A total of 5 788 diplomas and degrees will be awarded to CPUT graduates during the March Graduation Ceremonies.

At these twelve ceremonies, which will be held on both the Cape Town and Bellville campuses, the institution will also award 56 master degrees and ten doctorate degrees.

Six graduates will be awarded Dean’s Medals for outstanding academic performances, while one graduate will receive the prestigious Vice-Chancellor’s Medal, which recognises the top CPUT graduate of the class of 2008.

This year’s graduation commenced on 23 March 2009 at the Cape Town campus and saw graduates from the Business Faculty take to the stage to receive their academic qualifications.

The Business Faculty is the largest faculty at CPUT and five of the twelve ceremonies have been set aside for this faculty.

The remainder of the ceremonies will be used to confer degrees in the Faculty of Education and Social Science, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Health and Wellness and the Faculty of Informatics and Design.

Addressing graduates and their family members at the first graduation ceremony, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Prof Anthony Staak said during the next few days the institution will celebrate the success of those graduating.

“We are proud of what you have achieved thus far and sincerely hope that we have helped to place you on a trajectory that will lead you to even greater success in the future,” he said.

Prof Staak said the institution’s mission speaks of creating and applying knowledge that will contribute to economic and social development in South Africa .

He said the graduates, who will go on to become alumni of the institution, must also commit to this mission.

“Many of you will go on to occupy influential positions in commerce, in industry and in the public sector. We sincerely hope that you will not forget the communities from which you come,” he said.

Prof Staak urged graduates to use their “special skills and influence to put something back” into their communities and to help contribute to their development.

He also called on graduates to continue to support CPUT and to further their professional development at the institution.

With the rapid pace of technology, graduates will have to update their skills continuously to ensure that they remain leaders in their fields, said Prof Staak.

Prof Staak said CPUT will continue producing graduates who will be able to contribute to the development all sectors in South Africa .

With funding of close to R300 million from the National Education Department, CPUT is set to increase its undergraduate and postgraduate activities in scarce skill areas.

A portion of the funds is also earmarked for infrastructure development, which includes new academic buildings and residences.

Guest speaker at the first graduation ceremony, Dr Ivan Meyer, a senior lecturer in Public Policy and Local Government at Stellenbosch University, said CPUT is living up to its mission of being at “the heart of technology and innovation in South Africa.”

He said CPUT academics, students and graduates are making an impact in various fields in South Africa.

“CPUT is delivering on its mandate of producing a new generation of leaders,” he said.

Dr Meyer urged graduates to do their best in the working world and be ambassadors of CPUT.

Photo: Vice-Chancellor Prof Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga and Chair of the CPUT Council, Dr Rev Lionel Louw, congratulates Marketing Doctoral graduate Darlington Onojaefe.

By Candes Keating

Published online: 24/03/2009

Written by CPUT News
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CPUT graduates were encouraged to allow worthy causes to determine their actions instead of being motivated by material gain.

This was the advice given by Dr Hasmukh Gajjar, Director of Free Your Mind Technologies, who was the guest speaker at last night’s graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences.

Having practised as a medical doctor for 12 years, Gajjar told the audience that he entered the world of business by accident and not by design.

“I was not motivated by material gain, but by a worthy cause,” he said.

“Spin the wheel, but never spin it expecting something in return because it may not spin for you.”

He said in the 1990s he was handpicked by former Director-General of the Department of Communications, Andile Ngcaba, to become the chairperson of the Vodacom Board of Directors where he ushered an era of transformation.

He told the audience that transformation was not a spectators’ sport and that everyone has a role to play.

He encouraged the graduates to follow their passions when choosing their vocations and warned that while tertiary education is necessary, it is not enough to spearhead them into fulfilling careers.

He urged them to gear up for life-long learning. “Learning does not cease today, you are about to enter the world of knowledge economy.”

He forecast that in 2019 70% of Sub-Saharan Africa will be covered in 3G Mobile Technology or even 4G and advised the graduates to enter the world with a mobile mind-set.

News of CPUT’s extraordinary alumni can be found in our Grad Mag 2016.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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In recognition of the country being part of the global society and the ever-changing world, CPUT graduates were challenged to think globally.

“Think globally but act locally,” ICT magnate Nirvesh Sooful told graduates this afternoon during the graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences.

Sooful, who is Chief Executive at African Ideas, delivered an inspirational talk about his company’s successes in the face of misgivings from prospective funders and consumers of its projects.

The guest speaker encouraged graduates to develop new solutions to the problems of the country and the continent.

African Ideas is a strategy and innovation company focusing on the continent whose services include strategy planning, disruptive innovation in relation to the impact of digitization across society.

He argued that while education is good it is not enough as graduates need to make what they learnt their own in order to be successful.

He added that change is certain and that the graduates should embrace it as it comes and decide how they are going to adapt to it.

“Learn continuously, because you can never learn enough,” he advised.  

“More of the same doesn’t work, we need new solutions to the existing problems.”

Hundreds of graduates were capped as they awarded diplomas and degrees, but the following graduates stole the spotlight for their outstanding academic achievements.

Anthony Jioke Ezeonwuka (BTech: Internal Auditing) walked away with the VC’s Medal, while Dean’s Medals went to Bashierah Marais (ND: Office Management and Technology) and Abdullah Salie (ND: Real Estate).

News of CPUT’s extraordinary alumni can be found in our Grad Mag 2016.

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

CPUT graduates were encouraged to adopt the values of ubuntu leadership style when interacting with their customers, colleagues and fellow citizens.

“Ubuntu leadership style requires putting the people first, it’s based on the realization that I am a leader because of my followers,” said Andile Sipengane, acting CEO of the Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority.

Sipengane was the guest speaker at last night’s graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences.

He said that the country was in dire need of servant leadership with a heart.

He argued that leadership, or its lack thereof, was at the core of the challenges facing the country.

“More than ever before we need to go back to the principles of ubuntu, you need to have integrity, empathy, care,” he said.

He added that leaders represent the aspirations of their follower and organizations.

He encouraged graduates to have a positive attitude and keep a smiling face at all times.

“When your followers start drifting away from you it’s because of your attitude,” he said.

He observed that some leaders often see followers just as staff members or numbers but argued that people are a core fiber of leadership.  

This morning will see hundreds of graduates in the Faculty of Engineering being capped.

News of CPUT’s extraordinary alumni can be found in our Grad Mag 2016.

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