Engineering & the Built Environment

Faculty Overview

The Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment covers a broad range of engineering disciplines, which respond to the demands of regional, national and global industry priorities in engineering education. Through a range of multi-disciplinary research institutes and centres, the faculty aims to integrate its education and research programmes into a cohesive system, providing students with modern technology platforms for relevant and industry-responsive education with a high degree of work-integrated learning. These platforms include the Product Life Cycle Management Competency Centre, providing state-of-the-art education in product design through simulation and life-cycle management, the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Laboratory, and the Centre for Substation Automation and Energy Management Systems, to mention a few. Through this approach, the Faculty aims to emerge as a major driver of socio-economic change in the region. Regional, national, and international partnerships provide an essential mechanism for research and technology transfer while simultaneously developing opportunities for the international student experience. The Satellite Technology Programme under the French South Africa Technology Initiative, amongst others, is a high-impact example of such a partnership.

As part of the University of Technology, our mandate requires participation in community-based and SME projects, with a strong emphasis on commercialisation, providing a platform for technology transfer and spin-off technology enterprises. In this way, we provide our students and researchers with opportunities to engage at the highest level of engineering and continue to impact on the development of high-end engineering skills as a basis for industrial competitiveness.

We offer 39 undergraduate and 22 postgraduate qualifications. What sets our qualifications apart from those of a traditional university is the work-integrated learning components that are scaffolded into and form an integral part of the curriculum, including workplace-based learning.

The relevant professional bodies accredit the qualifications offered by the faculty, and to ensure that qualifications retain the accreditation status, the faculty works closely with all five of our professional bodies, namely:

• Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA)
• South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP)
• South African Council for the Quantity Surveying Profession (SACQSP)
• South African Geomatics Council (SAGC), and
• South African Maritime Safety Authority​ (SAMSA) 

The faculty strives to deliver high-quality accredited academic qualifications and develop graduates who can go out into the world and respond to the local, national, and international needs that will impact society.

Vision

To be a leading faculty of engineering & the built environment that advances knowledge through science, technology, and innovation for the benefit of society.

Mission

To be a self-sustaining faculty that is responsive and relevant; environmentally conscious, and renowned for its innovation in teaching, research, and technology development, and produce graduates that contribute to society.