda Berman,  recently handed over to the trust cheques of R45 385, which they raised in 2016, and R40 000 in 2017, towards the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) upgrading and extension.

The department started the initiative in 2009 as a Business Administration 1 live academic entrepreneurship project and has to date donated a phenomenal R376 385 to the trust.

During the handover of the cheques and other donations at the hospital this week, Berman stated that by supporting the expansion of the ICU, more children were provided with a better chance of survival, and in turn this also contributed to providing an enhanced environment for families to support their children and the staff to continue enabling the best care.

She added: “More than 2 000 students had been involved in the project over the last nine years.”  Berman thanked all the students for their time and efforts and expressed how proud she was that they had embraced the spirit of UBUNTU. 

“Not only have the students acquired various entrepreneurship and business skills, but they have made a difference to the lives of many children who require medical treatment in South Africa and Africa,” says the department’s senior lecturer, Mandie Richards.

Loyal sponsors to the project include 7-11, J&M Famous Biltong and Scent Pac. 

Prizes are awarded annually for the team of students that raises the most profit and the one with the best portfolio.  All students receive a certificate of participation and merit certificates are issued to the winning teams.

Written by Kwanele Butana

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The International Conference on Business and Management Dynamics, which is hosted by the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, has been recognized by AOSIS Publishers for its outstanding contribution to Open Access Journal.

The conference, together with the faculty’s Journal of Business and Management Dynamics (JBMD), received recognition for contributing to Open Access Journal in South Africa.

The CPUT conference has since 2015 brought together researchers, business leaders and postgraduate students who present their research papers, conceptual papers, case studies and technical reports addressing contemporary and development issues in management, business, finance, tourism and information management, entrepreneurship and technology.

“This recognition is an endorsement of the achievement of my vision in establishing an international conference framework that brings together academic researchers and postgraduate students across African universities and beyond to share their research output, and to create sustainable conference proceedings that lead to a recognised and accredited journal for the faculty and the university,” says Dr Twum-Darko, Editor-in-Chief of JBMD.

“Professionally, it encourages me and the team to pursue this agenda and create a sustainable platform to deepen postgraduate research in the faculty and promote internationalisation and collaboration among African institutions of higher learning."

During the recent event, which was held at the University of Pretoria, editors of Open Access scholarly books and journals were recognised.

CPUT’s 2018 conference, which will take place in August will bring together academics and business leaders from across the world to share their thinking and research outcomes on the theme of managing business competitiveness in times of glocalisation, which refers to the practice of conducting business according to both local and global considerations.

AOSIS empowers Africa by publishing open access scholarly journals, books and conference proceedings.

Written by Kwanele Butana

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The Department of the Built Environment at CPUT has recently been awarded a grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to develop an undergraduate course in Facility Management.

Partnering CPUT in this project are the University of Karlsruhe in Germany and the Polytechnic of Namibia.

Facility Management is a growing field of employment and is concerned with a life-cycle view of built assets. Through inputs in the design, construction and utilisation phase of a built asset, Facility Management aims to enable property owners and societies to gain maximum benefits from its built assets.

The initiative to develop such course came from within the Department of the Built Environment, with Ludwig Martin connecting with academics abroad and Head of Department, Ernest James’ previous involvement in Facilities Management.

In South Africa there are no formal training programmes at tertiary level in Facility Management and there is a demand for managers to the implementation of the Government’s National Infrastructure Management Strategy (NIMS).

The main partner for CPUT is the University of Karlsruhe , arguably one of the top three universities in Germany according to an international peer review recently undertaken.

The German partners of CPUT, the Facility Management group around Prof Lennerts, are pioneers in their country. Prof Lennerts was the first professor appointed at a German research university as chair in this field.

The Department of Civil Engineering at the Polytechnic of Namibia forms part of the project and will also introduce Facility Management into its curriculum.

Together with these partners a group of CPUT lecturers around Martin will develop an undergraduate degree program in Facility Management over the next four years. The first graduates in this field are due to finish their studies in 2013.

The collaboration with the Polytechnic of Namibia as well as the University of Karlsruhe holds the promise to bring the possibility to study abroad to CPUT students. Already during this initial funding period funds are allocated for Master students to visit Germany and Namibia .

