Prof Izak Van Zyl, who has been recently appointed as Director: Centre for Postgraduate Studies (CPGS), says he wants to develop the centre’s academic capacity, in line with the university’s Vision 2030.

“I want to position the CPGS strategically as a postgraduate hub that offers more than just administrative support,” adds Van Zyl. To achieve this, he is working towards three goals, namely, to increase the number and quality of postgraduates (including postdoctoral fellows), to increase the number and quality of research and creative outputs, and finally, to enhance the postgraduate student experience. “Achieving these objectives will take time and energy, but they form a critical part of the five-year strategic plan which I have developed for the centre,” he reveals.

Van Zyl is grateful that since 2017 he had been working under the tutelage of great leaders in the Faculty of Informatics and Design “who helped me grow both academically and personally”. “I’ve forged strong relationships with colleagues who have supported me in my various endeavours in the faculty and broader university.”

He says he is very excited and grateful for his latest appointment. “It came as a wonderful surprise to be offered the position after a rigorous (and nerve-wracking) interview process,” he adds.

“I want to thank all colleagues who have expressed their support in the past few weeks.

“I am also immensely grateful to the previous Acting Director, Prof Dina Burger, for her encouragement and support, as well as to the DVC RTIP, Dr David Phaho, and all members of senior management, for backing me in this position,” acknowledges Van Zyl.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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CPUT’s journey to Vision 2030 was unpacked during a recent event-themed Navigating Obstacles: Scenario Planning for Vision 2030. Renowned strategist, best-selling business author, and founding partner of Mindofafox and its education and training arm, Growing Foxes, Chantell Ilbury, was the guest speaker at the event, held at the Auditorium on the Bellville Campus.

Prof Driekie Hay-Swemmer, Executive Director in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, welcomed guests, who described the event as an exciting moment for the institution.

In his keynote address, Vice-Chancellor Prof Chris Nhlapo said the institution had chosen to be a Smart University before the end of this decade.

“We are under no illusion that it will be easy towards 2030. It will be a rough road, but we’ll ultimately ascend the heights of greatness.”

Nhlapo said the strategy re-imagines CPUT as a leading university of technology in SA, the continent and the globe.

“The magnum opus in the making must bear the hallmark of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), hence the MIT of Africa mantra.”

He said it had been agreed that the next phase should be dedicated to building an innovative university, and “everything that we do must support oneness and smartness”.

“There is a framework for one smart CPUT. In this framework, we agree that we will follow a focused approach as far as this strategy is concerned.”

This approach is made up of seven focus areas:

• A Smart ITC environment and ITC workforce
• Smart Teaching and Learning and Smart Learning Environments
• Smart RTIP that is relevant and excellent in its knowledge production
• Smart Human Capital and Talent
• Smart Internationalisation
• Smart Engagement and strong links with quintuple helix partners
• Brilliant Student Engagements and Learning Experiences

The Vice-Chancellor continued: “The emphasis on oneness is directed at creating one institutional culture because culture is quality, a sense of belonging, an environment where everyone strives towards the same goal, taking pride in who we are and how we conduct our business as a university, working as teams, taking collective responsibility for our future, breaking down silos, working across the departments, units, centres, faculties disciplines and research focus areas, evident by a steep sense of caring about the wellness of others in the workplace and the future of the university. “

He invited all stakeholders to join the institution on the One Smart CPUT journey “as we create futures”.

“One Smart CPUT is focused on more than the technological world. It is our renewed contract with human centricity, and our biggest assets and resources are our people.”

Illbury’s presentation focused on scenario planning in terms of possible obstacles to the Vision 2030 journey.

This was followed by a lively Q&A session facilitated by programme director Prof Paul Green, with Nhlapo and Illbury as panellists.

The event concluded with a spectacular laser show encompassing the journey to Vision 2030.

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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Engagements between CPUT academics and their overseas counterparts provide the space for open creative discussions, emanating innovative ideas that can be operationalised. This led to realising the CPUT’s Smart Internationalisation strategy in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences.

This was said by Prof Paul Green, Dean of Business and Management Sciences, while welcoming a delegation from the Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administracao do Porto in Portugal.

“As a faculty and university at large, we nurture collaborations of this nature as they speak to our new decade Vision 2030, which asserts that ‘The development of a multi-cultural ecosystem characterises an internationalised university to provide an educational experience that prepares our staff and students at all levels, for a global environment’. The realisation of this vision, and in particular our Smart Internationalisation strategy within our Faculty, and where the real work takes place, is in engagements of this nature, which provide the place and space for open, creative discussions, emanating in innovative ideas which can be operationalised,” added Green.

The purpose of this collaboration is primarily to focus on teaching, research, and postgraduate supervision. Some staff members from the Business and Information Administration (BIA) Department travelled to Porto in 2019, and a Memorandum of Understanding was put in place to formalize the partnership in addition to the ICM (E+) (a funded agreement), which was successfully applied for in 2018.

The exchange programme was initiated in 2015, and a good working relationship with Dr Alexandra Albuquerque, the Head of International Relations, was established by CPUT’s Dr Shairn Hollis-Turner.

A mobility agreement was initially signed in 2019, which was set to expire in 2021 but was extended to July 2022 due to the impact of COVID-19 and the subsequent country lockdowns that affected all the travel planned for 2020 and 2021.

Written by Kwanele Butana

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CPUT recently became the newest member of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) South Africa.

The SDSN promotes integrated approaches to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, through education, research, policy analysis and global cooperation.

It has over 1 800 members in 53 networks across 146 countries.

Dr Yolande Steenkamp, Network Manager: SDSN South Africa, said that for institutions like CPUT, the benefits of entering this international network - the largest of its kind globally - are enormous.

“Not only could they become involved in some of the global or national workstreams, they could also create workstreams based on their own strengths,” she said.

The institution hopes to contribute to the network through transdisciplinary research projects, activities and initiatives.

CPUT’s Vision 2030 is geared towards building One Smart CPUT. Its development was influenced by the hype of introducing the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Artificial Intelligence and the explosion of education and technological developments while also taking into consideration the National Development Plan and the United Nations SDGs.

“The SDSN will help strengthen collaborations, research and postgraduate training, funding opportunities, staff and student training, student exchange, information, knowledge and data sharing and networking,” said Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Technology Innovation and Partnerships, Dr David Phaho.

Last month, CPUT participated in the SDSN South Africa Coffee Chat and had the opportunity to present some of the initiatives that address the SDGs.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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