CPUT has graduated its first batch of lecturers in a short course on Service Learning and Community Engagement.

The regional programme was coordinated by the Community Interaction Centre at Stellenbosch University in partnership with the Community Engagement Unit at UWC and the Service-Learning Unit at CPUT.

SL and CE have become core functions of the higher education sphere in recent years and through teaching, learning and research- universities are encouraged to engage with the communities around them to solve a variety of societal issues.

CPUT’s own SL unit won a top prize at a recent conference attended by all Universities of Technology and was commended for great strides taken in encouraging all courses to adopt the programme.

Lecturers Nicholas Pinfold, Pavla Mokeona, Fattinald Rangogo, Dr Felix Nchu and Desmond Jackson kept CPUTs flag high during the short course with three of them graduating with distinction.

All of the lecturers are already involved in highly successful projects with Pinfold’s class having redesigned the layout of an informal settlement and Jackson’s class having used innovative sandbag building techniques in the construction of low cost housing. Mokeona’s project includes a partnership with WESGROW to develop emerging enterprises and Nchu’s students train the community to establish and improve their food gardens.

The graduates were part of an inaugural class selected from the three universities and it is hoped the course will later become mandatory for all lecturers at higher education institutions who engage in Service-Learning.

Written by Lauren Kansley

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

A Cape Flats informal settlement is the latest to have received a multi-million rand facelift with the help of CPUT students.

The new-look Flamingo Crescent settlement in Lansdowne was officially launched in February by the mayor of Cape Town Patricia De Lille, after a three and a half year wait.

The camp, which is now called Flamingo Heights after its revamp, used to have only two taps and seven working toilets for 102 households while the walkways were water logged and unhygienic.

Thanks to a R2.6 million cash injection from the city the camp now features a tap and toilet for every household, service roads for emergency vehicles, a newly built crèche and new fire resistant dwellings.

CPUT’s Town and Regional Planning students assisted the development by engaging with the community during the remapping process. The completed project now means that every household has its own address and is able to receive mail.

BEFORE: A view of what the informal settlement looked like in 2014

Lecturer Rayner Moodley says the Flamingo Heights project was a tangible example of how planners need to be involved from the very start.

“Flamingo Heights is a fantastic real life story,  after four years we finally have a completed model that epitomizes how community partnerships which are facilitated by professional planners and academia can produce a successful output,” he says.

AFTER: The revamped Flamingo Heights

Lecturer Nicholas Pinfold says the Flamingo Heights project epitomizes the spirit of Ubuntu.

“It has created collective knowledge and experience among people through the process of learning and doing together in the spirit of Ubuntu,” he says.

Written by Lauren Kansley

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

CPUT staff and students have once again made a valuable contribution to the success of the annual Jazz on the Rocks Festival, which was held at the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve on the West Coast.

The festival not only boosts tourism to the Paternoster area but also helps to empower young people through skills development.
Last year CPUT’s Town and Regional Planning and Architecture Department joined forces with Camissa Solutions to train youngsters from the area in mapping skills and the project was extended this year.

Jacqui Scheepers, manager of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Unit at CPUT, says that this year staff and students from the Faculties of Informatics and Design and Health and Wellness Sciences worked hand in hand with Camissa Solutions.

Town and Regional Planning students trained local youth in the art of map reading. which they would use to assist guests find their plots during the festival, while Emergency Medical Care students worked in shifts to support the medical teams on site.

“Together with the Service-Learning Unit, lecturers like Nicholas Pinfold (Department of Town and Regional Planning), Navindhra Naidoo, Llizane Mcdonald and Daglin Thomas (Department of Emergency Medical Sciences) were instrumental in the launch, coordination and implementation of the project on site before and during the festival. In partnership with Camissa Solutions, the next phase will include follow up training sessions with unemployed West Coast youth.”

She said the students did CPUT proud with their professional attitude and theoretical knowledge of their disciplines. Clarence Ford from Camissa Solutions looks forward to a continued fruitful relationship with CPUT.

“Together with CPUT we are building communities.”

Dale Sparrow, a fourth-year EMS student says the project was a great experience for final year students to develop their managerial skills.

“Setting up a medical unit in the field is an important aspect for our future qualification,” he says.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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The Faculty of Informatics and Design is celebrating the success of two academics today, both of whom were awarded their doctorates during Monday afternoon’s ceremony.

Nicholas Pinfold, from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, was awarded a Doctor of Applied Arts in Design. His thesis is titled Testing middle ground: Facilitating community transition to sustainable land governance.

His supervisor was Prof Masilonyane Mokhele.

Veronica Barnes from the Department of Applied Design was awarded a DTech Design. The title of her thesis is: Empathy in practice: A grounded theory in Industrial Design.

Her supervisors were Prof LJ Theo and Dr Vikki Eriksson.

Pinfold said doing his doctorate had been thrilling and demanding “with deep reflection and unwavering dedication”.

“I believe finishing my doctorate is a significant way to wrap things up considering I will be retiring next year.”

He expressed his “sincere appreciation and indebtedness” to Mokhele, “for his unfailing interest and his ever-ready guidance and advice throughout my research”.

Pinfold said he spent the initial twenty-five years of his career, working in both the public and private sectors within the geomatics profession before embarking on a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of the Free State.

He joined CPUT in 2008.

He said given his academic focus on community engagement, the most rewarding aspect of his journey has been contributing to the development of communal settlements in the Western Cape.

“Community engagement stands as one of the three foundational pillars of higher education in South Africa, alongside research and teaching/learning. I have found great satisfaction in integrating these pillars, through my research in community engagement, and conducting service-learning projects within the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.”

Barnes said completing doctoral studies is a test of endurance, and “a testament to your support network who need to carry you often”.

“I am so grateful for the care I received from my family and friends during this studying period.”

She said studying part-time while continuing her duties as an academic brought its challenges.

“When studying part time as an academic with classes of students, those real people easily demand the best of your attention and it's difficult to prioritise your own studies. However, I love discovering new things, and this is what research is all about. My topic related to empathy and design was vague, contentious and troublesome, and wrangling with that intricacy was very satisfying ultimately (even though it often felt awful in the middle).”

She said her supervisors were excellent at asking difficult questions, which she appreciated.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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