Regular meetings and workshops are part of this project, ensuring academic staff at CPUT will be equipped with the necessary knowledge to present the future courses. A series of industry symposia are envisaged, connecting academia with practice and thus ensuring appropriate and relevant content of course material developed.

The aim of the project is to grow a course equipping graduates with relevant knowledge to enter industry. This will further be ensured through external accreditation of the program.

Martin noted, “Accreditation with the International Association of Life-Cycle Civil Engineering (IALCCE), but also with the South African Facilities Management Association (SAFMA) are compulsory if CPUT wants to ensure high quality outputs.”

The funding by DAAD was awarded following the signing of a joint Memorandum of Understanding by the three Universities and joint application to DAAD in 2008.

The funding is governed by the DAAD development program. It is awarded for 2009 to 2012, with the total awarded amount of Euro 136 470, which amounts to approximately R 1.7 million, of which R 630 000 are allocated for CPUT.

Costs covered by the funding range from translation costs to travel subsidies for staff members and students.

By the Department of the Built Environment

Photo: (from left) Ludwig Martin of CPUT, Prof. Kunibert Lennerts of the University of Karlsruhe, Dr Carolin Bahr of the University of Karlsruhe, David Katale of the Polytechnic of Namibia.

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The Tourism and Events Management, Hospitality and Sport Management Departments of the CPUT Business Faculty, alongside industry players from an international and national level, recently attended INDABA 2009 at the Albert Lithuli Convention Centre in Durban.

The event, which is owned by South African Tourism, ran from 9 to 12 May 2009.

The INDABA 2009 organisers divided the exhibition areas as well as the surrounding parking areas and roads, into the various provinces within South Africa. CPUT was given the opportunity to exhibit all its offerings within the Western Cape tent.

Staff attending the event got to speak to the various industry players, both large and small, informing them about all new developments on offer, from full time, to part time and short courses, which would benefit many of their current employees and contribute to the increase in service offered within the aligned industries.

The event was also a good opportunity for strengthening bonds with many of the organisations where students are sent to complete their experiential training, and due to the increase in student numbers for 2009 many new placements were arranged allowing for 100% placement rate within the Faculty. The event also allowed for meetings and discussions with various industry players with regards to experiential learning, where both parties were given the opportunity to discuss various issues and thereafter improve the placement and training process for all students at the University.

INDABA 2009 was also the venue for the South African 2010 FIFA Organising Committee to launch their international ad campaign for the World Cup.

All attendees got to see the advertisement for the first time in the spectacular opening ceremony attended also by various FIFA delegates, Provincial and National tourism leaders, as well as the organising leader himself, Danny Jordaan.

A breathtaking display of vocal and artistic talent was displayed by the various performers after which all attendees gave loud applause at the proudly South African ad campaign that would go across the world to represent our country, South Africa .

“This INDABA has proven to be an excellent platform for CPUT,” said Luke van Rensberg, Marketing and Functions Co-ordinator for the Cape Town Hotel School Restaurant.

“It encourages industry to become actively involved with the educational side of training and forces involvement with preparing learners to lead the various aspects within Tourism South Africa one day,” he said.

By the Cape Town Hotel School

Photo: Members of the Tourism and Events Management, Hospitality and Sport Management Departments staff the CPUT exhibit at INDABA 2009.

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Students in the Faculty of Business showed their awareness of news and current affairs during a reading competition which saw the three top groups walking away with prize money totalling R10 000.

The Biz Quiz saw students from various departments form teams participating in the competition, which was aimed to make reading fun.

“Students’ inability to read well, as well as their indifference towards reading, is a common concern among academics,” says Carol Whiting, Language Co-ordinator in the faculty.

“Research has also shown that most students do not read at a level required for academic success at a university.”

Previously Peninsula Technikon ran successful reading competitions, and the Unit for Language and Professional Communication re-launched it this year.

The competition ran over seven weeks with a quiz every Friday. Students were required to read the Business Day of a particular week and answer questions on articles in the newspaper. Copies of Business day were donated to the faculty for this purpose.

The team from the Retail Business Management Department scored the highest number of points and won the coveted prize money of R 5 000, the Management Department took the second spot and won R3 000 and the Human Resource Management Department walked away with R2 000 for their efforts.

