CPUT is using innovation to accomplish disability inclusivity with its Informatics and Design as well as Engineering faculties collaborating to build a car adapted for people with disabilities.

This pioneering project is headed by Professors Mugendi M’Rithaa (Department of Design) and Oscar Philander (Adaptronics/Engineering).

The project is linked to Nicky’s Drive, a registered non-profit organisation founded in 2011 by Nicky Abdinor. The organisation aims to fund car adaptations for people with disabilities within South Africa.

CPUT is working with Nicky to further develop the sophisticated technology she uses to drive.Her physical limitations only allow her to drive using a joystick hydraulic steering system with her right shoulder.

Unfortunately, the technology for such a steering system is not available in South Africa and her vehicle was adapted in the United Kingdom. “I initiated a fundraising project to plan for the future – I knew that one day I would need to have a replacement vehicle adapted in the UK,” she says.

Nicky's new car project will be on show during the CPUT Disability Driving Expo which will take place on 7 March 2013.

The CPUT Disability Unit recently held a meeting where the project’s team briefed guests from the disability industry and other partners about the progress it has made on the car.

The team, which includes some BTech students from the two departments, told the guests that a great deal of work has gone into the project and assured Nicky that her car will be ready in February.

Prof M’Rithaa says the project bodes well with CPUT’s strategic objectives of enhancing social good, producing innovative products that have a potential Intellectual Property and that the project will be shared with the whole world in 2014 when Cape Town hosts the World Design Capital.

Kwanele Butana.

Written by CPUT News
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A determined graduate has overcome a mobility disability and other challenges to obtain his BTech: Public Management degree.

Andile Magqabi was capped on Wednesday during the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences’ graduation ceremony.

He is wheelchair-bound and became paralysed after surviving a shooting incident in Gugulethu in December 2015. He completed his diploma at CPUT in 2016 and says that’s when things changed completely.

Accessing facilities on campus was a challenge as some lecture rooms were not accessible by wheelchair.

“Nonetheless, there were friends and classmates who were willing to assist me,” adds the Alice-born graduate. “The lecturers were understanding and gave me additional time to complete assessments.”

He says his lecturers were very supportive of his academic development and general welfare. “They would give me time off to see doctors and email me lecture notes when I missed class.”

He also thanks the Disability Unit for assisting differently abled students by listening and attending to their concerns.

“CPUT taught me self-discipline, respect and meaning to the axiom that whatever you’re going through in life you’re not alone,” recalls the Sandenberg Residence’s senior student.

“I went to church for the first time here at CPUT and learnt that God is able and willing and that where there’s a will there’s a way.”

He thanks his parents and friends as well his lecturers Altee Whittaker and Dr Stan Cronje, who is a pillar of strength in Andile’s life and a parent not only to him but to the rest of the students.

He says differently abled students fear going to school because of the pressure to perform from able-bodied students and more can be done to make facilities accessible to wheelchair bound and visually-impaired students.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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The Disability Unit recently presented an informative webinar, Overcoming Barriers in the Workplace.

The presenters were the Unit’s Dr Amanda Ismail (Head of Department) and Lillian Fortuin, whose main aim was to raise awareness about the topic.

The Unit strives to empower and support students with disabilities to reach their full potential in an inclusive academic environment.

“This webinar within the final year experience programme aims to prepare students for life after CPUT. In addition, it is also done to provide disability awareness and sensitisation,” said Ismail.

The webinar highlighted some of the barriers, including physical barriers such as not having ramps or lifts, as well as some of the common attitudinal barriers people with disabilities face in the workplace, including focusing on a person’s disability rather than their abilities.

It also discussed some of the barriers people with disabilities face when seeking employment, such as inaccessible work premises and work tools and lack of structured support for young people with disabilities when making the transition from school to work.

Guidelines for people with disabilities to overcome these barriers and tips for employers on overcoming these barriers were provided.

These include equipping managers with tools and resources to support individual needs and making reasonable accommodation and accessibility a priority.

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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