Cape Peninsula University of Technology

No single event captures the incredible breadth of intramural and extramural research as effectively as the annual CPUT Research Festival 2024.

The jam-packed event stretched over four days, The first day of the 2024 Institutional Research Festival kicked off with a welcome address by Vice-Chancellor Prof Chris Nhlapo in which he encouraged the continued support for the focus areas:

• The environment, climate change and sustainability
• Bioeconomy and biotechnology
• Space Science, Engineering and Technology
• Smart energy
• Human, Health and Social dynamics
• Digital society

Day one of the festival also focused on integrating work-focused research and the world of business and served as a platform to showcase and celebrate research achievements across various disciplines. The keynote speech was provided by Dr Sharman Wickham from the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC). Dr Abeda Dawood Division Manager of Research Capacity Development (RCD) at the South African Medical Research Council made a presentation on RCD grants, such as self-initiated research grants, scholarships, and other research capacity development programmes at SAMRC.

Prof Dina Burger: Director: Directorate Research Development, said: “This is also the first time in South Africa that a Research Festival of this magnitude has taken place and as CPUT we should be proud that we have pioneered such an important opportunity to come together and celebrate the dedicated hard work of so many research work that has taken place with the singular aim to improve the lives of our communities through quintuple helix partnerships.”

In what used to be a Research Day, Burger said their scope of research has grown in leaps and bounds to such an extent that “it is actually impossible to just focus on our research achievements in one day”. “This is where we developed the concept of a research festival where we can place a magnifying glass on the full scope of our research endeavours inclusive of research integrity and ethics of our research and our postgraduate achievements.”

She said through their CHEC partnership they are doing highly impactful research that is taken up by society for the benefit of society. “There are also a number of evidence-based research projects undertaken as a result of the support given by CHEC. The possibility to also celebrate the extent to which we undertake mode 2 and 3 research with quintuple helix partners aligns well with our Vision 2030 especially when there is a growing body of evidence of transdisciplinary research taking place across the institution.”

Burger said the first Research Festival has also allowed multiple internal and external stakeholders and CHEC partners to exhibit the research that they do collaboratively and has offered an opportunity for academic researchers, captains of industry, sister university academic researchers, and higher education leaders as well as local and provincial government leaders to come together for one week to further explore opportunities and deepen the commitment to undertake collaborative research and innovation impacting the society.

“I am of the opinion that we have achieved our goal... What is most important for me is that an important ecosystem has joined hands and has come together to find mutual opportunities to undertake more research and generate more innovations for the betterment of society and solving the challenges that we are confronted with.”

The last day of the conference included several individual paper presentations with themed colloquia centred around Research Focus Area 1: Bioeconomy and Biotechnology and Research Focus Area 3: Smart Energy.

The day also included a reflection session and certificate ceremony for participants of the Sisonke Supervision Mentoring Programme.

The day’s highlights included the awarding of certificates and awards to National Research Foundation-rated researchers as well as for research excellence.

Burger said: “We feel proud of this achievement, but we also do not wish to take credit for the success of the festival by ourselves, as credit should go to the staff, we worked tirelessly to make the festival possible, our CHEC partners, our academic staff, our phenomenal postgraduate students and our industry and broader community stakeholders. We also need to reflect more on how to improve the scale and reach of the next Research Festival and the mode of delivery.”

She added: “We ultimately think that this festival has the potential to include our myriads of African partners as well as our growing network of international partners.”

Ethics in Research was the focus of Day two of CPUT’s annual Research Festival, recently held at the District Six campus.

The festival stretched over four days and this year’s theme was Relevant, Responsive and Focused Research and Innovation for Societal Impact.

Dr Jerome Kiley, senior lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences’ Human Resource Management Department, delivered a thought-provoking talk on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Research Ethics.

He said there was no straightforward answer to the question of AI and ethics.

Some of the ethical concerns discussed included privacy and consent, transparency and disclosure, data sensitivity, fair use and copyright, bias and representation, data security and anonymisation, and the impact on online communities.

The event also featured roundtable discussions, including one around informed consent, which touched on issues such as informed consent in research involving vulnerable individuals, when the process starts and when it ends, and the various elements of informed consent.

Prof Johan Bester, Associate Dean for Pre-clerkship Curriculum at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in the United States, delivered an online presentation titled: Autonomy as Ethical Principal in Research. Why it Matters and Present Challenges.

Some of the “take-home” thoughts that he left the audience with included:

• Vulnerable people must get special protection.
• Research involving children must consider the best interest of the child.

He said: “There are many different professional obligations for the researcher. They are not all reducible to autonomy. Autonomy is very important, but it's not the only thing you should be worried about. You should also be worried about beneficence, about justice, about risk reduction, and risk avoidance.”

