The Department of Sport Management will be relocating from the Mowbray Campus to the Newlands Cricket Ground (NCG).
The Department has been located in Mowbray since the year 2000, but the campus is relatively small and the Department was unable to develop their academic programme due to space and facility restrictions.
“The Wicket Building at NCG will be the new home for the Sport Management Department,” said Head of Department, Prof Simeon Davies.
“We are involved in regular meetings with the development team and key stakeholders who are over seeing this major construction project. We have plans in place for a phased move of equipment and staff from May-June 2021, with a view to being fully operational and ready to deliver the academic project for the second semester 2021.”
Davies added that following strategic planning sessions and input from the Department’s Sport Industry Advisory Board they realised that with the introduction of new qualifications it would be necessary to consolidate the academic programme onto one campus.
In order to respond to the challenges of the 4IR and to produce globally competitive graduates the new campus at the NCG would be at the cutting edge of technology because a smart university such as CPUT empowers society, he argued.
“Furthermore, it was also recognised that with the opportunity to take space at the iconic and world-renowned NCG that the Sport Management programme would have unrivalled access and exposure to sport events and experiences, which would provide outstanding opportunities for the students’ experiential training.”
Davies said that following a sequence of meetings with the CEO of Western Province Cricket, Nabeal Dien, in 2015, during which they were made aware of the proposed NCG development the Department drafted a formal proposal to relocate to the new facility.
The NCG, which hosted its first international test match in 1889, is getting an R800 million makeover.
“This process gained the full support of the Vice Chancellor, Prof [Chris] Nhlapo, along with Council, and the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Dr Blade Nzimande,” he continued. “It was clear that the opportunity to move to NCG would provide a teaching and learning environment ideally suited for our programme, and [more] importantly providing the platform to showcase One SmartCPUT as a leader in technological innovation and educational development.”
He added that the Department is very excited about the relocation “which will provide the students with a modern learning environment where we can use smart technology to achieve excellence”.
“We believe that the new location at NCG will allow us to deliver the academic project in a state-of-the-art facility, which will benefit all of our students, and also allow us to market our programme effectively.
“The move to the internationally-acclaimed NCG will provide the space and facilities for a multi-cultural ecosystem that will facilitate an educational experience that prepares our staff and students at all levels, for a global environment.”
Written by Kwanele Butana
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