CPUT’s new Vice-Chancellor Dr Prins Nevhutalu was the guest of honour at a special breakfast meeting welcoming him to the institution on Tuesday.

Nevhutalu only officially starts his duties in January 2014 but has already attended a number of key CPUT events, like the Spring Graduation, where he is being introduced to staff and students.

Yesterday it was the turn of the Management Committee members, like Chairman of Council Mbulelo Bikwani who, like the others, will be spending the next few years working closely with him.

Nevhutalu thanked outgoing Vice-Chancellor Prof Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga for the opportunity to meet his colleagues, saying he looked forward to his tenure at CPUT.

“Only by working together can we do great things at CPUT and I look forward to doing that with you,” he says.

Nevhutalu has a rich academic career and has met many of his new colleagues in his previous positions as Executive Director at the Foundation for Research Development and as Deputy Vice-Chancellor responsible for Research, Innovation and Partnerships at Tshwane University of Technology.

View Dr Nevhutalu’s profile

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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

In a major boost for the reputation of CPUT, there has been a surge in research outputs for 2009. The university now leads all other Universities of Technology in South Africa in terms of research output, including traditional rivals, Tshwane University of Technology.

The latest Research Outputs report released by the Department of Higher Education and Training shows “impressive growth in publications output (above 10%) at CPUT… a good sign of research potential and development.”

Based on an analysis of journal publications, conference proceedings and book publications, the report highlights the fact that among the Universities of Technology, CPUT improved its research productivity by a hugely substantial 77% between 2007 and 2009. This is a full 14% more than the nearest competitors Vaal University of Technology, and 31% more than Tshwane University of Technology.

The reasons for this are clear – during CPUT’s gradual transition from a tuition-based vocational institution to that of a University of Technology, incorporating both tuition and research, the university’s research mandate has been strongly underscored. Four new research groups and units have been established, including the Biocatalysis and Technical Biology Research Group and The Centre for Multigrade Education. In addition, the Institutional Ethics Review Board was established in 2008 to pay ongoing attention to ethics as the research environment expanded at CPUT. Several researchers received new or improved NRF ratings, more post-doctoral fellows have been appointed, and more research-driven appointments have been made than at any other time in the university’s history.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Technology Innovation and Partnerships, Dr Chris Nhlapo adds that two critical offices are now fully up and running and are providing comprehensive support to CPUT’s researchers and innovators. These are The Technology Transfer Office, “a fantastic resource where advice about patents, copyright and holistic intellectual property management can be obtained."

The office was established as a result of the Intellectual Property from Publicly Funded Research Act of 2008, which recognises the important role universities play in research and innovation to promote economic growth. The act obliges universities to establish a TTO to foster Technology Transfer - essentially the process of taking a concept from research into a useful product or new service using the primary tool of Intellectual Property (IP).

In addition, the Centre for Postgraduate Studies, established 2 years ago, is enhancing the profile of post-grad activity at the university, attracting more and more students into the research community and raising awareness of potential technology innovation as an outcome of postgraduate research.

Nhlapo says he is thrilled at CPUT’s research outputs for 2009, and has paid tribute to the active support given to research by CPUT’s management. He’s also praised the variety of internal support services helping researchers. These include the library and information support services, information technology, and the administrative and financial infrastructure, without which it would be impossible to conduct research.

By Jan Weintrob

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A new book exploring issues of quality education in South Africa was recently launched at CPUT’s Mowbray Campus.

The book, “The search for quality education in post-apartheid South Africa: Interventions to improve learning and teaching,” was authored by academics, teachers and other role players in the education sector.

The book was co-edited by CPUT’s Prof Yusuf Sayed, the Research Chair in the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, Prof Anil Kanjee from Tshwane University of Technology and Prof Mokubung Nkomo from the University of Pretoria.

Sayed says the book, which is 448 pages long, is an attempt to map issues of quality.

“At one level the book is a catalogue of several attempts, successful and partially successful, to improve quality.”

CPUT’s Dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, Prof Thobeka Mda, says the fact that the book had no section on what constitutes quality education itself affirmed its title as an ongoing process.

She says quality education requires trained teachers, adequate learning materials and environment that will foster quality delivery of education.

Other speakers were Nkomo, Kanjee and University of Cape Town’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof Crain Soudien.

The book was published by the Human Sciences Research Council Press.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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The Dean of the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences (FBMS), Prof Paul Green, recently hosted a delegation from Tshwane University of Technology’s Faculty of Management Sciences, led by the Executive Dean, Dr Edgar Nesamvuni.

The purpose of the meeting was to establish SMART engagements and collaboration between the universities. In the higher education environment where resources have been dwindling, both Deans expressed the intention to build partnerships to leverage each other’s strengths as an avenue for growth.

