Graduates at last night’s Business Faculty’s graduation ceremony at the Bellville Campus were encouraged to think like entrepreneurs when they join the labour force.

This advice came from City of Cape Town’s Information Technology (IT) Senior Manager, Rudy Abrahams, who was the guest speaker at the ceremony. Abrahams insisted that the graduates should run their future jobs like profit-making businesses.

“Think how you can improve the internal processes and systems where you work,” he said.

In a moving speech, Abrahams shared personal experiences about his own trials and tribulations including dropping out of the former Pentech twice.

However, through the help of his family and friends he managed to pick himself up, got a job at an IT company and later enrolled for adult learning.

He asked the graduates to remember the role played by their parents and guardians in their quest for academic excellence.

He encouraged graduates to subscribe to a high work ethic and fill themselves with confidence as this is what employers are looking for.

Hundreds of students obtained diplomas and degrees with 16 graduates obtaining their diplomas cum laude.

But the night belonged to Daylene Wendy Onkruid who won a Dean’s Medal for her achievement in Human Resource Management. She achieved distinctions in all 16 subjects with an aggregate of 88% and is now registered for a B-Tech degree in the same course.

By Kwanele Butana

Written by CPUT News

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Thuso Segopolo, a BTech student in Information Technology, has become the first student to represent CPUT at the International Youth Leadership Conference (IYLC) hosted by Civic Concepts International.

In July, Segopolo attended the seventeenth IYLC, held in Prague, Czech Republic. He was one of 120 delegates representing universities in 40 different countries around the world including Australia, Jamaica, the UK, India and Morocco.

The week-long event provided a forum for young people from different nations to exchange thoughts on responsible leadership. The conference included a number of workshops that simulated the challenges faced by global decision-makers. In the first simulation, delegates took on the roles of members of the United Nations Security Council dealing with the political crisis in Kosovo. In other workshops they participated in a mock trial hearing of the International Criminal Court and in a meeting of a simulated European Parliament.

Segopolo described the atmosphere as “educational, diplomatic and entertaining.” He appreciated having had the opportunity to act as an ambassador for his institution and was proud to be the first CPUT student to ever attend the conference.

“I have learned more about other countries,” he said. “I have learned how to improve my leadership skills in an international landscape.”

Segopolo has been interested in issues of leadership since school and is an active member of the Black Management Forum. He was encouraged to apply to attend the conference after hearing a comment made by Dean of Students Cora Motale regarding how important it is that students take initiative.

The Civic Concepts International organisation aims to prepare the leaders of the future by informing young people about pertinent global activities and promoting cultural awareness among students. In addition to hosting the IYLC, Civic Concepts International also hosts the International Youth Leadership Africa conference which focuses on responsible leadership on the continent of Africa.

By Ilana Abratt, Marketing and Communication Department

Photograph: CPUT student Thuso Segopolo (left) meets Andrew Chou, from Australia, at the International Youth Leadership Conference in Prague.

Written by CPUT News
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CPUT together with industry is developing critical skills in the IT sector.

Through hard work and determination 17 students graduated from the CapaCITI 1000 Certification Training and IBM Academic Initiative programme.

The programme is a joint initiative between CPUT, Oracle, The Cape IT Initiative, The City of Cape Town, Working Technologies, Tembo Lab as well as the Centre for CIO Research in Africa CenCRA.

The aim of the programme is to add, up-skill or re-skill 1000 people with IT skills that are in critical short supply in the next five years.

Graduating as Oracle Certified Professionals, many of the recent graduates have already secured lucrative jobs in the industry. 

Speaking at the graduation, Head of Department of Information Technology at CPUT, Dr Bennet Alexander, emphasized the importance of skills development in an emerging world.

“It is very important for educational institutions to speak to industry role-players and to find out what is needed. Human capital is valuable to any industry’s growth,” says Alexander.

Understanding what is required in the industry and being equipped with valuable skills and training, the class of 2012 is set to take the IT industry by storm and encourage others to do the same.

By: Nurahn Ryklief

Written by CPUT News
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Hundreds of graduates in the Faculty of Informatics and Design received their diplomas and degrees this morning on the Cape Town campus.

In a spirited ceremony, the graduates were told that true satisfaction in the workplace comes from doing great work. And the key to great work is to do what you love.

Guest speaker Rachel Atkinson, Business Unit Manager and Solution Architect at TWC spoke eloquently of the need to find one’s passion in the workplace.

“You will not get the first job you applied for, you won’t start with a huge salary – but don’t give up! As Steve Jobs says – it’s all about connecting the dots. You can’t see the dots looking forward at university, but you can clearly see them looking back, years later. Believing that the dots will connect, will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even if it leads you off the well-worn path - and that will make the difference.”