In a strategic initiative aimed at contributing towards increasing research output within CPUT, the Directorate Research Development brought together academics from numerous disciplines and other stakeholders for a week of celebrating research excellence at the Institutional Research Festival 2024.

Day one of the conference focused on integrating work-focused research and the world of business while day two focused on ethics in research. The third day marked the start of a two-day conference centred around CPUT’s Research Focus Areas.

This event marked a defining moment in the institution's commitment to groundbreaking research and academic excellence as Vice-Chancellor Prof Chris Nhlapo, put it in his welcoming address: “The concept of excellence in higher education is very elusive strangely misunderstood, sometimes charged politicised. Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. The University’s raison d’atre is to create a stimulating, challenging and rewarding environment. Therefore, thank you to CPUT for Investing in excellence. Let us always accept where we are and agree where we want to be in 2030!”

Nhlapo also emphasised the importance of good governance in the institution.

Prof Stephanie Burton from Advancing Early Career Researchers and Scholars (AECRS) urged the academics to avail themselves as mentors to emerging academics as she outlined capacity development platforms in the AECRS programmes.

Amongst the speakers was Deputy Mayor of Cape Town, Alderman Eddie Andrews, who decisively addressed the conference on: Relevant, Responsive and Focused Research and the need to tackle urban governance challenges. Andrews asserted the urgent need to confront urban governance challenges. He firmly stated that collaboration between the City and the private sector is essential to effectively tackle social issues and drive significant progress in our communities.

The Research Festival concluded with the awarding of certificates and awards to National Research Foundation-rated researchers as well as for research excellence. The following awards for excellence in research activities were made:

Research Publication – 2021 publications

• Platinum - Prof Vipin Balyan (Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment)
• Gold - Dr Velaphi Msomi (Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment)
• Silver - Prof Robertson Tengeh (Faculty of Business & Management Sciences)
• Silver - Prof Oluwafemi Oguntibeju (Faculty of Health & Wellness Sciences)
• Bronze - Prof Tiko Iyamu (Faculty of Informatics & Design)

Postgraduate Supervision – December 2021 and April 2022 graduations

• Platinum - Dr Larry Jowah (Faculty of Business & Management Sciences)
• Gold - Prof Tiko Iyamu (Faculty of Informatics & Design)
• Silver - Prof Johannes Cronje (Faculty of Informatics & Design)
• Bronze - Prof Vipin Balyan (Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment)
• Bronze - Prof Charles Laubscher (Faculty of Applied Sciences)
• Bronze - Dr Velaphi Msomi (Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment)

Research Publication – 2022 publications

• Platinum - Prof Tiko Iyamu (Faculty of Informatics & Design)
• Gold - Prof Victoria Jideani (Faculty of Applied Sciences)
• Silver - Prof Rodney Duffett (Faculty of Business & Management Sciences)
• Bronze - Prof Vipin Balyan (Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment)

Postgraduate Supervision – December 2022 & April 2023 graduations

• Platinum - Dr Larry Jowah (Faculty of Business & Management Sciences)
• Gold - Prof Robertson Tengeh (Faculty of Business & Management Sciences)
• Silver - Prof Atanda Raji (Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment)
• Bronze - Prof Justine Daramola (Faculty of Informatics & Design)
• Bronze - Prof Andre de la Harpe (Faculty of Business & Management Sciences)

Postgraduate Supervision – December 2023 & April 2024 graduations

• Platinum - Prof Mohamed Kahn (Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment)
• Gold - Prof Andre de la Harpe (Faculty of Business & Management Sciences)
• Silver - Prof Atanda Raji (Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment)
• Silver - Prof Michael Twum-Darko (Faculty of Business & Management Sciences)
• Bronze - Prof Tiko Iyamu (Faculty of Informatics & Design)

External Funding – For 2023

• Platinum - Dr Conrad Sparks (Faculty of Applied Sciences)
• Gold - Prof Tandi Matsha (Faculty of Health & Wellness Sciences)
• Silver - Prof Tunde Ojumu (Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment)
• Bronze - Dr Kessie Govender (Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment)
• Bronze - Dr Pamela Welz (Applied Microbial & Health Biotechnology Institute)

Dr Vusi Mshayisa, an esteemed researcher and lecturer at the Department of Food Science and Technology (DFST), charmed the audience with his insightful oral presentation at the National Research Foundation (NRF) Next Generation and Emerging Researchers (NGER) Symposium, held recently in Boksburg.

This prestigious event was designed to foster collaboration, knowledge exchange, and the presentation of groundbreaking research among postgraduate and emerging researchers, all in alignment with the NRF’s 2030 vision of “Research for a Better Society.”

Mshayisa’s insightful oral presentation was titled “Edible Insect Flours: Proximate, Physicochemical, and Functional Properties for Sustainable Food.” His presentation received a standing ovation and was lauded as a “masterclass” by attendees.