The meeting followed an open agenda with Green showcasing the FBMS, using the faculty video, followed by a presentation from Nesamvuni.

In the discussions that ensued, similarities in programmes, challenges with supervision capacity, strategies to improve staff qualifications and third-stream income generation were shared.

Both parties concurred that the meeting was beneficial and that further collaboration would follow. Green and Nesamvuni agreed to pursue a Memorandum of Agreement as a next step to formalise the engagement between the two universities.

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CPUT in partnership with Tshwane University of Technology, the Aga Khan University (Tanzania) and Oxford University has launched a project that uses assessment to improve teaching and learning in schools.

Funded by the United Kingdom’s Economic and Social Sciences Research Council (ESRC), the Assessment for Learning in Africa (AfLA) project aims to provide equitable opportunities for deeper and sustainable teaching and learning in the Foundation Phase through supporting teachers in their assessment practices.

The purpose of the AfLA project is to enhance and support teachers’ use of classroom assessment for learning to improve the learning and teaching of numeracy in the Foundation Phase in disadvantaged schools.

The project will be piloted over a period of two years in the following primary schools in the Cape Winelands Education District: Amstelhof, Alfons, Langabuya, Dalubuhle, Nieuwe Drift and Nederburg.

Addressing a seminar during the recent launch on the Mowbray Campus, Director of CPUT’s Centre for International Teacher Education, Professor Yusuf Sayed, said that a collegial partnership was formed between the district office and CPUT and that all affected stakeholders are looking forward to the collaboration.

Sayed stated that this is one of the times where researchers are implementing a program based on research and which they hope to learn more about.

Professors Therese Hopfenbeck (Oxford University) and Gordon Stobart (University of London) addressed the seminar on the international dimension of AfLA and international perspectives on assessment, respectively.

Tshwane University of Technology’s Professor Anil Kanjee said the project builds on research about the crucial role assessment plays in learning.

Dr Brian Wilson, Head of Curriculum Co-ordination in the Cape Winelands Education District, stressed the need to progress from ‘assessment of learning’ to ‘assessment for learning’ to ultimately ‘assessment as learning’.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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The FNB CPUT team got some extra special inspiration ahead of their debut 2018 Varsity Shield game on Thursday when they will go head to head with Tshwane University of Technology.

The team received their jerseys during a function on the Bellville campus on Monday and were addressed by none other than Western Province coach John Dobson who stressed the importance of a good character in a player.

“You’ve got the talent, the passion and the support from the university. Just let it be tangible and show it on the field by the way you get off the ground and surprise everyone this year. Teammates that are tight, they can do extraordinary things,” said Dobson.

“If you guys make a collective decision that you’re going to contribute to every aspect on and off the field – whether it’s leaving your table tidy, whether it’s knowing the bus driver’s name, whether it’s talking to the new guy next to you…just that and you’ll achieve extraordinary results. You can’t afford not to contribute.”

Acting Vice-Chancellor Dr Chris Nhlapo told the team that the whole university community was behind them 110 percent.
“You are now our brand ambassadors. We support you and we are proud of you and we look forward to watching you play,” he said.

Thursday’s game will be played at the TUT stadium.

The team’s first home game will be on February 26 when they will play Walter Sisulu University in Wellington.

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The new Dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof Andile Mji, believes that teaching and learning with technology and empowering the next generation of Educators in South Africa will be the Faculty’s contribution towards accomplishing CPUT’s vision.

“I see CPUT as one of the great Universities of Technology in the country,” said Mji. “The vision of being Africa’s leading Smart University of Technology, globally renowned for innovation, with graduates that shape a better world for humanity, attracted me to the university.”

Mji, who joined CPUT during this University term, has spent several years in higher education (HE), having worked at the University of Transkei (now Walter Sisulu University), University of South Africa (Unisa) and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).

Mji added that he found that everyone at CPUT had been very welcoming. “Some colleagues from different environments within the university have wished me well,” he continued. “I noticed in all their well wishes and welcoming statements that they said welcome to the CPUT family. So, my first impression is being acknowledged as a family member.

He believes that his experience in HE means that he is familiar with and thoroughly knows the South African HE landscape.

“I am a Mathematics Education Professor with extensive publications and supervision in the area, he added. “I have worked at the management level as an Assistant Dean for 16 years at TUT. In addition, l possess an MBA from Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, Finland. I suppose then my contribution will be in focused leadership meant to take the Faculty of Education (and the University) to greater heights by ensuring that we excel in our core business of teaching and learning, research as well as community service.

He joined TUT in 2005 as a professor at Unisa, where his last designation was associate professor. “At TUT, I worked as an assistant dean all my years.”