In early October, Dr Ruben Richards, former Deputy Director-General at the now-disbanded government investigation team, The Scorpions, was invited to present a paper at the Department of Entrepreneurship & Business Management’s debut Guest Lecture Series. The title of his paper address was: The Significance of Entrepreneurship in the Economic Growth of SA (with a strong emphasis on youth entrepreneurship, graduate intrapreneurship and social entrepreneurship.

Dr Richards has been described as a visionary, having started out life as a worker in a clothing factory, later completed an apprenticeship within the mechanical and marine engineering environment. He later completed four degrees in three different countries finishing with a doctorate (PhD) majoring Old Testament Studies at the University of Cape Town.

The intervening years between the blue-collar qualified tradesman and white-collar intellectual-academic identity is more than a decade of work within the criminal justice environment of South Africa serving as Executive Secretary in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and later appointed as Deputy Director-General and one of the founders of South Africa's version of FBI then called the Scorpions.

As an entrepreneur, author and educationist; Dr Richards emphasised the significance of entrepreneurship and how today’s youth could engage, as well as enhance their business ideas in order to be successful. Dr Richards defined entrepreneurship as the ability to 'monetise creativity'. He joked, albeit with a hint of serious, that entrepreneurship could be visualised as “having sex with a porcupine”, he quipped.

INTRIGUING CONVERSATION: Dr Ruben Richards addresses attendees at the first in a series of guest lectures initiated by the Department of Entrepreneurship & Business Management.

This signifies that entrepreneurship can be both exciting and challenging (imagine wading through the spines and quills, with all the pricks). The prickly part of the entrepreneurial life is that it presents many challenges and is highly beneficial for South Africa’s economic growth. Thus entrepreneurs are encouraged to tread the triple bottom entrepreneurship journey with caution. The triple bottom simply means social, economic, and political factors in which the business and entrepreneur operate in.

“A country moves from poverty to wealth through a process called industrial development”, said Dr Richards. He further defined industrial development as ‘making things that people are prepared to buy’.

According to attendees, Dr Richards’ presentation was fascinating and energising. After the presentation, some of those present said they felt much more motivated and inspired.

“I’ve realized that everything in life is possible, especially for me as a young black South African woman. I just have to work hard towards pursuing my goals’ said one delegate. Another added, ‘I’ve also realized that it is possible for me to become one of the most famous and richest South African female entrepreneurs’.

Convenor and lecturer, Chux Iwe, one of the main objectives of the Guest Lecture Series is to provide a platform for interaction between the department (including the faculty) and experienced industry experts.

Acting Head of Department, Shameema Raja, added that the department is excited about the new initiative, as it give the course a positive image in terms of student growth and development.

“Our vision is to become the heartbeat of entrepreneurial, socio-economic and business development education in Africa, therefore our mission is to create and maintain an enabling environment where, through teaching, learning, research and scholarship, our students and staff in harmony with the community and industry, are able to create and apply entrepreneurial and business development skill towards the social-economic upliftment of Africa”, she added.

The lecture series will continue in early 2012, with key industry and government, both provincial and local, role-players already having been invited to make presentations.

Edited by: Thando J. Moiloa

Photos from: C.G. Iwe

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

CPUT staff and students were the first to sing Archbishop Desmond Tutu Happy Birthday.

Tutu, who celebrates his 83^rd birthday today, commemorates his birthday with a week of events aimed at fostering peace and respect. The celebrations kicked off with the second annual Ubuntu Train Workshop event hosted at the Bellville campus.

The three-day workshop was attended by 26 CPUT students who were mentored on using the concept of ubuntu to make a positive contribution to society.

This year the event had a special focus on women and the role they can play in peace and nation-building.

It culminated in a seminar were students presented their ideas for improving the lives of women in South Africa directly to Tutu, his daughter Mpho, Vice-Chancellor Dr Prins Nevhutalu and foreign guests. 

Some of the ideas were so excellent that Tutu has promised to utilise some of them in future projects and Nevhutalu challenged the students to make a date with him in December to explain the progress they have made.

“I have always been struck by how amazing young people are. Have you noticed how God keeps using young people to do his work? Listening to you makes my heart leap,” Tutu told the group.

Written by Lauren Kansley
Tel: +27 21 953 8646
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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

The Department of Architectural Technology and Interior Design celebrated Africa Day with an exhibition titled: Tribal Identities of South Africa.

Held at 80 Roeland Street, this vibrant event provided students with a platform to connect with fellow artists, faculty members, departmental lecturers, and visitors, while sharing the rich narratives and artistic journeys of their cultural tribes and identities.

The exhibition sought to honour the diverse cultural heritage of South Africa's tribal communities, which are a vital part of the nation's identity. Visual artists from the department were invited to participate in this unique showcase of artistic expression and cultural appreciation.

The preparations for the exhibition sparked significant interest among students, eager to express their cultural identities through art. This enthusiasm was palpable at the opening, where the audience warmly received the artworks, igniting curiosity about future exhibitions.

Staff and students shared their positive experiences. Staff member, Rezah Mogamat commented: "I think it was an awesome initiative. One of the students came to chat to me in private afterwards to say how glad he was to partake in this initiative. The hidden talent hey!!"

Students also reflected on their participation. Raeesah Toefy remarked: "It was overall a great experience. I feel like I could've spent more time on making my art piece look better, but I had fun painting it and researching about my culture. It was a learning curve for me which I enjoyed."

Raeesah added: "Yes, I would participate again. Life is all about risks and experiences, and exhibiting artwork is a fun and great experience. Even if you're new to the field or not too confident about your art pieces, you'll only get better at it."

In his opening address at the exhibition, Head of Department, Rayner Moodley, said: “As Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, ‘We are not people of one book, one truth, or one way. We are people of many books, many truths, and many ways…”"

Moodley thanked students for their enthusiasm in partaking in this exhibition and encouraged them to embrace their heritage and let it inspire their creativity and innovation.

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