From running programmes in special needs schools to reaching out to patients in hospitals, CPUT students have made their mark on local communities.

These initiatives will be showcased on Thursday at the Service Learning Mini conference and Project Exhibition, which will take place at the Bellville Campus.

Manager of the Service Learning Unit, Jacqueline Scheepers says this year all six faculties implemented new projects, which ran alongside existing ones.

“There has been an increase in projects with more academic staff opting for a creative way of changing the curriculum,” says Scheepers.

Through these projects, students are given an opportunity to make a positive impact on a community and experience learning outside of the classroom setting.

“These projects give students an opportunity to experience real-world challenges in the communities,” says Scheepers.

The event will not only celebrate the success of the projects but also recognise government departments and non-profit organisations that have collaborated on the various projects.

Lecturers, community representatives and members of industry will also have the opportunity to exchange ideas and debate various issues around Service Learning.

Outstanding projects and partnerships will also be honoured during a gala award ceremony.

By Candes Keating

Written by CPUT News
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With the third term in full swing, CPUT students are gearing up to participate in a number of new Service Learning Projects that will be rolled out during the next few weeks.

From running programmes in special needs schools to reaching out to patients in hospitals, CPUT students will be making their mark on local communities.

Manager of the Service Learning Unit, Jacqueline Scheepers says this semester all six faculties will implement new projects that will run alongside existing ones.

“There has been an increase in projects with more academic staff opting for a creative way of changing the curriculum,” says Scheepers.

Through these projects, students are given an opportunity to make a positive impact on a community and experience learning outside of the classroom setting.

“These projects give students an opportunity to experience real world challenges in the communities,” says Scheepers.

The projects have received buy-in from a number of government departments and non-profit organisations, who will collaborate with the unit, students and lecturers.

The projects are credit-bearing and in October students will have the opportunity to showcase their community activities at the Service Learning Conference that will be held at the CPUT Bellville campus.

By Candes Keating

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 Department of Tourism and Events and the Service Learning Unit recently held a reflective session with the City of Cape Town to celebrate their partnership.

The collaboration saw third-year Tourism Management students evaluating the city’s engagements with communities in the Blaauberg and Cape Flats districts. Students solicited the communities’ views to influence its Tourism Development Framework.

Ntuthuko Mchunu, a Project Manager from the City of Cape Town, says in developing the framework, which will consist of Local Area Plans to be implemented throughout the city in the next five years, the city had to ask communities to identify tourism projects for their neighbourhoods.  

Addressing the event at the Cape Town Stadium, lecturer Pavla Mokoena said the day was about celebrating the collective learning and teaching project which saw students put into practice the knowledge they acquired from class.

She said service-learning was about the university forming partnerships with a range of stakeholders which in turn give students access to a broad base of resources.

Three groups of the students who took part in the research presented their findings and gave the city constructive feedback as they discussed challenges in stakeholder participation at the community meetings which they attended as well as made recommendations.

The meetings were attended by city officials, local businesses and residents.

Besides observing the meetings the students also administered questionnaires to those who attended.

The group which made the best presentation received a trophy and miniatures of Table Mountain from the city, and all the presenters were issued with certificates of recognition from the Service-Learning Unit.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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First-year Marketing students put their classroom skills to test to make a difference in the lives of The Big Issue street vendors.

Students used word of mouth, flyers and social media to advertise the magazine and hit the city streets to sell the magazine alongside vendors.

A group of students were assigned to one vendor and they then had to use all their marketing savvy to boost sales.

The project is a collaboration between the Marketing Department, the Language Unit in the Faculty of Business and the Service Learning Unit.

The Big Issue is a non-profit organisation that assists unemployed adults to earn a living through a developmental employment programme.

The project’s brief was to integrate community engagement into the language curriculum.

Yesterday students showcased their work and reflected on their experiences.

In the feedback session, students said they learnt a lot more from the project than in the classroom as they were challenged to use skills some did not even think they had such as dealing with nasty rejection from motorists as they were selling the magazine.

The vendors were also given gifts and certificates during the round-up session.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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