Every student who participated in the competition received a certificate of recognition.

Written by Kwanele Butana

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CPUT’s Graduate Centre for Management (GCM) recently held its 2009 Certificate Ceremonies at the Barkly Davies Building on Mowbray Campus.

On 24 November 2009, 159 students’ hard work paid off when they received certificates for completing four different courses at the Somerset Square Campus.

The courses included Certificate in Management Practice, Public Management, Secretarial and Administrative Practice and Travel and Tourism.

Carly Steyn, representing Daan de Goede, Head of Department of the GCM within the Faculty of Business, delivered the welcoming speech.

Addressing the students, she said: “A Certificate Award Ceremony of this nature reminds us of the value and importance of education and privilege of a tertiary education.

“You have now all the benefits and exposure to higher education and we trust that you will continue your studies, as and when you are able, and we hope to welcome you back to CPUT.”

Bukelwa Mbalane who works for the City of Cape Town as a Health and Safety Training Coordinator and is also a CPUT alumnus was the guest speaker.

Mbalane studied her BTech: Business Administration at CPUT after completing a four-year nursing qualification.

Mbalane said: “Don’t take what you have achieved today for granted. Take it from me; you will make it out there in life. You must always be positive.

“Studying here helped me to be where I am today. I have a middle-management position and I am able to implement policies when needs be. On top of that, I sit in strategic planning meetings and they give me a chance to put into practice what I have learnt here.”

Four students were recognised as top achievers from four different courses.

Dudley Davids scooped the award for Certificate: Management Practice while Neo Poss was awarded the Certificate: Public Management.

Nosiviwe Plam was awarded the Certificate: Secretarial and Administrative Practice and Angela Pan walked away with an award for Certificate: Travel and Tourism Management.

Schalk van der Merwe, acting Dean at the Faculty of Business, delivered his congratulatory message and said: “I congratulate you all on your achievements. I trust that CPUT has given you a firm grasp and a good understanding of the knowledge and hard work that is required to succeed.”

Encouraging the students to always striving for excellence, Van der Merwe said nothing worthwhile in life comes cheap. “Be proud of what you have achieved and CPUT is also proud of you,” said Van der Merwe.

The GCM Certificate Programmes have been operating since 2004. For each course, students are required to finish five subjects in order to graduate at the end of the year.

GCM is introducing a new course next year titled Certificate in Applied Accounting.

One of the lecturers at GCM, Mbuso Tshaka, said: “2009 has been a very good year as we had brilliant students. They were highly committed and always had an imagination of things to the extent that they have arrived to this day.

“Our aim is to open a second stream of student recruitment within the Faculty of Business as that helps the students to get first time qualification in a form of a certificate in which we prepare them for the world of work.”

On 10 December 2009 GCM held another Certificate Award Ceremony, where 245 students were granted certificates.

The students received certificates for completing Assessor Training, End-user Computing, Event Coordination, Event Management, Even Organising Principles, Introduction to Project Management 1, Project Management 1, Public Relations 1, Tourist Guiding, Train the Trainer and Single Residential Property courses.

By Andiswa Dantile

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Following a presentation made in relation to the CPUT Convocation Covid-19 Fund at a board meeting of the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences (FBMS), the fund saw a spike in staff donations.

Convocation Executive Member and the Fund’s Head of Campaign, Andiswa Mrasi, says the Faculty was highly supportive of the initiative and offered some limited administrative assistance in support of the campaign.

“We are very grateful for the support we have from staff and are still receiving from the Faculty, especially the Dean’s office,” says Mrasi.

She adds that the Faculty got on board after the concept and objectives of the Fund was presented at a meeting of the university’s Management Committee (ManCom). “I was invited to present during a ManCom Meeting with the Dean of the FBMS being a committee member. It was after this meeting that the Dean, Prof [Paul] Green, invited me to a meeting with other colleagues from within the Faculty and [I] ultimately then presented on the Fund at the Faculty Board Meeting.”

She concedes that it is difficult to quantify the Faculty’s efforts as the Fund’s marketing efforts have been broad and therefore they cannot attach any amount to a specific marketing effort, except for donations from corporate donors such as bursaries and laptops.

