One of the hottest acts in South Africa, Gang of Instrumentals, will be performing live for CPUT students on Monday the 18th February, 2008. The event, presented by Student Affairs, will be taking place in the piazza on the Cape Town campus during the 13:00 lunch break.

The GI band members are dynamic, multi-skilled entertainers with serious street credibility and massive popularity. Breaking the mould of pop urban music, the stylish band fuses soul and hip hop with a distinct reggae feel, experimenting with the afro-funk genre to create a sound which is distinctly GI. Their first album, Kassi Flava, was nominated for two Channel O awards. Their latest album, Salute, has broadened the band’s popularity even further with the chart-topping single ‘My Number One.’

The event promises to be one of the best and biggest musical performances seen on Cape Town campus this year.

Written by CPUT News
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As the global community continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic, our health workers have emerged as the heroes of this crisis. Among them are many of our very own CPUT students who are working selflessly to help others. Some are risking their own lives at the frontlines.

Students from the Department of Emergency Medical Sciences have heeded the call for help by health authorities by manning ambulances and the recently erected temporary hospitals. Others have volunteered to assist in various non-clinical roles such as manning the telephones in the call-centre.

This week we are telling their stories in their own words. Today, we tell the story of a Fourth-Year Bachelor of Emergency Medical Care student:

"As a healthcare worker, full-time student, husband and father, it has been and still is a stressful time during this pandemic. What was previously normal, is no longer normal. It is an unknown time that all of us as a country, province, communities and families have entered into. Because of the uncertainty, fear and change in our daily activities, these times are even more unbearable.

As a full-time student, my normal routine before the pandemic was that my daily activities would start by waking up at 5 am and then travelling to Bellville to attend class from 9 am until 4 pm. I would then arrive at home every day at around 6 pm and start preparing to perform my religious duties until 9 pm. Now all creches, schools and universities are closed. I now have to report as a full-time healthcare worker, and this means dealing with the pandemic itself.

The pandemic alone is not as stressful as the baggage it brings with it. These are more stressful times than ever before because what was seen as normal is no longer, like waking up at 4 am instead of 5 am and a day that started at 9 am until 4 pm is now from 7 am until 7 pm. Whereas I normally arrived at home at 6 pm, I now arrive at 8:30 pm and this only occurs on a day where I don’t receive a late call.

When arriving at home during “normal times”, I would first greet my family and sit down and tell them how my day was and spend some time with my child. Now I will go straight to shower before I even say hello to my family. It is so difficult to explain to a one-year-and-11-month-old baby that whatever was normal before is no longer normal. Like going to the park, taking her to ride on her tricycle or just going for ice cream is no longer normal.  

Then there is the fact that I feel that there is no guarantee that I won’t get the virus.  The worst thing that can happen is getting the virus and coming home not knowing that I have contracted the virus although I have tried to be safe on duty and off duty. The fact that I am dealing with these cases will make me believe that I have brought the virus home.

This idea alone is eating me up inside because there is an innocent family at home waiting for a father and husband to come home. And, with the seasons changing, any cough will make you think of the virus. These things psychologically drain you as a person.

When working with patients that are confirmed positive, you as a practitioner can feel, at times, that whatever you are doing is not right. When contacting the patient, where you used to perform assessments, now suddenly you have to have minimal contact with patients that are confirmed or under investigation. This is totally opposite to what was taught over the years, where we are clinically driven. Where there is even an instance where a patient will be screened as a possible case, we must leave the scene to fetch an ambulance that is designated for possible and confirmed cases. Normally this would constitute patient abandonment. At times you as a practitioner feel inhumane, because of policies and protocols that need to be followed.

Although service delivery is very important, working and studying full-time is affecting me as a student, husband, and father due to outcomes that I don’t meet or while I do meet these outcomes, it is not up to an acceptable standard. This is mainly due to limited time that is available and trying to play it safe in the sense of not allowing this whole situation to lead to burnout, which is likely to occur.

