The Centre for Community Engagement and Work-Integrated Learning’s Co-operative Education Unit recently collaborated with ORT SA and The Astron Energy Development Fund (AEDF) in hosting the Youth Venture Creation Programme with students across the university community.

The training programme is aimed at equipping young people with the necessary business skills required to start or to grow their businesses. The vigorous training programme commenced on 15 May 2025 and ended on 31 July 2025. During this period, students were exposed to “practical training” by Christopher Dickie from ORT SA, an experienced facilitator and mentor.

The programme included various aspects such as community needs analysis, designing a business model, sales, marketing, financial management and designing a business plan. Students were required to be actively involved by attending sessions and submitting various assignments aligned to the course offering.

“Collaborating with external partners for the benefit of students has become more prevalent in society today as there is a required need to do so to impact our socio-economic circumstances. Programmes of this nature also serve as an alternative to the normal work readiness initiatives offered.” says David Haarhoff, Project Lead from the Co-operative Education Unit.

The programme, which was made possible through the funder, The Astron Energy Development Fund, sought to impact small businesses across the South African landscape with meaningful change in mind, with particular focus on disadvantaged groups and enhancing business skills.

Haarhoff says “Both ORT SA and Astron Energy Development Fund have shown keen interest in the development of our students and enhancing their business skills during the course. The level of professionalism by both ORT SA and Astron Energy Development Fund is worth noting”

At the end of the programme, students were afforded an opportunity to take part in a business ideation pitch competition, which took place on 1 August 2025.

The winners were:

1. Mpho Magadla, 3^rd year Entrepreneurship and Business Management (R10 000)
2. Itumeleng Maganedisa, 3^rd year Medical Laboratory Science (R7000)
3. Nathan Gertse, 3^rd year Diploma in Entrepreneurship and Business Management (R3000)
4. Reitumetse Moholo, 3^rd year Diploma in Entrepreneurship and business Management (R3000)

“History has been made in that this was the biggest cohort two group who completed the programme, and we are immensely grateful for all the effort by ORT SA and The Astron Energy Fund Development Fund,” said Haarhoff.

“Seeing students not being afraid to take on more than just the daily challenges of completing their studies but being inspired to start businesses that can change not only their own lives and those of their families, but also positively impact the communities they wish to serve, was truly remarkable. It is encouraging to witness this kind of vision and courage at such an early stage in their journeys. My thanks goes to ORT SA and Astron for the meaningful work they are doing to create these opportunities for our students” says Rumarcques Olyn, Co-operative Education team member.

Luvuyo Kakaza, Manager: Co-operative Education says “The current economy in South Africa requires universities to reassess the purpose of education. Universities have, for many years, focused on training employees who are responsive to the needs of society. Entrepreneurship has been viewed as a less rewarding occupation, riddled with risk and uncertainty. Universities now need to recognise and emphasise that new jobs in the market will come from a thriving and vibrant entrepreneurship landscape, where universities are graduating job creators rather than job seekers”

The winner of the competition Mpho Magadla says “attending this highly insightful programme and competition left me with practical tools. The programme emphasised the importance of innovation, strategic planning and adapting to the current market changes. I learned valuable lessons about identifying customer needs, building strong networks and using digital platforms effectively to grow a business. One key takeaway was that success is not just about having a great idea, but about execution, consistency and resilience. Overall, the programme and competition provided clarity, new perspective and actionable steps I can apply to my own business journey”

Itumeleng Maganedisa, the runner-up of the competition says “Taking part in the competition has been such a humbling and empowering experience. Being able to stand alongside other incredible innovators reminded me why I started Eleanora and why I believe in my ideas so deeply. The process challenged me to think bigger, sharpen my vision, and step out of my comfort zone. This is the beginning where medical precision meets everyday self-care and confirmation that the pain I go through cannot be compared to the glory I’ll receive”

Written by CPUT News
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Students from the IT, Accounting, Internal Auditing, and Marketing Departments have received a major boost following a generous million-Rand donation by the BANKSETA.

The CPUT/ BANKSETA Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Initiative aims to bolster the university’s commitment to give students the hands-on, practical skills needed to thrive in the working world.

The donation will be channelled through the Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning, who are tasked with creating and sustaining experiential learning opportunities for students in the workplace.

