The CPUT Staff football team has expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the executive management for their support in helping the team participate and secure victory at the University Sports South Africa (USSA) Staff Tournament.

The tournament was held at the University of Limpopo last week and the win brought the team their maiden trophy.

“We wish to pass our heartfelt gratitude to the executive management of CPUT for their support in helping us travel to Limpopo and fly the CPUT flag higher. We also wish to extend our message of appreciation to the following departments for their support: Sports, Arts and Culture, Advancement, and Human Capital. To all the colleagues who kept checking on us while we were away, thanks for the support and we appreciate you for showing us love,” said the team captain, Mvelo Siyaya.

The coach and Secretary General, Arthur Xolani, also extended his words of gratitude to the Vice-Chancellor [VC], Prof Chris Nhlapo, “for all the support he has given to us”. “From the moment we knocked on the door of the VC’s Office, we were welcomed with open arms and kindness and assisted with moral and financial support. I would also like to thank the Advancement Department, Sport, Arts, and Culture, as well as Human Capital for their kind support and contributions. And I will also thank the Marketing and Communication Department, Finance Department, Health, and Safety, and Campus Protection Services for their support and contributions,” said Xolani.

The proud coach said this victory was just the beginning, and “We should aim even higher because the sky is the limit”. He added that football is a team sport that thrives on unity and team spirit, and “we have truly excelled in that regard”. “The team really showed the spirit of oneness. I am deeply proud of all of you. We have made our mark in the history of USSA and CPUT. We will continue to develop other sporting codes and partnerships to ensure that CPUT remains at the top of the university sport.”

In welcoming the team and during the handover of the trophy to the Vice-Chancellor, Nhlapo said: “Whenever we present CPUT we must represent to the best of our ability… I am really impressed by this group of winners. We have to support this winning team… Thank you very much for representing for representing us well. I know that this is just the beginning, there are other sporting codes that are actually coming. But for me, health and wellness come first. It’s very important that all of us we must be sure that we live well, we exercise, we walk, and we actually destress, one of the best ways of destressing is to ensure that we play sport.”

The captain admitted that it was a difficult tournament to participate in, especially considering that it was the team’s first participation in the Staff USSA Tournament, “but our unwavering bond and determination propelled us to success”. “Other universities had great individual players, but we had a great CPUT staff soccer team. Our victory serves as a testament to the power of teamwork, perseverance, and a shared vision of unity.”

To prepare for the tournament they played in the Institution’s Res League and participated in tournaments that were organised for students by the Central Student Representative Council. Such tournaments helped the team to gain fitness and to identify areas of improvement within the team. They also played several friendly matches with the University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, and Stellenbosch University to prepare for this tournament.

“I feel extremely happy to captain this team of winners and the excitement is the same for everyone within the team. This victory is a symbol that together we can achieve greater things. The team holds a larger vision - one of promoting unity and collaboration among staff members through the power of sport. Our goal extends far beyond the confines of the football pitch. We aim to foster a sense of belonging and oneness among colleagues from all corners of the university,” Siyaya enthused.

Any member of the CPUT community who wants to join this exciting team may contact Mzingisi Muluse at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Anele Tyhulu at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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In 1998 Prof Cosmas Ambe visited the University of Witwatersrand to make enquiries about a Master’s programme and ended up leaving with a job as a junior accounting lecturer.

Ambe recounted his remarkable journey to success while addressing the third Autumn Graduation ceremony earlier this morning in Cape Town.

The respected academic is the Nedbank Chair of Accounting and Director of the School of Accountancy at the University of Limpopo.

Hundreds of graduates across a variety of Business courses heard his inspirational story as he encouraged them to use the same courage, drive and resilience to rise above their situations and succeed.

PACKED: The Multipurpose Hall in Cape Town

Ambe also commended CPUT in the huge investment they were making into the countries development by producing thousands of quality graduates each year.

“Congratulations on being winners and I encourage all of you to go out there and be the change agents of the National Development Plan,” he says.

This evening the faculties of Education, Informatics and Design as well as Health and Wellness Sciences will be hosting their graduation ceremonies at the Bellville Campus.