The Fund announced in October that since its inception earlier this year it has raised donations to the value of R380 814.50. It was officially launched in May by the Convocation in partnership with the Advancement Department and the Vice-Chancellor’s office to assist the institution in its attempts to save the 2020 academic year in the midst of the  Covid-19 pandemic.

Mrasi adds that plans to sustain the Faculty’s role in support of the Fund are afoot. “We are in a development phase of a strategy to see how the expertise of departments such as marketing, events, retail, etc. can assist us in growing the Fund.”

Green says the Faculty is happy and proud to support such an important initiative which assists students with academic resources they require to complete the 2020 academic year.  “We continue, as a Faculty, to seek creative and innovative ways to stay true to our core values, vision and mission and through our participation in such institutional initiatives, we are afforded the opportunity of doing so,” he adds. 

*For donations to the Fund use the Account Name CPUT Alumni, ABSA Account No. 40-6934-6192, Branch code 630305, Reference Covid and please email proof to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Written by Kwanele Butana
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Following a stringent interview process, Master’s student Simone Thomas has been offered full-time employment as a Research Assistant as well as registration as a Doctoral candidate in Germany.

The life-changing opportunity resulted from a collaboration between CPUT and Koblenz University of Applied Sciences (KUAS). Simone will be doing her studies in Germany as a registered CPUT student while being involved in additional research projects and scientific presentations, publications and teaching during her three-year stay in Koblenz from March 2021.

She will be completing her doctorate in brand management under the supervision of Prof Holger Schmidt (KUAS) and Dr Pieter Steenkamp, a Senior Lecturer in the Marketing Department. Steenkamp will also be a Visiting Professor at KUAS in 2021/22.

Simone said that she is extremely grateful for this opportunity and will be working hard to fly the CPUT banner high. The Master’s student said: “This is a life-changing opportunity for me, both personally and professionally. CPUT has been a beacon of hope to me as a young woman who grew up on the notorious Cape Flats since I started my tertiary studies in 2008.”

Steenkamp said: “This opportunity is the result of relationship building with our partner university in Germany for a number of years. Having supervised Simone for her Master’s thesis, I know that she is ready and able to take full advantage of this opportunity. Nothing makes me happier than contributing to the improvement of a student’s life and I can’t wait to welcome Simone back as Dr Thomas.”

Said Schmidt: “We are very happy about Simone’s successful application. She is a fine young and hard-working student who will add new perspectives to our institution’s research team and, as a lecturer, to our students. Her presence at our campus will also demonstrate our strong commitment to the partnership with CPUT, on all levels.”

Head of the Marketing Department, Mandy Jones, said: “We wish Simone all the best on her new adventures in Germany and we know that she will make CPUT proud.”

Prof Axel Schlich, Dean of the Faculty of Business Management at KUAS, said they were looking forward to welcoming Simone and Steenkamp at their university. “Internationalisation is an integral part of our Faculty´s overall strategy and comprises both student and teaching staff mobility as well as collaborative research,” said Schlich. “It´s the first time, that we will host two academics from CPUT for a longer period of time at Hochschule Koblenz, which is proof of the fruitful cooperation between our institutions.”

Written by Kwanele Butana
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Research papers, case studies and technical research reports that address issues in various aspects of disciplines related to Business Management were discussed during the 2020 virtual International Conference on Business and Management Dynamics (ICBMD).

The annual conference was hosted by the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences together with its partners University of Namibia School of Business, University of Fort Hare, North-West University, and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.  The theme of the virtual conference was Enhancing Africa’s Development and Competitiveness in the Digital Economy and Beyond.

The sixth ICBMD provided a platform for discussion, interaction, collaboration, networking and sharing, for the sake of adding value to existing bodies of knowledge related to the conference theme. It afforded researchers, government officials and business practitioners a unique opportunity to share their perspectives with others.

When welcoming delegates to the conference Prof Paul Green, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences and the conference’s chairperson, said the conference has a credible reputation of being at the forefront of contemporary issues, challenges and opportunities.

“The abstracts contained within this document followed a rigorous process of a double-blind peer-review by the ICBMD scientific committee drawn from around the globe,” continued Green. He added that out of 42 abstracts reviewed only 33 were accepted and that 30 Full Papers were accepted out of the 40 that were reviewed.

