Eastern Cape learners experienced true hospitality at CPUT’s Hotel School when they recently visited Cape Town as part of an educational tour.

The 60 Grade 12 learners from Dudumayo Senior Secondary School near Umthatha not only enjoyed the culinary skills of CPUT students but were also given a tour of the impressive facilities at the Granger Bay Campus.

Lecturer in the Business Faculty’s Graduate Centre for Management and Co-ordinator for the Faculty’s extended academic programme, Mbuso Tshaka, arranged for the learners to visit the institution after receiving a request from the Dudumayo school teachers.

Tshaka said: “It takes a lot of courage and hard work for an underprivileged Eastern Cape school to afford a tour of such a long distance; as far as I know the furthest most Eastern Cape schools can go is East London”.

“As a representative of the University, I saw an opportunity to create a platform to host these students at the hotel school as this is an opportunity to expose ourselves as the future institution of their choice,” she said.

The group heard presentations on the career options available at the university from Thandokazi Mtshekisa, a CPUT Student Recruitment Officer; Douglas Dyers, a representative of Maritime Studies and Luke Van Rensburg, Marketing and Functions Coordinator at the Hotel School.  Each learner also received a complimentary educational gift pack with CPUT brochures, detailing all courses on offer.

BACK IN THE CLASSROOM: Though they may be out of the school environment, the Dudumayo learners listen to a presentation of CPUT's courses by Ms Mtshekisa as part of their four-day education tour.

Mtshekisa, who also hails from the Eastern Cape, said she enjoyed interacting with the learners as she could relate to the experiences.  A CPUT alumnus, Mtshekisa, said she was glad to be able to expose the learners to the educational opportunities at the university.

“It's always good to make a difference,” she said.

Dyers concurred, saying it was a perfect opportunity to showcase how one can improve your circumstances through furthering your education, despite your background.

Tshaka was also positive about the outcomes of the visit.

 “I can't thank everyone who assisted with this visit and for taking time out to welcome the school. I am convinced the information given to them has made a difference, as they plan to make the right academic choices for their future,” she said.

By: Thando Moiloa

Written by CPUT News
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For the first time in CPUT’s history, the institution hosted 235 primary school learners for an educational campus tour in early August. Staff members of eight departments namely - Marketing; Jewellery, Fashion, Industrial and Graphic Design; Somatology; Environmental Health and Management; Food Technology; Civil Engineering; Horticulture and Analytical Chemistry - on both the Cape Town and Bellville campuses, welcomed Grade 6 and 7 learners from the Sun Valley Primary School, Fish Hoek into their lecture rooms and laboratories.

During the visit, learners were exposed to the different teaching environments of the various departments and were given an overview of each course. Student Recruitment Officer in the Marketing and Communication Department, Thandokazi Mtshekisa, said this new initiative serves as a great starting point for CPUT to target younger learners and possibly influence their choice of a tertiary institution and career path. 

“This is the first time that CPUT hosted a primary school for a campus visit and it is definitely the start of many more. I believe that it will motivate them to make an educated and more informed decision when they eventually start thinking of career options. We also wish to instill the value of higher education at an early age.”

Food and Technology lecturer at the Bellville campus, Anthony Obilana, was one of many staff members who welcomed this new initiative.

“I was very impressed with the learners’ enthusiasm. They seemed really keen to learn more about the course and also interacted very well with the staff. I think it is important that children get this kind of exposure from a young age.”

The Grade 6 learners have enjoyed a practical in the Food Technology lab on the Bellville campus.

Dean of the Informatics and Design Faculty, Professor Johannes Cronje said campus tours, such as these, serve as a great way to market the Faculty and the Institution.

“The learners showed much interest in the courses. They were very inquisitive and asked a lot of questions. As a faculty, we encourage learners to come and visit to see what we have to offer and how our students work within our environments,” he said.

The school’s Grade 6 and 7 Head, Allison Nuttall, who accompanied the learners on the tour said: “The girls especially enjoyed visiting the Civil Engineering, Horticulture and Food Technology departments, which helped them realise they have other career options.”

One learner, who particularly enjoyed the tour, was Grade Seven learner, Jaimie Kruyer. She said although she is still undecided about her future career path, the visit to CPUT helped her to realise more options.

“It was a really good educational experience. I learnt a lot about all the different courses, especially within the Technology sector, which I never knew one could study for. It was a lot of fun,” she enthused.

By: Sonia Koopman

Written by CPUT News
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CPUT’s Marketing and Communication Department has acknowledged the efforts of principals, life orientation teachers and community organisations in inspiring hope in young academically gifted youngsters.

A gala dinner event was recently hosted by the institution to commend CPUT’s top 20 feeder schools. These are schools who consistently enrol the most number of learners to CPUT, and Thandokhulu High School in Mowbray took the top honour.

The event also commended the role that community leaders and their organisations do in ensuring youngsters consider a university education.

Student recruitment Officer Thandokazi Mtshekisa commended everyone present for working in tandem with CPUT to inspire the next generation.

“Without you there is no CPUT,” she said.

“Thank you for all the hard work you are doing in the communities to keep hope alive for these learners and encourage them to come to study further.”

One of the community leaders commended was Latifah Jacobs from Kuils River.

She was nominated by CPUT Student Recruitment Officer Grant Barends who commended her ability to call youth to action in her community.

“Apart from the wonderful community work that she does in Kuils River (feeding the community and assisting with relief when required), Latifah also assisted in mobilising learners from all the schools in the area to participate in a higher education expo that CPUT was participating in. This meant the message of studying further reached more young people than just one school,” he says.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Dr David Phaho told the guests that he was proud to be partnering with them to make a difference.

“To be in this room this evening means that you have done the groundwork to ensure your learners are eligible for acceptance to CPUT.”

“In short, we understand you and you understand us. Thank you for trusting CPUT as a partner in this journey of educating the future leaders of this country.”

Written by Lauren Kansley
Tel: +27 21 953 8646
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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.