Written by Lauren Kansley
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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

R15 million has been earmarked to boost internationalisation strategies and resources at four historic disadvantaged institutions in South Africa.

The IMPALA project, short for the Internationalisation and Modernisation Programme for Academics, Leaders and Administrators, forms part of the Erasmus+ Key Action 2: Capacity Building in Higher Education programme, a European Union funded initiative.

CPUT along with the University of Forth Hare, University of Venda and the University of Limpopo have been hand-picked to benefit from the IMPALA project, which is the first initiative of its kind solely targeting international offices at South African intuitions. The European partners who will be assisting with capacity building include the University of Antwerp, University of Bologna, University of Graz, Utrecht Network and the Academic Cooperation Association.

Merle Hodges, the Director of the Office of International Affairs at CPUT, who is also the joint coordinator for IMPALA, says the project was conceptualised after the European partners visited South Africa and saw the need to support the respective international offices in driving internationalisation.

“The international offices are extremely small. There are plus minus four people per office who have to support internationalisation at these institutions,” she says.

Hodges says the project aspires to develop clear and viable internationalisation strategies within South African universities to bring them up to par and give them a much needed head start for future international cooperation initiatives.

“We also want to build a network of European and South African institutions and organisations to respond to the needs in the South African higher education community.”

FOCUS AREAS

Over the next two years the IMPALA project will focus on internationalisation of the curriculum, short-term programmes and summer schools, project writing and management, and development of a mobility toolkit that will help international offices manage international processes.

The first training week will commence in March with 80 staff members from participating institutions, as well as participants from non-partner universities. The training, which will be facilitated by the European and South Africa partners, with follow-up training sessions scheduled for later this year.

Hodges says training will touch on relevant matters, such as decolonization of curriculums in order to produce graduate attributes that will allow individuals to apply their knowledge globally. The summer schools are also an important means for the internationalization of education.

“Summer schools are highly in demand. When professionally organised they can be a suitable way to collect funds from external sources, in particular from tuition fees. The profit can be designated to support the organisation of international activities for the benefit of local students,” says Hodges.

Project writing is another highlight of the IMPALA project and training is targeted at developing a cohort of university staff members who can identify funding opportunities, submit successful applications, develop and implement projects utilising international and local funding.

• CPUT currently has six Erasmus + Capacity Building projects and six Credit Mobility Projects

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

Many individuals perceive pool as just a recreational game – something one plays at a bar or in the man cave. However, to members of CPUT’s supa-pool teams, it’s more than just leisure. It’s a competitive sport where they can test their skills against opponents from other universities nationwide.

CPUT supa-pool men’s team recently took first place overall in the 2024 USSA National Institutional Supa-Pool Championships. CPUT recently hosted the 2024 USSA Supa-pool Championships at the Western Cape Ultimate Pool Centre, Bellville.

Sport Development Officer, Quinton Summers, who was the chairperson of the Local Organising Committee, said the venue was “a positive new addition to this event”. “Hosting the event off-campus at a community venue meant that USSA supa-pool was exposed to the community more than it would have been.”

There were six participating universities: CPUT, Sefako Makgatho University, the University of the Western Cape (UWC), the University of Limpopo, Rhodes University, and the University of Fort Hare, and each university brought two men’s teams and a female team for the five-day tournament. Summers said: “The competition was exciting, on each day the excitement in the venue could be felt.” The men’s team won the men’s section by beating UWC in the final. Unfortunately, the ladies did not make the knock-out stages but one of CPUT's players, Perseverance Mashilo was the best women’s player of the tournament.

Even though Perseverance did not make it to the knockout stages her scores in the round-robin part of the event were the best. This earned her the award. The CPUT Supa-Pool team Manager, Ricardo Geduld, and Coach, Beauren Simon worked tirelessly behind the scenes to earn the team the success and the respect they deserve at the USSA level.

The overall Women's Individual winner – Shanice Van Vuuren (UWC), made the knockout stages and won the final. Summers clarified that the scores in the knockout stages don't impact the points scored leading up to that stage of the tournament. The UWC was the winner of the women’s section. The Player of the Tournament, (men) was Kevin Martin, meanwhile, the overall team of the tournament was the University of Limpopo.

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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