*Name has been withheld to protect identity.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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Imitha Yelanga Children’s Home has become the latest beneficiary of one of the Anglo Residence’s social responsibility activities, after the home was given food and clothes as part of a donation.

Anglo Residence, one of CPUT’s residences at the Bellville campus, in conjunction with the City of Cape Town, visited the home in Eerste Rivier on 28 August 2009.

About 25 people, who included the residence’s house committee and students and others from different residences of CPUT at the Bellville campus, took part in the initiative.

The outreach is part of the residence’s activities for the year, which among many includes social responsibility.

The group donated groceries amounting to more than R3000, which included meat, drinks and toiletries. Other donations were clothes that were collected by students who reside at Anglo Residence.

The main purpose of the visit was to interact with and give love to the children. The group also prepared lunch for the children, which was served after school by the students.

According to Bulelwa Dlephu, the residence coordinator, they decided to identify needy homes as part of their outreach programme.

Dlephu said: “We decided to rope in the City of Cape Town as they are in a good position to identify these homes. We were specific to them as we said we wanted the neediest home around Cape Town and Imitha Yelanga Children’s Home was the one.”

The residence started planning for the project at the beginning of the year and it was agreed that each student would donate R10.

“We later discovered that R10 was not going to be enough as Anglo Residence is one of the smallest residences here, and then we decided to ask people outside.

“We went almost to every department and we were also asking our friends that are outside the institution. Through patience from our side and much cooperation from the students, our project was very successful,” said Dlephu.

The City of Cape Town did not only identify the neediest home, but also offered to transport the group to and from the Bellville campus to Eerste Rivier.

Imitha Yelanga Children’s Home was started in 2000 by Ms Cordelia Woniwe who couldn’t stand seeing children being dumped by their parents on a daily basis.

She now looks after 11 children that she gets through the Department of Social Services.

Responding to CPUT students for their donation, Ms Woniwe said: “I thank you for coming here; you have really made a difference. You have brought hope and joy to these children.”

She continued by saying that: “Working with children from different backgrounds is not an easy task. Some of these children were dumped on the highways and I feel it is my responsibility to give them the love that they didn’t get from their biological parents”.

Woniwe used to work as a domestic worker before deciding that her destiny was taking care of the children.

The Anglo Residence has many activities in the pipeline and plans to visit more homes in the future.

“If things were easier for us, we would adopt the Imitha Yelanga Children’s home, but for now we can’t promise anything. We’ll keep on doing the best where we can,” Dlephu concluded.

By Andiswa Dantile

Written by CPUT News
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CPUT has secured more than 3 000 additional beds which will significantly alleviate the growing demand for student accommodation.

The addition means that in 2020 about 38 percent of the student population can be accommodated, a notable increase from 29 percent in 2019.

“In 2019 the secured beds available to the university was 9395 beds. For 2020 we have pushed up the numbers to 12 460 beds.  The institutional target is to get to a 40 percent ratio by 2021. The business unit will continue to work towards this target,” said Phillip Chibvuri, Residence Finance Specialist in the Residence Business Unit.

“We will also continue with our huge drive in maintaining our old residences and refurbishing them, where possible. It has been a challenging journey to get to where we are now and we trust that CPUT students recognise the efforts of University management in addressing accommodation issues. We will continue to strive to provide the best student life and residential service to our students,” said Chibvuri.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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CPUT Information Technology students are sharing their knowledge and helping to excite the next generation of female IT specialists through a unique programme.

The students were selected as facilitators by Code4CT, a programme which hopes to empower young African women, exposes them to opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) careers and encourages them to leverage technology for social change.

Prima Inderlal, Work Integrated Learning Co-ordinator for CPUT’s IT Department, initiated the collaboration with Code4CT. Code4CT’s Andrea Petersen said it recruits facilitators who are enrolled in a STEM field as well as those that have a working knowledge of using HTML, CSS and JavaScript to create websites and mobile applications. 

During the April holidays the students served as facilitators for the Intro to Coding module for Grade 10 learners as well as for the Front End Development and Data Science Modules for Grade 11 learners.

