CPUT has established the Civic Engagement Unit, which drive and coordinate community projects in order to develop socially responsive graduates and staff members.

The unit forms an integral part of the Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning, which was established in 2009 in response to the 1991 Education White Paper on the Transformation of Higher Education.

The paper calls for all higher education institutions in South Africa to demonstrate greater responsibility and commitment to the socio-economic development of communities.

Manager of this new unit is Buntu Gwija who is no stranger to CPUT. Gwija was a former lecturer in the Faculty of Business and was responsible for driving the CPUT chapter of the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE).

Gwija, who prior to joining CPUT in May 2010 was involved in political and business ventures, will play a key role in developing and nurturing partnerships between the university and the communities it serve.

“The main role of the Civic Engagement Unit is to provide non-curricula opportunities in social engagement and social responsibility for both staff and students,” said.

Gwija said students’ arrive at CPUT and many become detached of their communities. He said it is thus vital to raise social awareness amongst students and develop a sense of citizenship.

“Civic engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to makes that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non political processes,” he said.

Programmes will range from individual volunteerism to community projects. The unit will also work closely with community organisations, government, faculty managers and the Department of Student Affairs.

Gwija said in line with the CPUT transformation, social cohesion and diversity charter, the unit plans to participate and further redress past injustices through programmes that are educationally meaningful.

Currently they are in the process of compiling a database of civic activities at CPUT and will then move on to establish a forum that will play an advisory role.

“Its main function is to advise on projects that can become educationaly meaningful. We want to make sure that these projects make an impact. The projects must also link to the institution’s vision,” he said.

Gwija also plans to bring a research aspect to the unit, by compiling a database of community problems, which researchers could focus on.

“At the end of it all, we want to acknowledge and pride ourselves with our involvement in community engagement,” he said.

A webpage will soon be launched that will list the unit’s projects, allowing students and staff to become involved in outreach programmes in the true spirit of ‘Ubuntu’.

“These are exciting times for all of us at CPUT,” he said.

Other units in the centre include the Service Learning Unit, which drives the integration of community engagement with teaching, learning and research, and the Co-operative Education Unit, which is responsible for nurturing partnerships that result in students’ experiential training and graduate recruitment opportunities in industry.

Contact the Bellville-based unit at 021 959 6794 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

By Candes Keating

Written by CPUT News
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The Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Units, Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning, in collaboration with the Faculty of Education, hosted seven students from HAN University of Applied Sciences from the Netherlands.

Twice a year HAN students travel to CPUT and collaborate with various departments under the banner of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement. The HAN student student or students currently forms part of the Theewaterskloof Programme with a particular focus on various community engagement projects. Organisations such as Home Based Care, South African Red Cross Society, schools, Theewaterskloof Municipality, museum and Mind over Matter within Theewaterskloof district, benefit from the students’ hard work and dedication. HAN students reside in the rural towns of Grabouw and Caledon for the duration of the project.

An orientation weekend funded by HAN university was held in August. Seven CPUT students from the faculties of Health and Wellness Sciences, Business and Management Sciences, Education, Engineering and the Built Environment and Informatics and Design were afforded the opportunity to engage with the HAN students at the orientation. “Our first activity was to collaborate and do Intercultural consciousness and cross-cultural communication. We shared info about the various cultures in South Africa and the HAN students shared information about the Dutch culture. There were discussions and debates involved because we had to gather information about the Dutch culture, and they had to do the same with the South African culture. After the collaboration we had to do some outdoor activities as a competition in mixed groups of CPUT and HAN students,” said Nursing Science student, Yandisa Maqetuka.

Extramural activities included a hike which allowed students to engage across international cultures in a more informal setting. Yandisa said: “I had a great experience in the HAN project, and I am grateful for the opportunity that was given to me.” HAN Global mobility has become increasingly imperative for student self-development, intercultural integration and development of international leaders. CPUT students were grateful for the opportunity to engage with the HAN students.

At the CPUT intercultural and international engagement session at the South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre, CPUT afforded the HAN students a space to showcase their respective community projects. The passion exuded during the presentations displayed a sense of commitment and seriousness in respect of global citizenship. During the presentations HAN students provided a detailed report of their respective projects, expressed their challenges, opportunities and possible solutions to various issues experienced within communities.

According to Jacqui Scheepers, Manager: Service-Learning and Civic Engagement, “Internationalisation can be achieved through collaborative community engagement activities with students and staff from various international partner universities. This project serves as an opportunity to achieve our institutional goals as per our Vision 2030 for Focus areas: 5: SMART Internationalisation; 6: SMART Engagement and strong links with quintuple helix partners; and 7: SMART Student Engagement and Learning Experience.”

David Haarhoff, Project lead for Civic Engagement alluded to the importance of student involvement in such critical engagements. “Vice-Chancellor, Prof Chris Nhlapo, often makes reference to CPUT becoming Africa’s MIT. This would require a different level of thinking, continued international exposure not only for academics, but for students as well. My heart is happy when our students integrate and present our university when hosting international guests. Our students really made me proud.” Scheepers said that projects like these put CPUT on a global platform and: “We will continue to explore further collaborations with international partners for community engagement”.

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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The Service-Learning and Civic Engagement (SLCE) Units, Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning, in collaboration with Lovafriworx CEO, Lovetta Bolters, recently hosted an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Interdisciplinary project in Mossel Bay.

This was led by EMS Lecturer and SL Departmental Coordinator, John Meyer. The purpose of the project was for students to empower a group of thirty community members from the Southern Cape region with the necessary basic first aid skills. The skills acquired during the engagement was intended to enhance the participants’ life skills and, in essence, promote their chances of employment. The focal points of the project training included: Basic Life Support (BLS) Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), BLS Relief of choking and basic first aid level wound dressing and bleeding control.

