CPUT Capoeira is on the rise as three Capoeiristas have been invited to the United Kingdom to be trained by masters and professors of Capoeira from all over the world.

The trio, Nkosomzi Speelman, Bulela Ngodwane and Anver Sekadi, will be attending the 13th Anniversary of Abolicao Oxford Capoeira in the UK next month.

Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music, and is sometimes referred to as a game. It was developed in Brazil mainly by African descendants with native Brazilian influences around the 16th century.

“On return to South Africa we will share these skills with the other members of Abolicao South Africa,” says Speelman, Instructor of CPUT Capoeira Society Club.

“Because this will contribute to our ongoing work and project sustainability, we humbly request the CPUT community to support us by contributing donations to the group via DSA: Arts and Culture.”

Speelman has been involved in Capoeira for almost 9 years and was instrumental in the establishment of the CPUT club in 2011.

“Capoeira helps individuals to become physically active and learn important life skills such as teamwork, leadership and discipline.”

For more information about Capoeira visit http://www.abolicao-trust.org/ and www.abolicao.co.uk.

Written by Kwanele Butana

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CPUT has upped its gear on research and innovation by embracing the objectives of the Development Research Uptake in Sub-Saharan Africa (Drussa) programme that address its challenges as an emerging university of technology. 

CPUT is one of 24 universities in Africa selected to participate in the Drussa programme.

The programme aims to help universities develop capacity and strategies that will see locally contextualised developmental research outcomes used to address specific challenges in Africa. It also serves as a guide to universities on how to improve accessibility to their research outcomes, which can be used by organizations and governments to inform policies.

Funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, the programme will run over five years. During this period, various programmes and training courses will be rolled out.

The first training session kicked off in mid-September and saw representatives from the universities attend a short-course on Research Uptake Management and Science Communication.  Developed by the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST) at the University of Stellenbosch, the course is a first of its kind in Africa.

 In 2013 various programmes on formulating policies will be rolled-out.

CPUT’s  DVC Research, Technology Innovation & Partnerships will officially launch the program on Thursday, 4 October, at the Bellville Campus.

 In attendance will be representatives of the Drussa programme and 28 champions from across CPUT  that have been identified as key role-players in ensuring the university’s implementation of an effective Research Uptake strategy at CPUT.

By Candes Keating and Kwanele Butana

Written by CPUT News
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A group of Mechanical Engineering students are ready to jet off to the United Kingdom to compete in the 2012 Formula Student competition.

The event is the most prestigious educational motorsport competition, which sees students battle it out on the racing track, in single-seat racing cars they designed and built.

This is the first time CPUT will compete in the competition and is the only South African university to secure a place in this year’s competition.

ENGINEERING: Mechanical Engineering student Kerwyn Lategaan shows off the CPUT formula racing car

Run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), the competition aims to inspire and develop innovative young engineers by providing students with a real-life exercise in design, manufacture and the business elements of automotive engineering.

Prof Oscar Philander, head of the Adaptronic Advanced Manufacturing Technology Laboratory, under which the project falls, says this is a huge achievement for the students as well as for the institution.

“We are incredibly proud of our students and their achievement to make it this far in the competition,” he says.

Student group leader, Kerwyn Lategaan says the team is well prepared for the event that will take place during July in Silverstone.

Lategaan says the group of 15 students will compete in several track and off-track events, where processes such as costing and design will also be judged.

Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research, Technology Innovation and Partnerships, Dr Chris Nhlapo says CPUT fully supports this project.

“By focusing on innovation, the institution is setting itself apart from other universities of technology and by participating in Formula Student we afford our students the opportunity to be part of the testing ground for the next generation of world-class engineers,” he says.

By Candes Keating

Photographs by Mpho Ndou

Written by CPUT News
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A group of Mechanical Engineering students are hard at work putting the final touches to CPUT’s first Formula One racing car.

In a few weeks, the car will be packaged and shipped off to the United Kingdom where the group of 12 students will compete in the 2012 Formula Student competition.

The event, which takes place during July, sees students from across the globe battle it out on the racing track in cars they designed and built.

This is the first time CPUT will compete in this prestigious competition and to top it off we are also the only South African university to secure a place in this year’s event.

Lecturer Morne Riddles, who is supervising the students, says they recently started the car for the first time, which was a key moment in the project.

The drone of the engine brought shouts of joy from the students who have working on the project since its inception in 2010.

Riddles says the students have several weeks left to work on the racing car, which will be unveiled to the CPUT community at the end of April.

And students are positive that they will meet the deadline.

Fourth-year Btech student Chesire Adriaan says the bulk of the work is complete and all that is left to do is complete the outer shell of the car, which is made of carbon fibre.

The students will also complete a series of test runs over the next few weeks.

Student Sandisile Mbenene says the group is happy with the progress of the car.

 “We learnt so much and gained a lot of experience by being involved in this project,” he says.

Sandisile says he is positive CPUT will come out tops at the competition.

By Candes Keating

Written by CPUT News
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It’s official – a group of Mechanical Engineering students are set to jet off to the United Kingdom, where they will compete in the 2012 Formula Student competition.

The event is the most prestigious educational motorsport competition, which sees students battle it out on the racing track, in single-seat racing cars they designed and built.

This is the first time CPUT will compete in the competition, and to top it all off, CPUT is the only South African university to secure a place in this year’s competition.