Petersen said Code4CT’s programme runs until December and the facilitators have been invited to teach for any or all of the modules. She said the students completed three days of training earlier this year which focused on what it means to be a Code4CT ambassador, curriculum & LMS (Learner Management System) training as well as classroom conduct and crisis management.

Petersen said CPUT students would benefit from being part of Code4CT in several ways including exposure to the local tech industry through various speakers who attend Code4CT classes and events, increasing their knowledge of web development and having their CVs shared with local tech companies that Code4CT has connections with.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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Students can now make use of Zapper, an electronic payment platform popular in the restaurant industry, to pay for printing.

This new credit system allows students to load credits from the comfort of their homes or residences and plans are in the pipeline to extend the system to the payment of library fines and tuition fees.

Once students have downloaded the application they need to link a debit or credit card to it in order to perform transactions.

Students need to access OPA from the CPUT website and select ‘Zapper Printing Credits’ which will generate QR codes that need to be scanned in order to load credits for printing.

Users will then receive an email to indicate the amount and date of transaction.

“This system is easily accessible and integrated with existing CPUT systems. Transactions are done in real time and amounts will reflect in a maximum of five minutes,” said Alvino Moses from the CTS department.

Moses added that users can load credits from anywhere, depending on internet access. They won’t be dependent on the IT Centre, Admin buildings or the respective libraries to do so.

To watch a demonstration video, click on the link: https://youtu.be/Xm8NYfJCM-k

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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Tomorrow’s Varsity Shield semi-final between FNB CPUT and FNB WSU in Bellville promises to be a vibrant affair with fireworks on and off the pitch.

Fans can look forward to fireworks displays and a fan zone while the game will be broadcast live on SuperSport 1 (DStv Channel 201).

The CPUT Local Organising Committee of the Varsity Shield tournament will be giving prizes to the first 200 patrons to enter the stadium as well as free giveaways to those who promote the match on their social media platforms.

Activations, where prizes will be given away to students, have been planned for District 6, Wellington and Bellville Campuses to spread the rugby spirit among them.

Tickets for students cost R10 while non-students will pay between R20 and R30 depending on seating area to see the match.

Should the team win, the first 200 students who have bought tickets to the Semi-Finals will be eligible to travel by bus to Port Elizabeth to support the team. 

Cape Town-based sport stars such as Proteas and Cape Cobras’ bowler Dane Paterson are rooting for CPUT to make it through to the finals.

To book its spot in the semis FNB CPUT beat FNB UKZN 69 – 40 in a home match. The win resulted in the team finishing second on the log after a shaky start, which saw them losing against FNB Madibaz.

They went on to win five out of their six games.

The semi-final match kicks off at 16H45.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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CPUT has kicked off a multi-year project to replace beds on all campus residences.

Over the next three years, the Business Unit hopes to replace 5 807 beds on all campus residences.

The bed swop started on Bellville campus, with the Richard Sacco Residence targeted first. Business Manager Johnny Basson, says they have replaced 1 076 beds so far and look forward to replacing another 800 this year.

“The oldest residences to the newest residences is the chronology we are using and the affected residences will vary depending on availability of beds and the size of the building,” explained Basson.

He said the project to replace beds is part of a plan to achieve a good balance for the students. “We saw fit to begin getting the beds for the students as it has a direct benefit for their comfort and physical health. We will, concurrently with this project, be painting student rooms and fixing the interiors and furniture utilised on a daily basis. We are driven to bring our buildings up to a high standard and will strive to keep it there. All we ask is for the students to keep on working with us, to give us the space to deliver on our commitments and to take care of the infrastructure for the students that come after them,” said Basson.

In addition to fixing residence buildings, Basson said they are also rethinking maintenance matters as well as security and access control.

The Business Unit is also working on development programmes for students. “A big item on the calendar is the Residence Debate Competition. We hope the students will come out in numbers to debate issues around the university community and within their living spaces. This could become an observation and noting platform for residence management to pick up on areas of real concern as we develop into an ideal institution,” said Basson.

