The Cape Peninsula University of Technology Council has a new Chairperson and Deputy Chair.

Dr Laurine Platzky accepted her nomination to the position of Council Chairperson while Dumisani Gumbi is the new Deputy Chair. Both are experienced CPUT Council members, with Platzky being a member since 2018, while previously holding the position of Deputy Chairperson between 2020 and 2022.

Council is the highest institutional decision-making body, and its members are a mix of government appointees or are drawn from Senate, SRC, academic or non-academic staff and Convocation. Some of the Council’s duties include establishing committees as well as their function, making institutional rules and regulations, refining entrance requirements and the student admission policy amongst other functions.

Platzky is a former Deputy Director in the Western Cape Government where she headed projects related to economic development, tourism, cultural affairs and sport. She was also the Western Cape Co-ordinator of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Apart from her position on the CPUT Council, Platzky has also been a member of the Governing Board of the Western Cape Liquor Authority (2018-2022), and continues to work part-time on academic projects.

Gumbi has been working as an ICT Assurance professional for 17 years specialising in IT Governance, Information Governance, Data Privacy and IT Compliance. He is currently the Group IT Governance and Compliance Senior Manager for a large listed South African Insurer, and is the Western Cape regional director for ISACA’s South Africa Chapter.

Both Platzky and Gumbi are passionate about mentoring the next generation of youth and are committed to ensuring Council maintains its commitment to ethical governance, which has ensured a stable and sound university.

“As a public university, we will rise above vested interests and serve the broad and urgent needs of South African society, through preparing ethical and competent graduates with resilience and problem-solving abilities, who contribute to sustainable development in a rapidly changing country and world,” says Platzky.”

Gumbi describes himself as a “spirited change agent” who believes in the undying spirit and tenacity of our people.

“As a leader in the Governance, IT and assurance sectors, I am passionate about paying it forward and mentoring the next generation of leaders. My experience with the Allan Grey Orbus Foundation, means I am able to support and guide future leaders.”

Written by Lauren Kansley
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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

Outgoing Press Ombud Pippa Green was the guest speaker at the recent Media Mingle event, hosted by the Marketing and Communication Department.

The event, held at the Cape Town Hotel School, was testimony to the calibre of journalism graduates produced by CPUT, with many of the editors and journalists in attendance having graduated from the institution.

It was also attended by Vice-Chancellor, Prof Chris Nhlapo, other members of the Executive Management, the Deputy Chairperson of Council, Dr Laurine Platzky and Deputy Press Ombud, Tyrone August.

Green’s address centred around the shared responsibilities of public institutions. like CPUT, as well as the media and how working together benefits both.

“Ethics is not a nice-to-have. It’s an essential part of the free media, we can’t survive without it. And, if our currency is trust … then the public needs to know that there are transparent standards and checks and balances. Otherwise, with the financial crisis that the media faces at the moment, there will be no distinction between who’s reliable and who’s not,” Green stated.

* The Press Council, the Press Ombud and the Appeals Panel are an independent co-regulatory mechanism set up by the print and online media to provide impartial, expeditious and cost-effective adjudication to settle disputes between newspapers, magazines and online publications, on the one hand, and members of the public, on the other, over the editorial content of publications.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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Journalists and editors from various broadcasters and media houses across the city gathered at the Cape Town Hotel School recently for the annual Media Mingle.

The attendees included former Press Ombud, Pippa Green, Chairperson of the CPUT Council, Dr Laurine Platzky, Deputy Press Ombud, Tyrone August and several proud alumni of the Journalism Department, many of whom hold prominent positions in their newsrooms.

The event, which was organised by the Marketing and Communication Department, presented an opportunity for networking as well as discussion between the University and the media representatives.

Guests were welcomed by Media Liaison Officer, Lauren Kansley, before Dr Garth van Gensen, Director of the Marketing and Communication Department introduced guest speaker, John Bailey.

The eNCA Managing Editor and former China Bureau Chief shared his perceptions on leadership and some of his life experiences before a question and answer session with the audience.

This included the importance of teamwork, leading with empathy and having a clear vision of what you want to achieve.

“I think that as leaders …you have to embrace the power that you have as the leadership but you also have to be comfortable taking those uncomfortable decisions as to what you want to achieve for your organisation because you have to be able to challenge the status quo,” he said to the leaders in the room.

“As the fourth estate you have to push the boundaries all the time. If you’re not going to push the boundaries you are not going to make any differences or any change.”

In his address, Vice-Chancellor, Prof Chris Nhlapo, said journalism was under increasing threat from Artificial Intelligence, social media and regressive governments, amongst other things.

“However, I urge you to continue working in the challenging sector as many ordinary South Africans like myself rely on you to continue to hold power to account or as we normally, say holding their feet to the fire.”

He said this included holding leaders of higher education institutions to account.

Nhlapo took the opportunity to “welcome home” the journalism alumni present.

“I know that the majority of you in the room are either products of the told Pentech or trained here at CPUT. The Department of Journalism here at CPUT is widely recognised as one of the best providers of premium media education.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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