The loudest of today’s cheers were reserved for Eugene Visser, who was awarded his DTech in Information Technology. Supervised by Prof Melius Weideman, Visser wrote his thesis on Fusing Website Usability Variables and On-Page Search Engine Optimisation Elements.

The Dean’s Medal was also awarded to a graduate of the Information Technology Department. Christoffel Basson achieved distinction in all 12 subjects of his National Diploma, with a final aggregate of 87% over three years of study.

Graduation continues this evening at 7 pm on the Bellville Campus, where the first ceremony of the Faculty of Engineering takes place. On Thursday morning, the Faculty of Applied Sciences ceremony begins at 10am on the Cape Town campus.

By JAN WEINTROB

Photograph by Clive Galant

Written by CPUT News
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CPUT has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with an American multinational technology and consulting corporation to enhance the training of its staff and students.

This will include the latest emerging technologies aligned to university curricula and the Information Technology industry needs.

The International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) manufactures and markets computer hardware and software, and offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in a wide range of areas.

Dr Chris Nhlapo, DVC for Research, Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, told the IBM delegation during the signing at the Bellville Campus that the university is engaged in national wealth creation through regional partnerships and innovation.

“The National Skills Development Strategy informs our partnerships with other institutions and companies,” he said.

Susan Puglia, IBM Vice President of University Programs and Vice Chair of the Academy of Technology,   says CPUT’s commitment to ICT education and research is very much in line with IBM’s work in Africa.

IBM is helping universities with cyber security training and forecasted that data management will offer a plethora of jobs in the future as the internet was driving masses of data daily.

Dr Naguib Attia, Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of IBM in the Middle East and Africa, told the gathering that CPUT is the first university in South Africa to acquire the certified technical training on ERP software.

Attia says he wants the collaboration programme to produce experts that he can subsequently recruit into the company as well as certified students and lecturers who will train others.  

Vice-chancellor, Dr Prins Nevhutalu, says this was a historic moment for CPUT and asked IBM to use the university as a conduit for the corporation’s programmes.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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Prof Johannes Cronjé is stepping down as Dean of the Faculty of Informatics and Design and is taking on the role of full professor in the Information Technology Department.

Cronje joined CPUT in 2007 from the University of Pretoria where he had been a Professor of Instructional Design in Education.

His biggest highlight during his time as Dean was seeing the Faculty play a central role in Cape Town becoming the World Design Capital of 2014.

“Further than that it was to see the Faculty grow in academic maturity. When I arrived at CPUT, I was the only person in my Faculty with a Doctorate. We now have more than one doctor per department, and we have professors in all departments except two. I was also honoured internationally by being awarded the ICT Educator of the Year award by the Department of Science and Technology in 2008. I also received CPUT's Platinum Supervisors award more than twice.”

Another highlight was a research trip to Namibia with a group of postgraduate students.

“My personal favourite is our graduation robing ceremony that we have for Master’s and Doctoral students just before they graduate.  We invite them, their supervisors and their parents or spouses to a lovely breakfast, lunch or dinner, and then we allow them to share their thoughts about their research journey and pay homage to those who supported them. Then their loved ones gather together, and they help them put on their graduation gown. It is a touching ceremony and celebrates the apex of academic achievement. Graduation ceremonies are my best. That is why I was also so proud when the University's new academic gowns were designed by our Fashion students.”

In his new role, Cronjé will assist in teaching Research Methodology for Advanced Diploma students and also supervise a number of Master’s and Doctoral students in Digital Teaching and Learning.

“I will also be mentoring new up-and-coming academics in their career development. I will co-supervise and also concentrate on my own research profile to see if I can improve my NRF rating.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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Information Technology lecturer Waldon Hendricks recently returned from Shenzhen, China where he represented South Africa at the Huawei ICT Academy Most Valuable Instructor (MVI) Global Forum.

The forum was held during the Huawei ICT Competition 2023–2024 Global Final and brought together educational institution leaders, educators, outstanding instructors from Huawei ICT Academies, ICT industry experts, and media representatives from around the world.

The MVI is a new contest that has been added to the competition.

Hendricks qualified after showing his outstanding skills during the regional stages.

He said he gained invaluable insights into the latest ICT education trends through panel discussions and workshops at the forum.

“The summit highlighted effective industry-academia collaborations and innovative educational models. Networking with global experts provided potential collaborative opportunities, significantly enriching my professional growth and our approach to ICT talent development. As the 8th ICT competition, this was the first ever MVI contest and I'm honoured to have been selected to present South Africa for the Huawei ICT academy globally.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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