Connecting students through COIL
CONNECTED: Ephias Ruhode, Associate Professor: Transdisciplinary Studies in the Faculty of Informatics and Design, demonstrates how the new equipment can be used.
Monday, 19 November 2018
Staff, students and international visitors recently celebrated the launch of CPUT’s first Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Venue.
The modern facility is based in the Engineering Building on the District Six campus and was made possible through the IMPALA project.
Jon Rubin, who developed the COIL concept, said it is “a way to connect the students in your classroom to the world.”
“It’s an opportunity for your courses to be enhanced through the input of others and for you to contribute to the teaching and learning in other countries.”
Education students and lecturers Felicity Titus and Vanessa van Staden, who were involved in the COIL pilot project between CPUT and the University College of Leuven-Limburg, were given the opportunity to share their experiences.
Four lecturers and 100 students from the two institutions were involved in the project and according to the CPUT lecturers it helped to “broaden the perceptions and worldview of our students”.
The University of Antwerp’s Piet Van Hove, who is the IMPALA coordinator, said the project tries to bring together expertise and experience from the different partners in Europe and South Africa to advance internationalisation in higher education.
The project provided the funding for the video conferencing equipment in the new venue, which will support the COIL methodology.
Prof René Pellissier, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships, said One Smart CPUT focuses on the two dimensions of human-centricity and “technology-enabledness” in order to provide a relevant and excellent higher education to our students.
She said COIL is not only about the technology, “it is about a new mind-set of learning in an expanded space where the learning can take place naturally and solutions-oriented, bringing internationalisation to the classroom”.
Written by Ilse Fredericks
Email: Frederickskennediji@cput.ac.za
News categories
- Advancement 13
- Alumni 77
- Awards 46
- Campus Life 20
- Community Engagement 161
- Disability Unit 12
- Applied Sciences 108
- Business & Management Sciences 94
- Education 96
- Engineering & the Built Environment 140
- Health & Wellness Sciences 116
- Informatics & Design 82
- Fundani CHED 24
- Funding 17
- GBV 16
- Graduation 88
- HIV/Aids Unit 39
- Know Your CPUT 65
- Libraries 18
- News 3779
- RTIP 295
- Residences (Accommodation) 15
- Staff 658
- SIIP 37
- Students 1309
- Student Health 44
- Sport, Arts & Culture 126
- SRC 4
- Student Affairs 11
- University Leadership 19
- Varsity Shield 17
- Vice-Chancellor 22
- Work-Integrated Learning 21
- THENSA 11
Latest NEWS
Photo Credit: Iviwe Tom
Caring for the Carer – CPUT Celebrates Women’s Wellness
Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Read more
