To prepare its students for the real world of work, the Department of Management and Project Management has challenged them to develop solutions to the business problems of a local company.
Besides getting marks for their involvement in the project, the B–Tech students stand a chance of winning up to R48 000 as well as possible employment from Paarl Coldset Cape Town of Novus Holdings.
Paarl Coldset is one of the leading newsprint companies in South Africa, which offers fast, economical printing on uncoated paper.
When the company’s Production Manager, Hugo van Eyssen, contacted the department to involve students in its waste re-use project, they grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
“We are excited about the prospects and challenges that this project poses to the department,” said HOD Angela Buys, during the project’s launch on Cape Town Campus recently.
Buys added that the project will afford the students the opportunity to transfer and apply the theoretical knowledge into the workplace.
“It allows them to cross the boundaries of the two knowledge areas, namely the theoretical and contextual.”
She said the year-long project will also enhance the attributes of the university’s envisaged graduates.
According to Van Eyssen, waste re-use is the process of converting generated waste into a new product, creating a secondary income for the business.
PARTNERS IN BUSINESS: From right, Paarl Coldset’s Production Manager, Hugo van Eyssen, HOD: Management and Project Management, Angela Buys, with her department’s lecturers during the project’s launch
The student groups will participate in a competition to create a new product using the company’s solid waste, and will be expected to present their researched solutions in October.
The top three groups will walk away with prize monies of R24 000, R16 000 and R8 000, respectively.
Written by Kwanele Butana
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