The second-hand beds which are leaving the campuses are being put to use if they are not badly damaged or soiled. The Community Engagement Unit enlisted one of the CPUT student charity groups to identify organisations in need.

Ntombozuko Bola, the co-founder of The Hope Foundation, says they helped the Community Engagement Unit find organisations who needed the beds. She and her Foundation members went on local radio and distributed pamphlets, asking who could make use of second-hand beds and received queries from as far afield as Pretoria.

The Foundation helped the Community Engagement Unit vet the organisations, figuring out whether they were registered NPOs and whether they could provide their own transport.

“For now we are working with eight organisations, all the way from Melton Rose and Khayelitsha, among other places,” said Bola.
She and her Foundation members will continue working with the Community Engagement Unit to find organisations who can use the second-hand furniture.

Written by Theresa Smith

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Provides coverage for the Applied Sciences and Engineering Faculties and the Wellington Campus.

Third-year film students embraced an opportunity to broaden their horizons while working on a German production recently shot in the Mother City.

Lecturer Ricardo Koopman said eight CPUT students worked on the project which will serve as the graduation film for a group of German students from the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg.
“The interesting part of the project is that we were shooting on film and not digital. Our students have learnt so much and this will help them to prepare for their own graduation films later this year.”

Producer Karli Baumann said the film’s director had decided to shoot in Cape Town after a holiday in the city last year: “He was impressed with the variety of locations and the beauty of it.”

Baumann said he got in touch with the CPUT students after he used an online group to find South Africans to work on the film.
He said the director and the director of photography loved the “vintage feel” that shooting on film produced.
Koopman said the students learned valuable lessons about safety on set.
“They were also exposed to some equipment that they’ve never used before.”

Student Mcebisi Sidlai said he felt privileged to have been part of the project and grateful for the experience gained.
South African producer Justine Solomon was impressed by the CPUT students.
“The CPUT students arrived on the first day early, smiling and super polite.  No one stood around waiting to be told what to do, they all jumped in and asked what they can do and how they can help.  The camera boys knew exactly what was what and Ricardo and his team worked like any professional team I have seen in the industry, of which I have been a part of for the last twelve years.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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 CPUT staff and students can help the SA Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) in their quest to save lives by joining a stem cell donor drive at the institution this week.

The SABMR helps to find donors for patients with life-threatening blood diseases such as leukaemia who do not have a match within their own families.

“The campaign is a collaboration between CPUT’s Department of Biomedical Sciences, Campus Health Clinics, the Centre for Community Engagement, the Marketing and Communication Department and the SABMR,” said the Biomedical Sciences Department’s Heather Hendrickse.

The size and demographic representation of the CPUT community could contribute greatly to the SABMR’s recruitment efforts.

Hendrickse said a cheek swab would be taken from the staff member or student, using a kit provided by the SABMR.

This will then be sent to a laboratory for testing and placed on a database and the person will be contacted should it turn out that they are a potential match for a patient.

Staff and students are invited to join the SABMR at the following campus locations and times:

March 4: Bellville Campus Health Clinic and Student Centre quad between 10:00-14:00.

March 5: Cape Town Campus Health Clinic between 10:00 and 14:00.

March 6 - Wellington Campus Health Clinic between 10:00 and 14:00. 

March 7 -Bellville Campus Health Clinic and the Student Centre Quad between 10:00 and 14:00

The campaign is registered as a CPUT service learning project.

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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The shortage of affordable accommodation close to campuses has long been an issue for universities across South Africa and CPUT continues to seek innovative solutions to help address the need.

The institution recently met with DigsConnect, an online platform that aims to help students find safe accommodation close to their institutions.

“We’re thrilled to be working with tech start-up DigsConnect.com, South Africa’s largest student accommodation marketplace. It allows landlords and agents across the accommodation spectrum to list their student properties, and for students to then connect with the landlords directly,” says Phillip Chibvuri from CPUT’s Residence Business Unit.

