In spreading joy this holiday season, the Media Department joined hands with the Prof Matsaseng Foundation in hosting a Christmas lunch for the children of Baphumelele Children’s Home in Khayelitsha. The event was held at the children’s home with over 115 children, ranging from babies to teenagers.

The Christmas party was made extra special with a picnic area, photo booth, games, arts and crafts, and sports and entertainment zone area with a jumping castle for the kids.

The foundation was officially registered in December 2023 to honour the work of Prof Thabo Matsaseng who has done exceptional work in the fertility space in South Africa and the world. He developed an affordable IVF method and has been giving back to society through his personal campaigns and charities of his choice.

“This year, the foundation wanted to spoil one of its beneficiaries with a more personalised and emotional experience because in the past 15 years, we had only dropped off donations and food for the children. This year was different. It was a huge success because of the support from its donors…and the children were happy”, said Sharon Moatshe, CPUT alumni and Operations Director of the Prof Matsaseng Foundation. Moatshe serves as a mentor to three third-year media department students who have interned at the foundation as part of their in-service training. Dr Adelina Mbinjama, a Lecturer in the Department was a guest volunteer who assisted on the day, and offered additional support and guidance to the interns.

Donors of the event included Rise Against Hunger, Dr Michelle Mark, Tiego Malibe, Mpho Mtsali and Maki Macholo. In addition, an amount of R10 000 was raised through the foundation’s backabuddy campaign.

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Hundreds of alumni have joined forces to launch the university’s official Alumni Association. Saturday’s glittering ceremony saw graduates young and old, pledging their talent, time, skill and influence to give back to their Alma Mater.

The inauguration of the Alumni Association was timed to coincide with the kick-start of a campaign to champion the CPUT as it nears its first ten years as a merged institution. The “1^st Decade of Prominence and Prosperity” campaign will lean heavily on alumni – the CPUT’s foremost brand ambassadors – to position the institution as a world-class, socially-responsive university that embraces the cutting-edge of technology.

The campaign received a massive boost at the launch as HG Traveling Services, the university’s official transport provider, donated a whopping one and a half million rand. Owner of HG Traveling Services, Leon Daniels, says, “ This first gift to the “1^st Decade” campaign is intended to boost the university, her students, and all her future alumni to live up to the letters of the acronym CPUT – may they Create, Prosper, Uplift and Thrive.”

The event also saw the introduction of the newly-elected AA executive members to those present. Jeff Daniels, who holds a BTech in Civil Engineering is the first-ever chairperson of the Alumni Association. Andiswa Mali, who holds a B.Tech degree in Quantity Surveying is the deputy chairperson, while Mandla Ntlanganiso, Simphiwe Ntlantsana and Mfundo Lee Marasi make up the remaining three members of the executive.

By Jan Weintrob

Written by CPUT News

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Port Elizabeth became the most recent city in South Africa to host a 2008 reunion for CPUT alumni. The event, which took place at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Conference Centre on 28 June, gave graduates of CPUT and the Peninsula and Cape Technikons the chance to reconnect with old classmates and reminisce about student days.

CPUT currently maintains contact with approximately sixty alumni in the Eastern Cape area. Events such as this are an important way for the institution to keep in touch with graduates who have moved to other parts of the country. The Port Elizabeth reunion was supported by a number CPUT stalwarts who reside in the friendly city, such as Loretta Erasmus, Programme Manager of Health Information at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. Other alumni travelled in from the surrounding towns such as Uitenhage.

Alumni reunions typically include a presentation from a CPUT graduate who had gone on to make his or her mark in an interesting field. The reunion in Port Elizabeth featured BEE verification agent and SMME Business Solutions managing member Dumisani Mpafa. He discussed ways in which broad-based BEE could be harnessed to improve socio-political stability.

Other reunions were held earlier this year in East London, Johannesburg and Cape Town. Bridget Maclou, of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) was guest speaker at the Johannesburg reunion, held at in May at Vodaworld, Midrand. She chatted about the various types of social grants administered by SASSA, including the lesser-known grants that assist the care-givers of disabled and HIV-infected children.

In April this year, alumni in Cape Town received advice on money matters from Sanlam financial advisor Paul Johnston at a reunion at the Granger Bay Campus.

Alumni events are coordinated by Valerie Deelman of the CPUT Advancement Department. The reunions provide a networking forum, allowing former graduates to meet up with friends from their student years and make the acquaintance of new people who also studied at CPUT. Alumni can use the reunions to catch up with current activities at the institution and introduce family members to CPUT as a potential place to study.

On 26 July 2008 alumni from beyond our borders had a chance to meet other former students at a Namibian reunion, held at the Kalahari Sands Hotel and Casino in Windhoek.

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By Ilana Abratt, Marketing and Communication Department

Photograph: Attending the Port Elizabeth reunion were (left to right) Roy Blignaut, Brenda Masiso, Reggie Saptoe and Loretta Erasmus of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.

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On 11 April 2008 CPUT alumni attended a presentation by fellow alumnus Paul Johnston titled “Introduction to Financial Planning.” Johnston is Financial Advisor at Sanlam.

The presentation took place at Granger Bay Campus and provided practical advice on how to reap the results of good financial management.

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Motivated to “live life to the fullest”, Student Development Officer, Anette Grobler has made headline news for taking on world first solo adventures to summiting some of the world’s highest mountains.

Her most renowned adventure saw Grobler become the first person to walk the entire Skeleton Coast Park (570 km) in Namibia solo. This area is known for its inhospitable and desolate terrain, as well as extreme climate.

Grobler completed the mission in approximately 30 days, all while pulling a rickshaw developed by CPUT’s Engineering Department that contained her satellite phone and various supplies needed for her journey.