“We thank the authors of these manuscripts for providing the content of the programme and acknowledge and appreciate the support of the organising and the scientific committees, who worked tirelessly in reviewing papers and providing feedback to authors,” said Green.

Dr David Phaho, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Technology, Innovation & Partnerships said when the conference was first conceptualised, no one on the planet could have foreseen the unprecedented upheavals the world experienced over the past few months.

“The current crisis sees us combating an insidious and a seemingly invincible enemy that has wrought unimaginable devastation and misery to every hamlet, village, town and city across the world,” said Phaho.” The global economy which has been humming along year on year has ground to a halt with millions of jobs lost, some forever.”

He added that amidst the chaos lie opportunities for people to think and act anew. “The fact that  we are holding this conference virtually is telling,” he continued. “The new normal has in one broad stroke accelerated the world towards the digital economy and beyond.”

Guest Speaker, Prof Willie Chinyamurindi from the University of Fort Hare, said the African continent is full of endless opportunities. In his presentation, he traced Africa’s search for gold as an important mineral deposit through the documented experiences of the refinement of gold with glass by Islamic alchemists in Tadmekka, Mali.

“The work of Rehren and Nixon published in the Journal of Archaeological Science narrates this experience,” said Chinyamurindi. “Based on this, I then develop nuggets that inform contemporary business leaders, practitioners and academics.”

His aim was to take a purely African story of alchemy and then draw life lessons. “In summary, may we as leaders be purposeful and intentional in developing not only ourselves and others but the ideas that can change our society. In doing so, Africa must also lead from the front as source of innovation to assist not only the continent but the entire world,” he added.

Keynote speaker, Professor Dileep Kumar from Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Morocco, said the backbone of the digital economy is hyper connectivity, which means growing interconnectedness of people, organisations, and machines that result from the Internet, mobile technology and the internet of things. “With the advent of industrial 4.0, more and more enterprises and business entities are moving towards technology and digital-based platforms,” added Kumar.

He argued that Industry 4.0 enables the manufacturing sector to become digitalised with built-in sensing devices virtually in all manufacturing components, products, and equipment. “However, there are a lot of barriers for African enterprises to go digital, which include customer need identification, ecosystem creation, governance, market acceptance of digitalisation, transparency, data security, financial outlay, new organisational structure, resources, human capital, etc,” he said.

Dr Michael Twum-Darko, Acting Head of Department: Graduate Centre for Management, has been the convener of ICBMD for the last six years.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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Excitement filled the room in the Cape Town Hotel School when scholars consisting of CPUT staffers, who are mainly women in academics, were recently awarded certificates for completing their SAP train the trainer and newly advance SAP S4 HANA courses.

Prof. Renitha Rampersad, Assistant Dean for Research & Innovation in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, congratulated the Centre for ERP in Africa (CERPiA) and the graduating women for their achievements and said that women empowerment has become very important in the country.

“Women are contributing to the society. The modern woman is self-confident,” said Rampersad. “I appreciate women who bring success to themselves and others”

CERPIA SAP education manager and trainer, Jerry Ansen, said the CPUT-based CERPIA was established in 2014 from a successfully completed two-year erp4school project, sponsored by GIZ & SAP. “The project aimed to implement the ERP education programme in Africa and CPUT is a Centre for Africa,” said Ansen.

He added that CERPIA was launched as a multidisciplinary Centre in the Faculty where partnerships with other like-minded entities at CPUT could engage to advance the CPUT agenda. CERPIA consists of three units:  Business Informatics Research, SAP/ERP Skills Development and SAP/ERP University Networking in Africa.

“Our current focus is the skilling of students and graduates to enhance their employability in this digital business economy. We have trained 8000+ graduates since 2012 in Africa,” said Ansen. He added that they have trained 800 lecturers and professors from African Universities and colleges and in the process produced over 4 500 Certified SAP ERP graduates in Africa.

He said the 100 women SAP Digital Business Skills development initiative, which was launched in September 2019, has seen 30 women trained from November to December. He added that the training of further 51 women will commence in November 2020.

Yvette Greeff, Senior Talent Development Consultant at The Foschini Group, congratulated the graduates and attributed their achievement to the ADKAR Model. Greeff added that the model is a tool created by Jeff Hiatt that helps to analyse one’s change with a view to better understand it.