“At CPUT we pride ourselves on innovation and taking practical action to solve inefficiencies in our society. Part of this commitment includes working with exciting start-ups that are changing the way that we do things. We are exploring a more vibrant relationship with DigsConnect in the year 2019 to spread our own accredited properties on their website.”

CPUT’s own Off-Campus Housing Accreditation Program (OCHAP) was launched in 2017 and allows students to search for private accommodation, which has been approved and accredited by CPUT officials.

To visit the database, go to http://www.cput.ac.za/students/life/accommodation/ochap/properties

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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The FNB CPUT team is ready to rock in this year’s FNB Varsity Shield competition, which officially kicks off in just one week. 

Seven teams are participating in this year’s tournament and the CPUT team will face the FNB Madibaz at the Madibaz Stadium in Port Elizabeth on February 18 at 18:30.

The team will then go head to head against FNB TUT in their first home game at the CPUT Sports Stadium in Bellville on February 21 at 18:30.

Staff and students can come out to show their support during three lunchtime activations this week.

The first will take place at the District Six campus today, followed by Wellington campus on Wednesday and Bellville on Friday.

This year’s team captain is Lunathi Nexele.

For the full fixtures and logs go to http://www.varsitycup.co.za/varsity-cup-fixtures-logs

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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For academic programmes with available spaces at CPUT walk-in applicants will be considered from 23 to 30 January 2019.Before attempting to apply prospective students should do the following:

• Consult the list of programmes available for walk-ins
• Check the Admission Requirements displayed on the CPUT website. Be sure to scroll down to their specific programme for the additional (programme-specific) requirements. 
• Ensure that they meet the minimum admission and subject requirements for their programme of choice. 
• Certify all the supporting documentation. Certification must be less than 3 months old.

An on-campus venue is available with assistance should they have difficulties in applying online. Applicants can utilise any of these venues irrespective of the programme for which they are applying.

Faculties should first finalise all standard and late application selections including the re-evaluation of final results before a list of programmes with available spaces is submitted to the Manager: Application and Registration Centre (ARC) by Monday, 21 January 2019.

As the University proceeds with the registration of first-year students from 14 January to 01 February 2019, the following categories of students will be considered first by faculties as spaces become available:

1. Those who applied on time and meet the entrance requirements, but could not be accepted due to space constraints. 
2. Those national students who applied on time, but could not be considered by faculties on time prior to registration. 
3. Students who were rejected on the basis of their Grade 12 results, but subsequently passed and met the requirements for programmes they applied for (including those who have upgraded their Grade 12 results). 
4. Those who applied on time and meet the entrance requirements and course spaces have since become available.

CPUT resolved to have a dual or hybrid walk-in application mode. These are the Central Application Clearing House (CACH) and direct application to CPUT, using online or manual application as determined by the institution.

Please note that only prospective first-year undergraduate students can apply via CACH. However, NSC results can only be verified for examinations written since 2008.

Individuals who have passed their final examination and meet the minimum entry requirements to study at CPUT can apply through CACH to CPUT using the following modes:

1. Call 0800 35 66 35
2. SMS name and ID Number to 49200 
3. Visit cach.dhet.gov.za 

CACH Office Hours are from 08:00 to 18:00 on Monday to Sunday

Applying to CPUT does not give applicants automatic access to student funding, NSFAS or a guaranteed residence placement. The Department of Higher Education and Training has indicated that NSFAS is not open for late applications.

However, students who have applied via CACH may be considered for NSFAS funding if eligible. Walk-in students that apply directly to CPUT will still have to lodge their information with CACH as only students who have been allocated space and lodged their information with CACH may be considered for NSFAS. The university will, in addition, also lodge the information of students that are allocated a space at CPUT through the late application process to CACH.

Written by Kwanele Butana

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Wellington campus kicked off the First Year Experience by welcoming new students on the picturesque grounds of House Murray.

The various house committees made sure students attended in full force and the weather played along with a light, cooling breeze.

Dean of Students Prem Coopoo welcomed the students and urged them to make use of the support services available on all campuses, such as Student Health Clinics, sports clubs and counselling services, to have a well-rounded experience: “We don’t want you to come here just get your certificate and leave. We want you to leave as the best version of yourself,” said Coopoo.

