Cape Peninsula University of Technology

CPUT’s formidable rugby team is ready to return to the FNB Varsity Shield tournament this year. They will be going head to head with Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in their first game, which is scheduled for February 22 in Pretoria.

Collaboration between content lecturers and their language counterparts can improve learning and teaching.

The role of content lecturers in teaching of language and literacies was discussed robustly at a Language Indaba held recently by the Language Working Group in collaboration with Fundani Centre for Higher Education Development’s Language Unit on the Bellville Campus.

This developmental initiative by CPUT was not only meant to initiate the interests of academics in the domain of Multilingualism in Higher Education and language development but also meant to explore a progressive dialogue in relation to viable strategies and possible interventions that could improve access to learning and possibly contribute to effective teaching.

“All lecturers should be of the view that they have responsibility to contribute to language teaching for betterment of their students,” says Nomxolisi Jantjies, Xhosa Language Specialist at CPUT.

“Therefore, the multi-literacies students bring with them should not only be seen as a challenge or hindrance but as a resource that they can tap into to gain access to the epistemologies of content specific language.”

Rhodes University’s Prof Chrissy Boughey said the most dominant understanding of curriculum decolonization is that it involves the inclusion of African content and thought and that the use of indigenous languages as languages of learning and teaching also featured strongly.

Boughey added that the use of indigenous languages as media of instruction impacts on the identity and well-being of students.

Prof. Sivakumar Sivasubramaniam, Head of Language Education at the University of the Western Cape, said students are not a statistics but have a voice and therefore should be heard.

Sivasubramaniam argued that students’ competencies can be maximized through giving them platforms to speak and practice their views.  

Next year CPUT will host the 5^th Annual Africa Engineering Week – an initiative jointly organised by UNESCO, the Department of Science and Technology and Engineering Council of South Africa.

Hundreds of qualifications were conferred during the CPUT Spring Graduation on the Bellville Campus today.

The event is one of the highlights of the CPUT academic calendar and provides the university with an opportunity to celebrate and recognise the achievements of students from all faculties.

During this year’s Spring Graduation CPUT will confer 989 diplomas and degrees, including 45 Masters and Doctoral degrees, in two ceremonies on the Bellville Campus.

This was the first graduation which Chancellor Thandi Modise presided over since her installation as CPUT chancellor, and marks a new era for the university.

Modise, who is also Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, has succeeded former Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel, who was the inaugural chancellor at CPUT.

The morning ceremony saw qualifications being conferred to students who completed academic programmes in the faculties of Applied Science, Business and Management Sciences, Education, Health and Wellness Sciences as well as Informatics and Design.

Acting Vice-chancellor, Dr Chris Nhlapo, told the audience that the day represents several years of study which required sacrifices not only from the graduates but also from their partners and family members.

“The number of our graduates show that we are making great strides in research and innovation,” said Nhlapo.

In the afternoon ceremony graduates in the Faculty of Engineering will be capped, including 21 Masters and Doctoral degrees.  

The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) welcomed its new Chancellor, Thandi Modise, in a ceremony attended by Minister of Higher Education Dr Blade Nzimande.

A conference which empowered young women in higher education with skills such as entrepreneurship, self-defence and personal branding was recently held on the Bellville Campus.