• ADKAR is an acronym that represents five concrete outcomes that people need to achieve lasting change, namely Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement especially in today’s digital transformation economy.

She added that the benefits of lifelong learning are acquisition of new skills and improving old ones, nurturing curious minds, opening minds and increasing wisdom as well as improving memory.

Calvin Maseko, Director: Advancement Department, said his Unit decided to invest unrestricted donor funds in colleagues’ digital business skills to advance their learning and teaching. He thanked his colleagues in the Department for their efforts in raising the funds and doing the administrative work.

“Since 2018 we’ve been working with CERPIA and have helped with funding for the SAP ERP training of 72 staff members and students to the tune of over half a million rand,” added Maseko.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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The first in a week-long series of graduation ceremonies kicked off at the Cape Town campus on Monday.

CPUT's biggest faculty, Business, conferred thousands of diplomas and degrees under the watchful eye of CPUT Chancellor and Minister in the Presidency Dr Trevor Manuel.

Guest Speaker Justice Dunstan Mlambo, who is Judge President of the Labour Appeal and Labour Court, addressed the jam-packed hall of eager graduates and parents.

He shed valuable insight into the challenges facing him and South Africa's often criticized law fraternity and urged the new business alumni to respect the legal system and encourage those around them to do so as well.

"If there is a perception that the courts and law are tardy then it results in a loss of economic development," he warned.

Justice Mlambo ended by reminding the graduates to be grateful to their family and friends for the support offered.

"They say it takes a village to raise a child and I ask you to remember who helped you get here," he says.

Human Resources graduate Jamie Leigh Corker is a prime example of the value industry places on a CPUT alumnus.

After only a three-month internship she has been offered a full-time position in the HR department of a busy call centre in Cape Town.

"They phoned me in January and said I was perfect for the position," she says.

The Business Faculty graduation continues in Bellville on Monday evening and in Cape Town on Tuesday morning.

By LAUREN KANSLEY

Pictures by CLIVE GALANT

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The Universities South Africa (USAF) Transformation Managers Forum (TMF) is collaborating with SA’s 26 universities on a series of transformation webinars. CPUT will host the virtual Transformation Webinar, Series 2: Teaching and Learning Practices and Assessments on 7 August from 16h00 to 18h30.

The panellists are Prof Rishidaw Balkaran, DVC: Teaching and Learning, Prof Penelope Engel-Hills, Dean: Health and Wellness Sciences and Siya Sabata, Acting HOD: Curriculum, Fundani. The respondent is Prof Chris Winberg, Ministerial Transformation Oversight Committee, and South African Research Chair (Work and Learning) while it will be moderated by Brightness Mangolothi, Director: HERS-SA.   

Prof Paul Green, Chairperson of the CPUT Institutional Transformation Forum (ITF), says the main purpose of this collaboration is to encourage universities to promote transformation and decolonisation agenda discourse across their areas of focus. “These conversations are part of a journey towards redressing past inequalities and social justice deficits as well as addressing digital transformation in responding to fundamental mandates of teaching, learning, research, and community engagements in the context of social justice,” Green explains.

In encouraging the staff to be part of the Webinar, Green who is also the Dean of Faculty of Business and Management Sciences says: “I also urge DVC’s, executives, deans, and directors to ensure that transformation is incorporated in the performance management of all line managers and assessed as such. A transformation is therefore a powerful tool for reinventing our university to be ‘One Smart CPUT’ and enhance ‘Oneness and Smartness’ through diversity and inclusivity”. 

He encourages faculties, units, and departments to ensure that transformation is a standing agenda item for their meetings. 

The TMF is representative of all Transformation Directors of the 26 universities and they work in partnership with the ITFs of all universities. TMF accounts to the USAF and Ministerial Transformation Oversight Committee of Higher Education.

Director of Transformation, Social Cohesion and Diversity Unit, Nonkosi Tyolwana who also serves on the Steering Committee of the TMF, says this programme will assist CPUT to accelerate the transformation imperatives of higher education and ensure that “No Student is left Behind” due to equity and socio-economic background. “Transformation is a constitutional obligation and not a choice. It is high time that everyone takes responsibility and ensures that it is mainstreamed in our work,” she says.