The news of the selection brought shouts of joy from the team of 12 Mechanical Engineering students, who for the past year have been working around the clock on the car.

Morne Riddles, who is supervising the project, said this is a huge feat for CPUT.

Run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), the competition aims to inspire and develop innovative young engineers by providing students with a real-life exercise in design, manufacture and the business elements of automotive engineering.

Student group leader, Kerwyn Lategan, said the organizers gave universities a 130-page rule guide and brief, which they had to follow from the design to the manufacturing process.

He said they stepped up to the challenge and are now in the final stages of putting the vehicle together.

The group will compete in several track and off-track events, where processes such as costing and design will also being judged.

Student Michelle Minnaar said the group is looking forward to the event, which takes place in July.

“We are all both excited and a bit nervous,” she said.

Prof Oscar Philander, head of theAdaptronic Advanced Manufacturing Technology Laboratory, under which the project falls, said he is proud of the students.

However, he said the project would not have been such a success if it had not been for the help of CPUT support departments and individuals such as Christo Arnoldus, Sharon de Vos and Sarah Sacco.

“A large number of people made this project a success,” said Philander.

HARD WORK: Rushdia Benjamin cuts out foam, which is used to shape the shell of the racing car.

FINAL CHECK: Mechanical Engineering students do a final check on a foam replica of the car’s body. The foam structure is used to construct the shell of the car.

BEGINNINGS: A prototype of the racing car was unveiled by the students in late 2010. Work on the car began soon after the unveiling.  

By Candes Keating

Written by CPUT News
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CPUT’s 2014 Cape Speed team will take to the tracks at the Century City Karting Arena on Saturday, 6 December 2014.

The event is part of fundraising initiatives for the 2016 team who will compete in the International Formula Student event at Silverstone in the United Kingdom.

Event organiser, Dean Jacobs, says the public along with the CPUT community is invited to join the team on the race track.

The event starts at 4 pm.

• Pre-sale tickets are R90 (10 laps)
• Tickets at the door are R100 (10 laps)

For more information and ticket sales please contact the Cape Speed via Facebook or Dean Jacobs at 076 360 7263

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

The Department of Maritime Studies recently hosted Prof Benedict Knud, a Hochschule Wismar, University of Applied Sciences (HSW) representative, for the Erasmus Plus Euro-ZA Capacity building project in the field of Maritime education.

Samantha Montes, Department of Maritime Studies: Senior Maritime Instructor, Survival Centre, says the primary goal of the Erasmus+ capacity building project in Maritime Education and Training (MET) that is currently taking place between the six participating maritime universities is to develop systems processes to aid the development of Maritime Education and Training. “The objective is to develop a clear mapping of the focus areas that each institution needs to modify to have a recognised curriculum amongst the six institutions,” Montes explains.

Knud delivered three guest lecturing sessions at the Granger Bay campus. ​

The three lectures were on:

• Life & Study - global tendencies and individual aspects for beginner students" (referring to a sample of the EURO ZA project).
• Life & Study - Global Picture and the Role of Simulation in Maritime Studies and Ship Operation" – From Wooden Ship Models to Fast Time Simulation Systems - (referring to a sample of EURO ZA project)
• The role of Simulation in Maritime studies and ship operation - Demonstration of Fast Time Simulation SAMMON and ARROW tool" (referring to a sample of EURO ZA project).

Knud says the reason specifically for the meetings is “our partnership in the EURO ZA project where three universities from Europe and three from South Africa (CPUT, Durban University of Technology and Nelson Mandela University) are working together to improve the maritime education and training – exchanging information about their curricula and equipment and contributing with lectures. “Therefore, I delivered three presentations here at CPUT to students and lecturers,” he remarks.

Reflecting on his visit, Knud says: Cape Town is a beautiful city – even under Covid-19 impact. And the lectures and meetings were perfectly organised. So, it has been great…”

“They manage the campus and the Maritime Education & Training so well, even under difficult conditions in South Africa with less money than in Europe. And most of all, the friendliness of the people and to even feel the joy of life even under complicated conditions due to Covid-19.”

Montes adds that the project comprises six partner universities from Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom and South Africa. “The benefit to CPUT Department of Maritime Studies is the introduction to simulation as a research tool with special reference to:  

• Ship’s dynamic for efficient manoeuvres (this is using the SAMMON planning software tool)
• Avoiding dangerous rolling and other wave effects in heavy weather (this is using the ARROW software tool).”

She says Prof Knud has a very engaging YouTube channel that is highly informative and offers case studies of maritime casualties and routine ship handling.  “To see one of his lectures in person was most beneficial to the students because it allowed them to engage directly with him and his experience. As an experienced seafarer, I found the philosophical approach to simulation most intriguing; this is a concept I had not considered previously.”

Montes enjoyed that the two disciplines of studies in the department (Marine Engineering and Nautical Science) were exposed to the same lectures and that they understood that their actions onboard a ship could not be seen as not impacting other areas of seafaring.  “For every action, there is a reaction. This also illustrates the need for effective communication and teamwork (Engine Room Management, Bridge Team Management).”

She was also impressed by the “depth of knowledge and that the ideas were unique” and how Knud “developed the software and the concepts”.  In his message to the CPUT community, Knud says: “I do wish you all the best for the future – overcoming the drawbacks due to Covid-19 constraints and the respective problems in shipping currently existing.”

Written by Aphiwe Boyce

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