The funds will incentivise businesses to give students on-the-job training and mentorship and the all-important exposure to the working world that sets our graduates apart. Co-operative Education manager, Fundiswa Nofemela, says she’s delighted at this collaboration between the university and the BANKSETA.“Work experience is often the determining factor in whether or not new graduates find employment.  Now many more students will have access to such experience, which is an invaluable asset in today’s tough job markets. “The initiative is yet another successful project created and driven by the Advancement Department.Director Milcho Damianov believes the unique partnership has enormous potential to shorten the painful journey of graduates to the workplace.But, he says, the benefits extend to employers as well, as they have increased access to high-calibre, skilled graduates to meet their recruitment needs.“It’s definitely a win-win situation – and we believe this is just the start. We have now created a formidable platform for exploring partnerships with different industries, helping both the marketplace and our students. “

Written by Janyce Weintrob

Tel: +27 21 460 3514
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The Co-operative Education Unit, at the Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning is, once again, hosting the Annual Graduate Fair Exhibition.

This event provides an opportunity for CPUT students to interact with potential employers in a relaxed and fun environment while learning about available graduate employment, experiential learning and bursary opportunities.

This year the exhibition will take place on 28 (09h30 to 16h00) and 29 July (09h00 to 12h00), in the Major Sports Hall on the Bellville Campus.

Busses will be available to transport students from the Cape Town Campus to the Bellville Campus.

We invite all students to come to the exhibition on one of those days.

Written by CPUT News
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In a bid to strengthen CPUT’s partnerships with industry, private organisations and the community, the institution has set up the Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning.

The Centre, which is based at the Bellville campus, will incorporate two units that are already functioning at the institution.

The Service Learning Unit, which drives the integration of community engagement with teaching, learning and research, and the Co-operative Education Unit, which is responsible for nurturing partnerships that result in students’ experiential training and graduate recruitment opportunities in the industry.

The Centre will serve as a link between the university and external community engagement partners. It will also be a clearing house and a central point that will provide evidence-based information for the purpose of institutional and national quality audits.

Heading up this new centre, is Dr Joyce Nduna, the former Director of Community Engagement at Rhodes University.

Dr Nduna is however no stranger to CPUT. She was the institution’s former Head of Community Engagement and Service Learning and has been instrumental in providing opportunities for students to interact with communities.

Dr Nduna said that the move to create the centre is in line with CPUT’s strategic plan which documents Community Engagement as one of its core functions.

”This new centre has been created to ensure that community engagement is implemented according to the CPUT’s community engagement policy which classifies service learning, co-operative education, volunteerism and outreach, as all forms of community engagement” said Dr Nduna.

“The creation of the Centre is also responsive to the 1991 Education White Paper on the Transformation of Higher Education which calls for all higher education institutions in South Africa to demonstrate greater responsibility and commitment to the socio-economic development of communities” she said.

In response to this call, a large number of South African higher education institutions have set up similar centres.

The national call for community engagement in higher education also corresponds with international practices which promote civic engagement in higher education. Such practices include the Talloires Network which is an international association of institutions committed to strengthening the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education.

While Service Learning and Co-operative Education are course-based and involve credit-bearing educational programmes that provide opportunities for students to interact with communities and businesses, there is a need for the co-ordination of non-credit-bearing community projects that are initiated on a voluntary basis. Consequently, plans are in place to set up a third unit in 2010.

This third unit, which will be called the Civic Engagement Unit, will work closely with Student Development Officers and student societies and clubs.

“We would like to create a home for these community projects in order to develop a sense of civic responsibility amongst students and ensure that CPUT produces well-rounded graduates who are prepared for real life situations”, she said.

Dr Nduna said that other plans for this year include the establishment of a Community Engagement Committee of Senate. She is positive that all the programmes driven by the centre will have a positive impact on students as well as the community.

More information Talloires Network can be obtained from http://www.tufts.edu/talloiresnetwork.

By Candes Keating

Written by CPUT News
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The Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning invites organisations to participate in the CPUT Annual Graduate Recruitment Program.

The Graduate Recruitment Program allows you to:

• Do presentations to specific groups of students
• Advertise Graduate Development , Internship and Experiential Learning opportunities to CPUT students
• Increase company visibility and profile amongst students Interact with CPUT students in a relaxed environment during the Graduate Fair

The program kicks off on 2 May 2010 and runs until September 2010 and has the following phases:

• Lunchtime presentation slots for organisations needing to address groups of students – Book any day between May and September 2010
• Graduate Fair Exhibition taking place on 28 and 29 July

For more details, please contact:

Bronwyn Abrahams
+27 21 9596499
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Written by CPUT News
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Hygiene and food safety was on the menu when food vendors for the 2018 Jazz on the Rocks Festival received training at the Cape Town Hotel School ahead of the annual event.

The Festival, which is held at the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve on the West Coast, not only provides a welcome boost for the local economy but also empowers local residents through skills development.