She adds that the university community needs to have a continuous conversation on how ‘we can build Our Smart CPUT from the transformation lens’. “We need more conversations, dialogues public lecture and above all transformation and decolonisation must find expression in the content of what we teach, research agendas, and curriculum.

“Student and staff [member] life and experiences must be informed by a transformed agenda. Transformation can reinvent CPUT for a Smart CPUT with the digital transformation that takes cognisance of social justice,” Tyolwana remarks.

For inquiries please liaise with Nonkosi Tyolwana: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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A CPUT staffer is going to Ireland next year after being awarded a full doctoral scholarship.

Aifani Tahulela, a Research Assistant in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, has been selected by the AESOP Project to undertake PhD studies in Global Human Development at University College Dublin.

Tahulela went through a rigorous selection process and got the nod from a group of international experts from the consortium’s member institutions in Europe and South Africa.

This is a joint programme and will require of her to spend half of the three years required to obtain a PhD in Dublin and the other at CPUT.

“I am so excited, as I have been dreaming of completing my PhD as a joint programme with an international university and nothing else,” says the tenacious Tahulela.

“My research will focus on sustainable resource management and is linked to Millennium Development Goal 12 which aims to eradicate poverty and improve waste management.”

She hopes to use the knowledge and skills she will gain from her studies to fulfil her long-term dream of establishing the continent’s first waste management centre that will train people to recycle waste and make money from it.

She adds that her PhD studies will lead to collaborative work between the two universities that may open opportunities for CPUT students and staff.

“I want to show my postgraduate students that beyond these mountains there are opportunities.”

She thanks Beryl Liebetrau, the faculty’s Internationalisation Officer, for identifying the opportunity and supporting her with applying for the scholarship, as well as Prof Harry Ballard for his outstanding supervision of her Master’s degree in Public Management, which she completed earlier this year. 

Written by Kwanele Butana
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Below are the exam result publication dates, as released by the Assessment and Graduation Centre.

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We are aware that many of you are anxiously waiting for your exam timetables. They are now loaded to the CPUT website and are available to view at on this page.

The assessment period starting on Monday 14 November will mostly affect students in the Business, Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties since students in the remaining faculties have already started assessments at other locations.

The venue for Business and Engineering assessments is the Sarepta Sports and Recreation Centre, Mission Road, Sarepta, Kuils River. Applied Sciences will be writing in a venue at the old School of Industry in Plantation Road, Ottery. There will be three sittings per day at 9am, 2pm and 6pm. To ensure the smooth and safe delivery of these assessments students are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the safety regulations below and adhere strictly to them.

1. Bring your ID or student card with you on the day of your assessment. Lecturers will also be stationed at the door entrances to identify students. Failure to do so may see you declined entry to the venue.
2. Bring only necessary items in your bag, this may include your books and stationery. No sharp objects or anything that could be construed as a weapon will be allowed in the venue.
3. Bring your own bottle of water since this will not be available at the venue.
4. Arrive at the venue at least an hour before your assessment starts. This is to accommodate security checks when entering the venue. Your patience in this regard will be appreciated.

If you have any queries regarding any of the above information please liaise directly with your subject head. We understand that these exams are taking place under peculiar conditions but we wish all students who wish to successfully complete the year all the best with their remaining assessments.

Written by CPUT News
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In a move to assist students with their academic development, the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences recently took its Extended Curriculum Programme students on a guided tour of the National Library of South Africa.

The national library collects all material published in South Africa and makes it available to everyone including researchers, academics and students.

Users of the library can make use of the following resources:

• Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) that can be accessed via the Internet;
• Reference Section, Special Collections and Reader Services;
• Librarians that can assist in person, via e-mail, telephone, faxes;
• Internet/ wi-fi facilities;
• Sabinet and;
• all books, newspapers, periodicals and government publications published in South Africa.

Ghalieb Essop, the faculty’s Project Co-ordinator: Student Success and Retention, says that the use of this national resource will take some pressure off the university’s libraries as tens of thousands of students regularly compete for using the same library services.

Essop adds that students need to use this library’s services in order to ensure its optimal use and that in turn this will go a long way to bring about a high pass rate at the university.

“As part of my responsibility I have met with various external stakeholders which led me to identify the National Library of South Africa as a major player in assisting us achieving this objective.”