In delivering the keynote welcome Vice-Chancellor Dr Chris Nhlapo said it was important to point out that no CPUT campuses had any hazing or ragging rituals.
He expressed his hope that incoming students would enjoy their experience so much that they would return for postgraduate studies before enumerating a few of the institution’s most recent successes.

“At all times we encourage an entrepreneurial spirit. We are a university of technology and this is a place where we make things happen,” said Nhlapo.
He pointed out that the institution had received about 40 000 applications for only 9 000 first year spaces which meant attending first year students had had to work hard to earn a space.

Written by Theresa Smith
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Provides coverage for the Applied Sciences and Engineering Faculties and the Wellington Campus.

CPUT Vice-Chancellor Dr Chris Nhlapo urged first years to take responsibility for their academic future.

Nhlapo was speaking to students and their parents at the annual Welcome event on the District Six campus and stressed the measures that the institution was taking to accommodate students both academically and emotionally.

Apart from the support from the First Year experience programme, which aims to encourage students through the difficult first year, Nhlapo also encouraged them to enjoy the new environments in which they now find themselves.

"Our Wellington campus in the Boland is located in some of the most scenic parts of the city while our Cape Town and Bellville campuses are a short drive from the best beaches and tourist locations," he said.
"Contact your Student Development Officers to join the variety of excursions and outings that are planned through the year. Be sure to take advantage of your time with us."

Nhlapo concluded his address by thanking parents for trusting CPUT with their children's academic future.
"We acknowledge your support and thank you for it."

Written by Lauren Kansley
Tel: +27 21 953 8646
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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

The Major Sports Hall in Bellville was packed this morning as first years and their parents gathered for the Welcoming ceremony.

“Your future ultimately rests in your hands,” Dean of Students Prem Coopoo told the new students.

“For the next few exciting years CPUT will be your new home. You, and only you, are the architect of your life.”

She encouraged students to make contact with the First Year Experience unit.

Students and their parents were introduced to the university’s executive management as well as to members of senior management, before being officially welcomed by Vice-Chancellor, Dr Chris Nhlapo.

He encouraged students to turn any disadvantage into an advantage.

Dental Assisting student Lesego Montshiwagae said she was very excited to start her studies at the Tygerberg campus: “I want to work hard so that one day I can be a hygienist.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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A freak accident which saw her mother lose multiple limbs in a train accident wasn’t enough to derail a CPUT student from her dreams of graduating with a Bachelor’s pass in Architectural Technology. The tragedy had an unexpected silver lining after the young architect ended up starting a small business based on cowhide accessories which took her all the way to the US on a scholarship tour.

Nomakhosazana Ncube or Zana as her friends call her has had an extra-long and bumpy road to the CPUT Summer graduation stage. On a daily basis, she struggled to complete assignments because of rolling blackouts in Zimbabwe, where she was completing the Open Architecture course via correspondence. To complete online critique sessions she was forced to connect a power cable from her car battery to her laptop and work from the backseat of her vehicle. Lecturers also made special allowances for Zana, and other Zimbabwean students, by scheduling critique sessions for around midnight because electricity usually kicked in for a few hours between 11 pm and 4 am.

“There you are at 2 am sitting on your backseat, occasionally running your battery so that it won’t go flat. You think maybe this is the universe telling you that maybe this isn’t for you,” says Zana.
“But then you look at how far you have come and you keep going.”

Unfortunately for her things were about to get much worse when her mother was involved in a near-fatal train accident in Victoria Falls in 2018 when she fell under a train and severed her legs.

“I remember that dreaded next-of-kin call. In a flash I went from excitedly waiting for mid-year block assessments to wondering if my mother would be a corpse,” says Zana.

After a three-month hospital stay, Zana’s mother was discharged from hospital and she dedicated herself exclusively to her caregiving. Eventually, she was forced to make the difficult decision to defer her studies until her mother had fully recovered.