Jacqui Scheepers, Acting Director of the Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning, said the centre, CPUT Hospitality Management, the Hotel School and Camissa Solutions had combined resources and expertise for the benefit of the food vendors.

Twenty-four vendors were transported to the Granger Bay campus from the West Coast where they received training on safe and hygienic food preparation and storage as well as customer care and service excellence.
They were also treated to a tour of the Hotel School’s facilities.

Food vendor Nathalie van der Heever said the training had been extremely helpful.

“Even though we’ve been doing this for a while, there is always something new you can learn. The information on the right temperatures for food preparation and food storage was useful. We are thankful for the experience.”
Lovetta Bolters, Chief Executive Officer of Camissa Solutions, said the vendors attending were the breadwinners in their families.

“By pooling our resources we can come up with opportunities like this that benefit the people. The participants will go back into their communities and share what they’ve learnt here today.”
Scheepers said the project was one of a series of transdisciplinary service learning projects during the festival, involving a number of CPUT departments, including Emergency Medical Services, Town and Regional Planning and Mechanical Engineering.

Funding for these projects was received from the University Capacity Development Grant.
“The festival gives us opportunities to do projects in a rural area and to bring skills and empower local communities. We are looking at building long-term relationships with these communities,” she said.
The four-day festival wraps up on February 25.

For more information on the Cape Town Hotel School click here.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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One of the university's core aims is to enhance the employability and soft skills of our students before entering the workplace.

The Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning at CPUT strives to strengthen partnerships with industry, private organisations and the community in order to create an environment for the application of knowledge and production of well- grounded and socially responsive graduates.

Community engagement entails activities and programs offered by the university which involve collaborative interaction with individuals, groups, and organizations external to CPUT at the local, regional, national and international levels to achieve economic and social objectives using engaged teaching and learning initiatives, volunteerism, research and various forms of work-integrated learning, such as service learning and cooperative education.

In an attempt to implement the above definition, the centre integrates the following three units:

• Co-operative Education, which is responsible for nurturing industry partnerships that result in student workplace learning;
• Service Learning, that drives the integration of community engagement with teaching, learning and research and;
• Civic Engagement, that coordinates volunteer and outreach programs.

The centre seeks to establish an empowering environment that supports the development of socially responsive and accomplished students through work-integrated learning (WIL) based on mutually beneficial partnerships with industry and the community. WIL gives students an opportunity to apply in the workplace the knowledge they gained in the classroom while earning a stipend for the six or 12 months spent at the company.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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The Cooperative Education Unit of the Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning recently hosted an exciting workshop to prepare students for the future world of work.

The workshop was presented in collaboration with the Cape Town Science Centre and covered a range of compelling topics, including Artificial Intelligence, Coding and Robotics.

Project Lead David Haarhoff said: “Students are the centre of our core business and their development in respect of skills is critical. We have a huge responsibility to ensure that they meet industry expectations.”

Prof Lalini Reddy, Director of the Centre for Community Engagement and Work-Integrated Learning, welcomed the students and guests and said the event was the first of a series of events being planned for the year.

“The World Economic Forum 2023 report says technology adoption will remain the key driver for business transformation as we go forward in the next five years. And many of you, whether you're in the second year or third year, you are going to be looking for jobs in the next five years. You need to know the trends out there. You need to be kept active and aware.”

Students were given demonstrations on AI and robotics. The list of speakers and presenters included the Cape Town Science Centre’s Theresa Ely-Felin Ashric Don, Deputy Chief Education Specialist: Coding and Robotics, Western Cape Education Department (WCED), Jonathan Freese: Deputy Chief Education Specialist: Technology, WCED, Fatima Jakoet: Airline Pilot, Consultant, Entrepreneur, 4IR skills specialist, Sakhikamva Foundation, Wesley Pillay, Business Facilitator / Project Manager – Skills & Enterprise Development, ORT SA, Melissa Slaymaker, Africa Regional Director: Women in Tech and Bongumusa Ngema Postgraduate Diploma student: Business Administration.

Haarhoff said there had been huge interest in respect of topics aligned to AI, coding and robotics.

“In my engagement with students after the event, there was a hunger from students to embark on more offerings such as this. My longstanding relationship with the Cape Town Science Centre is worth noting. Collaborating with them in partnership with the Western Cape Education Department, Women in Tech, Sakhikamva Foundation and ORT SA was rewarding. It afforded students to engage with experts directly and this warms my heart.”

Dr Lizel Hudson, Work-Integrated Learning Coordinator in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, thanked the guests and the students for contributing to the successful event.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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