Najwa Hendrickse, Chief Librarian at the national library, told the students that the library is the oldest in the country and will be turning 200 years old in 2018.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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Faculty of Business and Management Sciences in collaboration with the Alumni Office recently hosted its annual Diversity Seminar on the Cape Town Campus.

The theme this year was Silent Youth Voices, and all speakers emphasized the need for this generation to make their voices heard and take responsibility for their actions.

Artscape CEO, Marlene le Roux encouraged the audience to recognize differences among themselves and shared what needs to be done in the future to bring about social cohesion, nation building and inclusiveness.

“Now is the time to think, feel and act differently,” said Le Roux.

CPUT alumnus Toni Stuart, who is a fulltime poet, told the audience that she gets paid to write, perform and teach poetry.

Stuart said her poetry comes from silence. “If there’s no silence we won’t hear others’ voices as well as our own.”

A group of Office Management and Technology (OMT) students, whose story was called Youth Voices, received the award for the Best Digital StoryTelling Video and walked away with certificates. 

Charlton Gary Brandt was selected as the Pay It Forward 2016 Champion for the volunteering he has done and continues to do in the community.

All first year OMT students have to engage in the Pay It Forward Project which is linked to the curriculum.

“Students are selected from each class to receive a merit award, based on their engagement with communities, the professionalism they display, the time periods they volunteer as well as feedback from the organizations at which they volunteer. It is imperative that students volunteer their services and in so doing, assist in uplifting communities.  Education is  not about one person being advantaged, it is about communities being the beneficiaries, ” says OMT senior lecturer Mandie Richards.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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First year Business Administration 1 students in the Office Management and Technology (OMT) Department (Faculty of Business and Management Sciences) recently donated a cheque of R40 000 to The Children’s Hospital Trust of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

The department started the initiative in 2009 as a Business Administration 1 live academic project and has to date donated R291 000 to The Trust.

During the cheque handover at the Cape Town Campus this week, OMT lecturer and project facilitator, Belinda Berman, said that the R40 000 was raised by 203 students who undertook the academic project in 2015.

“By supporting the expansion of the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, you have given more children a better chance of survival, you also provided an enhanced environment for families to support their children and the staff to continue enabling the best care,” Berman told the students.

She added that more than 1 750 students had been involved in the project over the last seven years.

Prizes for the group that raised the most profit in 2015 went to Wings of Hope after they raised a whopping R6 691.50.

Berman thanked all the students for their time and efforts, The Trust and all the CPUT community for their support.  All students receive a certificate of participation and a lunch pack after the ceremony.  The winning team also receive a prize.

The annual live project takes the teams of student’s two-and-a-half terms to put complete.  Students raise funds from donation sheets, raffles, selling products on campus, at sporting events, etc.

More than equipping the students with the necessary holistic skills, the department promotes social responsibility as the donation to the hospital responds to a social need by not only CPUT but South Africa as a whole.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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Delegates at the recent International Conference on Business and Management Dynamics deliberated on how digital technology can be used to sustain economies.

The two-day conference was hosted by CPUT’s Faculty of Business and Management Sciences this week under the theme: Sustainable economies in the information economy.

Prof Ron Weber, Emeritus Professor at Monash University and one of the conference’s keynote speakers, said he saw the invitation as an opportunity to discuss the issue of sustainability of the information economy.

Weber suggested some strategies for designing good digital resources, decoupling of subsystems and the developing of resilient subsystems to enable them to deal with perverse outcomes.

He encouraged designers to use more renewable energy to power digital resources, design more energy-efficient resources and build digital assets with renewable resources.

He called for an increased use of IT standards as well as the recruitment of more highly trained IT workforce.

Dr Michael Twum-Darko, the conference’s Convener, said the conference was a product of years of planning as the CPUT’s Graduate Centre for Management is in the process of reinventing their journal which was last published in 2009.

“The advent of digital technology makes it difficult to manage the economy in the old way in which we did before,” added Twum-Darko.

Prof Dina Burger, CPUT’s Director of Research, congratulated the organizing team with the excellent choice of the conference’s theme and the world-class keynote speakers.

“At CPUT we are dedicating ourselves to the careers of our academics to assist them to become frontrunners in the generation of high impact research solutions to industries,” said Burger.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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