Dr Michael Twum-Darko, BIIC project manager is over the moon after the Business Innovation and Incubation Centre won a grant of GBP 20 000 to implement a community-building programme.

The Business Innovation and Incubation Centre (BIIC) has won a grant of GBP 20 000 to implement a community-building programme called Inclusive Technopreneurship Forum/Conference (ITF). The ITF is intended to bring African universities together in 2022 to share research output, learning, teaching and assessment experiences as well as community engagement activities to develop African graduates to become technopreneurs.

This is an additional grant to the GBP 100, 000 granted to the BIIC to implement an inspiring-based pedagogy to develop graduates as technopreneurs – sustainable inclusive industry-linked graduates technopreneurship development infrastructure. This CPUT/ Faculty of Business and Management Sciences /BIIC initiated projects with Manchester Metropolitan University (as a United Kingdom partner) and Snake Nation (Ecosystem Partner) have received global recognition.

While each participating Innovation for African Universities (IAU) stakeholder will feature on the ITF programme flyer CPUT and Manchester Metropolitan University remain the convener and organiser Institutes, respectively to ensure a responsible sustainability plan in the foreseeable future. The ITF was designed using the International Conference on Business and Management Dynamics framework, and the co-partners are Durban University of Technology , Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana), University of Venda , Kenyatta University (Kenya) and Industry partners from FinTech, GovTech, WineTech and Telco global players.

“We have already received enquiry from leading publishing houses in UK to publish the proceedings of ITF,” said Dr Michael Twum-Darko, BIIC project manager.

However, CPUT and Manchester Metropolitan University remain the convener and organiser institutes respectively to ensure a responsible sustainability plan in the foreseeable future.

Dean of Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, Prof Paul Green, said the grant was some exciting news which is aligned to Vision 2030 of One Smart CPUT.

Industry and ecosystem partners will be invited to participate and sponsor the annual ITF . Future editions of the annual ITF will be planned at least two years in advance to mitigate any potential risks associated with it. Technical and non-technical keynote speakers wil be invited to the ITF.

A dedicated database and email updates subscription will be explored to establish the world’s first inclusive technopreneurship community of practice (ITCoP) that works collaboratively with the IAU CoP.

Written by Kwanele Butana
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Environmental Management programme is spreading its wings to the African continent after the success of its four short courses.

Following a Memorandum of Understanding between CPUT and five African universities, the programme is embarking on a project that will strengthen the partnerships as from March 2010.

The institutions include Botswana and Zambia Universities, Nairobi and Masena Universities in Kenya and the University of Malawi.

According to Jacob Seconna, the Head of the Environmental Management programme, the memorandum of understanding is already in place after the Faculty of Applied Science agreed to work with the five partner universities.

For the first time at these African universities, the programme intends introducing Waste Management qualifications ranging from certificates to diplomas and degrees.

Commenting on the intended qualifications, which still require institutional ratification, Seconna said: “Our certificate programmes are going to be similar to what we cover at the Centre for Continuing Education, as we’ll be working with people who are already working in the Waste Management departments in the different countries who need to sharpen their skills.”

CPUT, as the main institution will provide the course syllabi.

“We will sit down with these institutions and agree on the syllabi that would be taught at diploma and degree levels as well as the terms of reference,” he said.

The courses offered at diploma and degree levels would be part of the institutions’ formal programmes.

“Even though once the students finish the diploma or degree, they will get a CPUT qualification; we’ll allow the partner university to lecture students for the first two levels at their own institution. We will cross-moderate with those institutions all exams at all levels.”

“For the third and fourth level, CPUT will take over and students will study electronically. They will later be granted a CPUT qualification,” said Seconna. The African collaborations are a result of a 2005 initiative, when CPUT decided to partner with the City of Cape Town and Weimar University in Germany.

Part of the agreement was that City of Cape Town would send their employees to take up Waste Management short courses at CPUT while Weimar University agreed on a student/lecturer exchange programmes in integrated water management..

“Our intentions were to train all waste management professionals in Africa as that was our ultimate goal and that is now coming into reality”.

Seconna aims to visit the African universities from 15 to 31 March 2010 to make presentations on contents of the programme. The presentations will give clarity on how the programmes and courses would be conducted.

Currently, the Environmental Management programme offers the following short courses: Supervision of Waste Management Practices, Middle and Senior Waste Management Training and Environmental Management Inspector Training.

Next year, the programme aims to offer two new courses. These include the Peace Officers: Compliance and Enforcement and Advance Tertiary Certificate in Integrated Waste Management.

The Environmental Management programme is currently looking for Doctoral and MTech students to register with Weimar University in Germany as part of the student exchange programme.

By Andiswa Dantile

Written by CPUT News
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The British Council has awarded the Business Innovation and Incubation Centre £100,000 to implement a sustainable, inclusive, industry-linked business innovation and incubation technopreneurship infrastructure to develop graduates to be venture creators and/or become employable in a rapidly changing global environment.

The British Council of South Africa recently hosted a welcome reception and networking event for its sponsored Innovation for African Universities (IAU) projects for the South Africa IAU network partners in Johannesburg. The Centre for Business Innovation and Incubation (BIIC) in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences is one of the nine South African IAU network partners invited to the event.

The British High Commissioner opened the event to South Africa, H.E. Antony Phillipson. The event was attended by the Project Leader and founder of BIIC, Rev Dr Michael Twum-Darko, and the newly-appointed Manager of CPUT’s Strategic Initiatives and Partnership (SIP) Directorate, Dr Tasmeera Singh.

A short presentation of the CPUT project was given. The event was also an opportunity for British and Commonwealth Alumni to connect with fellow IAU network partners in South Africa and to learn more about the British Council-sponsored projects. The CPUT project partners are Manchester Metropolitan University, the UK University partner, and Cape Town-based Snake Nation, the ecosystem partner.

“The underlying principle of the project is that not all those who have good business ideas are good entrepreneurs, and not all excellent entrepreneurs have good business ideas,” says Darko. “ However, the simulator helps everyone refine the business idea to the point of producing a sustainable business model and plan that will draw in venture capital to incubate to become the ‘Next Big Thing’ to create new jobs or improve existing ones to create employment opportunities.” He adds that although not all the 100 (BIIC} students may come up with sustainable business models and plans that will withstand the disruptive nature of economies, they will become entrepreneurs who are highly sought after by companies. “The project's success will be replicated across African universities south of the Sahara,” intimates Darko.

Written by Kwanele Butana

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.