This showcased Mshayisa’s expertise and dedication to sustainable food innovation. At the gala dinner, he was honoured with the award for Best Oral Presentation, presented by Dr Gugu Moche, Acting DCEO of RIISA and Group Executive: Digital Transformation.

Expressing his gratitude, he dedicated the award to his mentor, Prof Jessy Van Wyk, who has been instrumental in spearheading the edible insect research initiatives at CPUT. Mshayisa also acknowledged the hard work and commitment of his students, “who have been pivotal in advancing this research field”. He highlighted that this accolade not only reflects his dedication “but also the collective efforts of CPUT’s Department of Food Science and Technology to position itself as a leader in sustainable food research”.

“This award is a testament to the hard work and passion driving our research on sustainable food sources,” He enthused, saying: “It is a small yet significant step toward putting CPUT on the map as a hub for impactful research and innovation.”

Dr Vusi Mshayisa, a leading researcher from the Department of Food Science and Technology (DFSC) recently embarked on a significant academic visit to Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in Kenya.

Funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) Thuthuka project, Mshayisa’s visit marked an important step in fostering deeper collaborations around the research of edible insects, as well as advancing learning and teaching activities across the continent.

He also delivered a keynote address titled: "Food Security Matters: Unravelling the Nutritional, Structural, and Techno-Functional Properties of Edible Insects." This presentation captivated both staff and students at JKUAT, sparking substantial interest in the potential of edible insects for food production. With Africa facing increasing challenges in food security, Mshayisa’s work in this area highlights the growing importance of exploring alternative protein sources, such as edible insects, to address nutritional gaps and promote sustainable food practices across the continent.

He also conducted a highly anticipated webinar titled "Revolutionizing Higher Education: How AI and Blended Learning are Shaping the Classroom," which was attended by over 144 participants from institutions worldwide. The webinar explored the transformative power of artificial intelligence and blended learning models in higher education, focusing on how these technologies are being integrated to personalise learning, enhance student engagement, and support educators. With blended learning combining online and in-person methods, Mshayisa emphasised its role in creating more flexible, student-centered environments, “ultimately making education more accessible to diverse learners”.

Amongst the participants were CPUT, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, the University of Nairobi, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, and other educational and research bodies across Kenya, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and beyond. “This international interest underscores the relevance of AI and blended learning in reshaping the educational landscape globally,” Mshayisa noted.

His visit underlines the significance of African academic collaborations in tackling key societal challenges, such as food security, “while also enhancing the quality of education through innovative technologies”. His work in edible insect research continues to position CPUT at the forefront of sustainable food production, and his insights into AI in education “are helping pave the way for the future of learning on the continent”.

“As part of the growing partnership between CPUT and JKUAT, future research endeavors will focus on further advancing edible insect projects, including joint research publications and student exchange programs aimed at enhancing knowledge transfer and scientific breakthroughs.”

Mshayisa’s visit also sets the stage for new frontiers in research and education, contributing meaningfully to the continent’s development.

Junior Researcher Dr Taskeen Docrat scooped the Distinguished Young Women Researcher: Natural and Engineering Sciences Award during the recent South African Women in Science Awards.

Presented by the Department of Science and Innovation, the awards celebrate women excelling in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Docrat, a junior researcher at the Applied Microbial and Health Biotechnology Institute (AMHBI), expressed her appreciation for the recognition.

“I am truly honoured to receive this prestigious award; it is a recognition of my hard work and dedication to my research. I am humbled, and it is a source of motivation to continue my research in neuroscience. Professionally, it opens doors to new opportunities and collaborations,” she said.

Docrat's research is focused on finding innovative approaches to prevent neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

“I am particularly interested in the effects of Rooibos herbal tea and traditional medicine. Neurodegenerative diseases affect not only the individual but also the caregiver. My primary goal is to raise awareness regarding these conditions, and I hope to contribute to improving societal healthcare systems and preventative disease management in a cost-effective manner,” she explained.

She was nominated for the award by her mentor, Prof Jeanine Marnewick, AMHBI Director and Research Chair: Biotechnology, who “believed in my research contributions and my potential”.

Throughout her career, Docrat has been guided by multiple mentors who have shaped her professional journey.

“I truly consider myself fortunate for the opportunity to be mentored by not just one but several remarkable individuals who contributed to my professional development, offering both guidance and unwavering support,” she noted. This mentorship has fueled her ambition and inspired her to push the boundaries of her research endeavours.

Her advice to young women wanting to follow a career in the sciences is to “follow your passion, be persistent, and don't let anyone discourage you”.

“Seek out mentors who can support and guide you,” she advised.

Docrat grew up with an innate curiosity that eventually led her to the field of science. She earned her PhD in Medical Biochemistry from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, "Understanding how things work, and the biological intricacy of life continues to drive me toward applying my knowledge in ways that can improve human health and well-being.”