David Haarhoff, Project Lead for Civic Engagement, said the Community Engagement projects of this nature have become critical, and could be the decider between life and death before medical emergency services are dispatched to a scene, particularly in remote and under-resourced communities. Haarhoff said the skilled first responders are able to assist a distressed patient and save a life. He added that in South Africa, the unemployment figures have increased exponentially, forcing youth and society to be more agile in their approach, by finding ways and means to increase their chances of employability.

“The excitement exuded by the participants, as well as the participating students, is noteworthy. The dedication and commitment displayed by community members to complete their project training was commendable. The participants engaged well within the group work activities and were eager to learn. CPUT’s social footprint has evidently become more prevalent within communities. It is extremely important that we continue to make inroads in relation to our vision 2030 strategic blueprint,” said Haarhoff. He added that Community Engagement requires staff members to have a well-rounded disposition when dealing with the myriad of challenges when engaging with members of the community.

EMS Course facilitator, Athenkosi Sobada, was happy with how the project went and with the great teamwork. Sobada said the students were great to teach, engaging very well. “You could tell they wanted to learn by the interest they had about the course content and asking questions to get clarity about previous cases they encountered. Since the course is Seta accredited, the learners can go to the nearest schools and ambulance services to work as first aiders when they have sports events and they can be renumerated.”

The EMS staff members and students were also joined by students from faculties of Education, Engineering and the Built Environment, Informatics and Design, and Business and Management Sciences. SLCE Manager, Jacqui Scheepers, said the students were inspired by the passion and dedication of the community participants and by the positive impact which the programme and their contributions had on the community. “Working across academic disciplinary boundaries is the hallmark of SLCE and is aligned to CPUT’s Vision 2030.”

The Film and Video students were given an opportunity by Camissa Solutions to practice their craft at the festival, guided by Randel Lakay, a professional film and TV producer. The students also participated in public health and wellness campaigns at the cultural Mossjazz festival for two days. Scheepers said that building relationships and partnerships with external university organisations are imperative to community engagement projects. “This contributes to the holistic development and sense of citizenship of students.”

Written by CPUT News

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The Cooperative Education Unit, Centre for Community Engagement recently hosted a Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Indaba at the Cape Town Hotel School.

Prof Lalini Reddy, Director for Community Engagement and WIL, welcomed the CPUT industry partners and articulated the urgency for continued partnership in relation to work-integrated learning. Reddy re-iterated the impact of work-integrated learning and the benefits thereof for students and their development.

The target audience for this event were industry partners who play an integral role in hosting the students for their WIL component requirement. The partners who attended this event are well represented across all six faculties. David Haarhoff, project lead, indicated that: “Initiatives of this nature are imperative for connectiveness between organisations and our University. Organisations invest a substantial amount of money and time in the development of our students and that is commendable.” The attendees showed tremendous interest and were very engaging.

The purpose of the engagement was to embark on meaningful engagement in terms of challenges, highlights and how to strengthen partnerships between key stakeholders for the greater good of work-integrated learning.

Haarhoff said the industry partners expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to engage in such a manner, saying everything was well organised. He added that the meeting with different industry partners and WIL Coordinators worked well for this event.

“The Centre envisages to embark on many more such initiatives for the greater good of students.”

Written by CPUT News
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The Co-operative Education Unit of the Centre for Community Engagement and Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) hosted a successful Student Work Preparedness Workshop focussing on resilience, one of CPUT’s Graduate Attributes.

The Centre promotes effective WIL and community engagement activities to set graduates apart regarding their employability. The series of workshops embarked on this year focused on industry essential skills students drawn from the 21st century skills set required. The Centre Director, Prof Lalini Reddy, stresses the importance of highly interactive workshops for students which promote 4IR technologies together with critical thinking, unity in diversity, cultural tolerance and human values, all essential for preparing students for the future world of work.

David Haarhoff, Project Lead said projects of this nature are imperative for enhancing essential skills once our students are released into the world of work. “As a Centre and Institution, we want our students to be well prepared for their work-integrated learning and employment purposes,” Haarhoff stated. He said the dedication and commitment of students who attended the workshop were commendable, demonstrating their commitment to do better and set themselves apart in the industry.

In this workshop, the Centre collaborated with the Student Counselling, and it was facilitated by Head of Department: Student Counselling, Leanie Brits and Phorogohlo Phala, a psychologist. The joyous and pleasant atmosphere among students is worth mentioning. Students engaged and participated in many activities aligned to the theme of resilience (stress tolerance, creativity, problem-solving) within the workplace and personal leadership development.

The outcomes of the workshop included students' understanding of the concept of resilience, emotional intelligence, managing stress, exploration of the left and right brain and understanding of the brain profile, further to this, Haarhoff stated the emphasis was also placed on self-awareness as a tool to manage stress, personal resilience and identification and applying resilience strategies.

“The voice of students is critical in respect of feedback for workshops like this and it is for this reason that the Centre constantly strives to improve on service offering. The methodology utilised for such feedback is a student post-event survey where students have an opportunity to provide honest feedback, he said.

Haarhoff said the impact is important when embarking on projects and events, “I often ask myself whether projects or events align with our graduate attributes of the institution. Most importantly we have to question whether students will benefit from initiatives of this nature. I undoubtedly can say from the feedback received that our impact is worth noting.”

Certificates of attendance were handed out and students could use this to enhance their CVs when applying for job opportunities.

Written by CPUT News

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