Innovation and collaboration take centre stage at MICT SETA 4IR Symposium
COLLABORATION: CPUT recently hosted the MICT SETA Research Chair Symposium and Expo.
Thursday, 04 June 2026
CPUT was the proud host of the Media, Information and Communication Technologies (MICT) SETA 4IR Research Chair Symposium and Expo, which was recently held at the Bellville Campus.
The three-day event brought together thought leaders, researchers, students, industry leaders and other role players under the theme: Embracing the Commercialisation of 4IR-and-Beyond Research Outputs in South Africa Through Collaboration, Opportunity, Progress for All, and Future-Ready Solutions.
One of the highlights of the programme was the launch of the MICT SETA-CPUT 4IR Research Chair. Prof Tembisa Ngqondi, Dean of the Faculty of Informatics and Design, will fulfil this role.
Vice-Chancellor Prof Chris Nhlapo officially opened the symposium and said he was overjoyed to host the event at CPUT.
Dr Laurine Platzky, Chair of the CPUT Council, welcomed the attendees and said universities of technology are the engines of applied innovation and industrial capability.
“We are located at the forefront of contextualising 4IR within South African development priorities, including connectivity, economic inclusion, industrialisation, advanced manufacturing, the ocean's economy as an example, and local technological capability.”
The keynote address was delivered by the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela.
Manamela said students must be co-creators of the digital future, not consumers of it.
“That means an education system in which entrepreneurship is taught as a serious discipline, not as a Friday afternoon extracurricular. It means student innovation programmes that have funding, mentorship and a clear pathway to incubation. It also means undergraduate exposure to research, to commercialisation, to intellectual property, to the practical realities of building a company. And it also means a cultural shift in our institutions in which the students who build something are celebrated as visibly as a student who published something.”
CEO of the MICT SETA, Matome Madibana, outlined the purpose of the event.
He said the symposium and Expo sought to create a national platform for knowledge production and exchange in the field of 4IR technologies and practical solutions, emerging from higher education institutions, while strengthening synergies, alignment, and collaboration across government, academia, industry, and civil society.
The programme also included the official showcasing of the MICT SETA’s six flagship ICT systems and expert panel discussions, while students were given the opportunity to showcase their research and innovations.
Written by Ilse Fredericks
Email: Frederickskennediji@cput.ac.za
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