Grobler gave CPUT news some insight into some of her amazing adventures.

You are the first person in history to walk the entire Skeleton Coast Park (570 km) in Namibia solo and unsupported. What motivated you to take on this challenge?

For some or other reason I started a bucket list when I was only 14 years old. I can remember that I listed 10 things I felt that I needed to do in my lifetime. I cannot recall everything on the list, but I do remember that one of them was “to do something that has never been done before”. 

How did it feel to be alone during this period?

Yes, I was alone. The longest days were the days I could not walk whilst the tides were not in my favor. I could only walk during low tides and that needed to be during the day. At night there are too many wild animals that are out hunting.

It is amazing how you start talking to yourself - out loud. It is almost an attempt to stay sane because if you say something, you need to put the words together and form them properly in order for it to make sense and making sense of something is still part of being sane!

Where you scared?

Yes, I was scared of the desert lions - about 38 of them in that area. Five of the rivers that I needed to cross were in flood for the first time in 20 years and I was warned about the quick sand.

So, my two biggest fears, namely being buried alive or eaten alive, became very real the minute I entered the Skeleton Coast National Park.

What was the highlight of this solo walk?

The day before I completed the 570 km, the wind dropped for the first time in 26 days. I was able to swim in the sea and wash for the first time in days!  

This was not your first solo adventure. Where and when did you complete your first solo walk?

I walked the coastal desert of Angola in 2005, starting from the mouth of the Kunene river continuing north to a place called Namibe (the old Mocamedes).

Apart from the solo walks, you also climbed some of the world’s highest mountains. Which ones did you summit?

I summited Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mount Elbrus in Russia (with an CPUT Alumni Sam Ramohlola  who “paid it forward” and actually sponsored me to climb Mt Elbrus with him). 

We also continued to climb Mount Aconcagua in South America but none of us managed to summit as the weather turned against us on the summit night.  

What motivates you to take on all these adventures?

Many years ago I got lost in the Namib desert during a solo adventure race. When I eventually managed to find my way back to civilization, I promised myself that I will live life to the fullest because I had a new appreciation for the most wonderful thing called “life”.

When one takes something for granted, you don’t appreciate it that much. So now, the closer I am to nature, danger and death, the more alive I feel!

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

An occupational health practitioner with a passion for the profession has done CPUT proud by scooping a national award.

Sr Yolanda Koorzen, who completed her BTech in Occupational Health Nursing at CPUT in 2017, recently received the Ian Webster Silver Medal Award.

Koorzen and another graduate from the Nursing Science Department, Sr Helene Mausling, scored the highest marks in the country for the course. Mausling received her award during the SA Society of Occupational Health Nursing Practitioners (SASOHN) national conference.

The award was presented to Koorzen at a recent function hosted by the Western Cape committee of SASOHN.
“I am very thankful for the award,” said Koorzen, who works as an occupational health practitioner at Indusmed, where she also manages a clinic.

The mother of two said she initially chose the occupation because she thought it would allow her to spend more time with her family.

“Once I started working I realised it was my passion. Before I chose occupational health I had worked in trauma and seeing what people do to each other really broke me. Occupational health restored my faith in humanity. My patients are people who work to build this country, they are good people.”

• Each year training institutions across South Africa, who offer a post-basic degree programme in Occupational Health Nursing, are invited to submit the names of students who achieved 75% or above to SASOHN to assess eligibility for the Ian Webster Silver Medal Award.

The SASOHN National Educational Representative and the SASOHN National Executive Members then review all the submissions for the highest mark attained amongst those submitted. Recipients have to hold SASOHN Membership.

This award was donated to SASOHN by Prof Ian Webster on his retirement from the National Research Institute for Occupational Diseases in 1998 and is awarded annually.

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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The Department of Mathematics and Physics recently held its Mathematical Sciences Assembly with the aim of creating a stronger sense of identity among students and staff of the Mathematical Sciences programmes at Bellville campus.

Thomas Farrar, Acting Head, Department of Mathematics and Physics said the department previously held student assemblies many years ago, but it had not been held since 2015. Farrar said they wanted to resurrect and expand this tradition “to inspire students to excel, and to give students a glimpse of the ‘bigger picture’ in terms of career opportunities, planned postgraduate offerings, etc”.

Pepkor, which was represented by Simone Felix, and Shoprite represented by Chris Steyn, are two of the industry partners of the department who host final-year students for their Work Integrated Learning. “Their sponsorship of and attendance at our assembly shows the value that they see in our programme and the potential that they see in our students,” enthused Farrar.

The event was a great success, “thanks to the generous support of our partners and the enthusiastic spirit shown by our students and staff”. The programme included speeches from alumni and industry partners and the presentation of academic achievement awards. The top three achievers at each year level received an official CPUT testimonial certificate and a retail voucher.

Farrar said in the past they had seen some Mathematical Sciences students leaving the department’s programme after first-year and switching to other courses like Engineering. “Our research has shown that some of these students leave because they are unaware of what career opportunities await a Mathematical Sciences graduate. By handing out academic achievement awards, we are signalling to our top achieving students that our department and its industry partners value excellence and that their talents are not wasted on our programme.”

By inviting industry guest speakers including CPUT alumni, the department is inspiring students with confidence that a Mathematical Sciences qualification from CPUT has currency in the labour economy and can launch them toward their career goals.

The department intends to make the Mathematical Sciences Assembly an annual tradition. Farrar believes that word will spread among students that this is an event not to be missed, resulting in higher attendance next year. “We are also hopeful that the prestige of the academic achievement awards will increase friendly competition among our students and result in more students achieving distinctions. Recognising student excellence also motivates lecturers to do their best.”

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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