The unexpected spare time frustrated Zana and she soon found a creative outlet that would allow her to stay home with her mother while also earning a living. She founded A Tribe Called Zimbabwe which is a range of fashion items based on Zimbabweans love for Nguni cattle.

“The goal of the company was to celebrate the rich history and culture of Zimbabweans and showcase our fashion identity,” she says.

“I would wheel my mother into the dining room to watch me work on the cow horns and hide and it gave us something else to talk about other than pain and hospital visits.”

Zana was later chosen for a Visitor Leadership Program for women in entrepreneurship and went to the US in December 2018.

The networking programme was a life-changing experience and exposed A Tribe Called Zimbabwe to an international audience. All the while Zana resumed her studies and is now on track to graduate with her classmates.

Today Zana’s mother Judith Maposa has recovered enough to travel to South Africa and will watch her daughter graduate during the Spring Grad series.

“She is such a strong character. It wasn’t easy to watch your mother nearly die and soldier on. I told her if my life is over then hers has to go on and I am so proud, that despite everything she went through she pulled through,” says Judith.

Written by Lauren Kansley

Tel: +27 21 953 8646
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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

A dedicated student who lost her parents at a tender age has beaten poverty to graduate with her National Diploma in Tourism Management.

Mbali Sibande, 23, who hails from Springs, outside Johannesburg, will be capped this week during one of the ceremonies to honour graduates from the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences.

Mbali attributes her finest achievement to her late mother’s prayers as well as God’s mercy.

“I come from a family of four and we were raised by a single parent,” she narrates. “It wasn’t easy as we were dependent on a social grant and hand outs since mom was not working.”

Mbali’s mother sadly passed away due to cancer when she was 16 years old and she was forced to become a mother to her younger brothers.

After completing her matric in 2014 she was forced to take a gap year as her family could not afford university fees. During her gap year, she was hired at a local primary school to coach netball and that is how she saved money for higher education studies.

As she was coming to register at CPUT in 2016, a Good Samaritan who listened to her moving personal story pledged to pay for transport costs from Johannesburg to Cape Town until she finished her diploma.

“Throughout my CPUT years I did not know any difference between a day and midnight, because I had to go to class then off to a part-time job then back to my assignments or studying for a test,” recalls the tenacious Mbali. “One of the reasons I’ve been stuffing myself with a load of work is because I knew how bad the situation is at home, so I had to send money for food and for clothes as well.”

She also saved some money and bought a camera which she used to conduct private photo shoots in order to earn some pocket money.

Mbali’s advice to the youth: “You must do the things you think you cannot do because where you come from does not define you and, a strong person is the one who cries and sheds tears for a moment then gets up and fights again.”

Written by Kwanele Butana

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CPUT is expecting about 34 968 students to register for the 2023 academic year when the registration process commences as early as 30 January.

The Institution expects about 8 721 new students (undergraduates) and 25 910 returning students who consist of undergraduates and postgraduates. The timelines have been outlined in the 2023 registration booklet and may vary within faculties. The registration booklet is downloadable from the following link: Registration - CPUT.

Admissions and Registrations Centre Manager, Sonja Swanich, says the students can register from anywhere and do not have to report to campus. Swanich says all registration will be conducted online only unless otherwise indicated in the 2023 registration booklet, which is downloadable from the CPUT website link.

She says the students who have applied and meet the entrance requirements and have been fully accepted are allowed to register, “unless there is a restriction on their record prohibiting them from doing so – please refer to the 2023 registration booklet obtainable from the CPUT website”.

“CPUT is facing load shedding challenges, but the registration team is working very hard to ensure that all students receive the best service regardless of this challenge. Students are also reminded that they can apply and register from anywhere and do not have to report to campus,” Swanich says in her message to the prospective CPUT students and returning students.

She adds that she expects faculties to meet their enrolment targets. Furthermore, Swanich says the late applications are to follow the process as outlined in the late application guideline that will be announced on the CPUT website link Late Applications - CPUT.

Written by Aphiwe Boyce

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