CPUT continues its mission to provide one of the most state-of-the-art campus housing offerings in the country.

The university is leading the way in setting a standard of excellence in residence management, and our students are the welcome beneficiaries of the new changes.

Last year ended on a high note with the institution celebrating the completion of the Cape Suites Residence Project. This project will see 400 beds go online and will provide female students with a living and learning environment in one of the most state-of-the-art campus housing offerings in the country. Cape Suites is a few metres from the District Six campus and provides safe and comfortable accommodation to some of our most vulnerable students.

Understanding the sustainability aspects of the university’s properties, the focus in 2024 was on quality enhancement to ensure that CPUT-owned residences remain attractive to our clientele, according to Phillip Chibvuri, Residence Finance Specialist.

This focus area is key for sustenance and the institution invested in the following:

 The Residences Facelift Project

This is an on-going project which focuses on the look and feel of each residence

“We are exploring the benefits of well-designed underutilised areas in each residence and bring them alive as research has shown the interior design of places and productivity are closely linked,” said Chibvuri

Operational Equipment

The Housing team has enhanced a number of residences with brand new microwaves, fridges, smart televisions and stoves.

A new batch of 100 laundry machines is in the pipeline to ensure that malfunctioning machines do not affect utilities such as water and electricity.

All heat pump systems received the necessary attention to ensure hot water in all 26 CPUT-owned residences.

Security

All 26 residences have been set onto the SALTO system, which is fully compatible with local technologies at CPUT.

In addition, the replacement and reconfiguration of all turnstiles at all residences are underway with some already fully functional

“We now have over 200 cameras for the exterior areas installed at strategic angles, functional, and monitored. More are underway in terms of interior and special areas of control in 2025. A facial recognition system (SAMS Project) has been piloted and the results are encouraging, and Campus Protection Services and Housing are working on a sustainable roll out plan in 2025.”

Chibvuri added: “We are optimistic we are going in a particular direction which will require thrifty approaches, sustainable solutions, and forward-thinking”.

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

CPUT’s Student Accommodation Management System (SAMS) will aim to deliver a one-stop centre for all information and operations of residence management, with quality service at the heart of it all.

The project will range from maintenance logs, student/client experience, client complaints, client history , payments patterns and a number of other client-centric features to improve the residence experience, not only for the client but for the institution to get to know its clients better as well.

“The system will also aid in managing the billing, placement tracking and analyses and will be an ideal business analysis tool for CPUT. We are talking of a system that will give you a 3D space view for each building, inform the authorised user of the assets, dimensions and usage of utilities of each building loaded,” said Phillip Chibvuri, finance specialist and project leader of CPUT’s SAMS.

SAMS will be unique to CPUT and will be able to interface with any existing systems.

The project will also feature a student mobile app option for residence users which will enhance the communication and linkage with the client.

“This is a bold move towards a more tech-savvy operational model that will achieve the best required results and opportunities to provide a quality service to the clients. It is an interesting undertaking, which was birthed out of operational challenges and a vision/outlook that we could do better, always,” Chibvuri added.

“There is a need to accelerate our approach to achieve more in-time deliverables than we have been capable of but had not activated yet. We have got to align operations in a more efficient angle of doing things and create a measurable, sustainable and favourable service/product to all clients. SAMS will certainly take us into the future and to make strides towards achieving Vision2030,” says Business Manager, Johnny Basson.

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