Academic excellence and determination were at the centre of the recent Vice-Chancellor’s Prestigious Achievers Awards ceremony where the new cohort of recipients were celebrated.
The ceremony, held at the Cape Town Hotel School on the Granger Bay campus, also celebrated the success of four awardees who have graduated.
The awards programme was started in 2018 and is bestowed annually on deserving Master’s and Doctoral students who have shown academic excellence and an embodiment of the CPUT graduate attributes.
The 2022 awardees are:
- Oritonda Muribwathoho (completing a Doctor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering. Her research title is: Development of metal matrix composites suitable for hulls and ship decks.
- Murendeni Nethengwe (completing a Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences) Her research title is: Evaluation of antioxidant potential and mechanism of action of phenolic compounds from South African indigenous plants used in the management of diabetes-related male infertility.
- Shaun Mgoma (completing a Doctor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering). His research title is: Recovery of valuable compounds from agricultural food using green technologies: Process design and Techno-economic analysis.
- Bongisiwe Zozo (completing a Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry). Her research title is: Purification and characterisation of the native black soldier fly larva Protein.
- Mzoxolo Ntabeni (Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering. His research title: The influence of academic and industry-specific project management qualifications on the effectiveness of project managers in the construction industry.
The four recipients who have graduated are:
- Dr Yvonne Maphosa (Doctor of Food Science and Technology)
- Dr Imisioluseyi Akinyede (Doctor of Engineering in Civil Engineering)
- Sivenathi Jayiya (Master of Public Relations Management)
- Sihle Ngxabi (Master of Horticultural Science)
Chairperson of the Awards Committee, Prof Joseph Kioko, said the recipients have the potential to achieve great things.
Kioko said that too often, such excellent potential is extinguished by a lack of funds or resources, resulting in many brilliant, possibly life-changing dreams being deferred, often forever.
“Fortunately, humanity has in itself the ability to provide the spark or the fuel that would keep those lights shining all the way to a brighter future. For a fitting example of what we can all do, one needs to look no further than people and entities like the Mauerberger Foundation Fund and its chairperson, Advocate Diana Yach. The foundation has been generously supporting these awards and has ensured that the spark in many bright minds at CPUT has been kept alive. On behalf of the committee, I’d like to express our deep gratitude to Advocate Yach.”
Recipient Oritonda Muribwathoho said she was immensely thankful for the award, adding that it would mean “less stress” and allow her to focus on her studies.
Vice-Chancellor Prof Chris Nhlapo saluted the recipients and said he hoped that some of the recipients would become professors and vice-chancellors at the institution.
Yach said she was pleased to announce that the amount allocated to CPUT was being increased this year.
She said the awardees had fulfilled the dreams set out when the awards programme was first established.
Written by Ilse Fredericks
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