Author Archives: Kwanele Butana

About Kwanele Butana

Kwanele is a Communication Officer in the Marketing and Communication Department. He writes stories about general news, and the faculties of Business and Management Sciences and Education. Tel: +27 21 959 6916 Email: butanak@cput.ac.za

Cleaning up plastic pollution

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Over 180 staff members and students participated in a clean-up exercise around the District Six Campus in order to create awareness about plastic pollution.

The exercise was part of a series of activities commemorating the United Nations World Environment Day (5 June) and World Oceans Day (8 June), jointly hosted by the CPUT Climate Change and Environment Research Focus Area and the Faculty of Applied Sciences.

Staff members and students in the Research Focus Area, the Faculty of Applied Sciences and the Green Campus Initiative took part in the clean-up in a bid to sensitise the entire CPUT community to the menace of plastic pollution and ways they may contribute to reducing the pollution.

“It is also a community engagement effort of the Climate Change and Environment challenges,” said Beatrice Opeolu, Extended Curriculum Programme Coordinator in the Faculty of Applied Sciences and leader of the Climate Change and Environmental Research Focus Area.

A symposium themed ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ which took place at the Saretec building on Bellville campus was addressed by six speakers from academia, government and an NGO.

The Climate Change and Environment Research Focus Area (FA) is one of CPUT’s seven FAs. Research, teaching and community engagement activities of the FA are closely aligned to the United Nations sustainable development goals and the South African National Development Plan themes.

World Environment Day is celebrated annually. Week-long events and activities are organised globally to highlight the day and this year’s theme was ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’.

The World Oceans Day’s theme was also to prevent plastic pollution and encourage solutions for a healthy ocean. “This topic is important at a time that recent studies had provided empirical data that supports occurrence and negative effects of plastics in aquatic systems,” said Opeolu.

Sport Department celebrates Mandela Day at Khayelitsha

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Sport Management students who are doing their Work-Integrated Learning at CPUT’s Department of Student Affairs Sport celebrated Mandela Day by painting the walls at the Philani Centre in Khayelitsha.

The students were later joined by the Centre’s staff and community members in painting the walls.

Head of Sport Department Siyabulela Mkwalo said the Philani Centre and CPUT have a mutual relationship that focuses on the wellbeing and development of the children through the provision of recreational programmes offered by Sport Management students.

“The intention of the partnership is to enhance the learning ability of children, as well as enable every child to grow up healthy in order to fulfil their physical and mental potential,” said Mkwalo.  “This engagement has a potential to increase children’s learning abilities, improve concentration levels, aerobic capacity and teamwork.”

Philani Centre has 13 Educare classes across six different sites which serves a total of 341 children between the ages of three and six years. All the teachers have formal training with qualifications varying from a NQF Level 4 to Diploma in Early Childhood Development.

The Educare Programme is consistent with the overall Philani mission of promoting excellent child health and development knowing that children who play do not only enjoy physical development but also recover faster from illness and malnutrition.

The 16 Sport Management students, who are funded by the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority, are enrolled by the Sport Department in a one-year internship that started in September 2017.

PAINT LESSONS: Sport Management students working on the walls at the Philani Centre in Khayelitsha.

Wising up to water conservation

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CPUT students in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences have embarked on a campaign to spread awareness of the water crisis in the Western Cape.

To activate the Marketing Management Department’s #everydropcounts Waterwise Project on District Six Campus Advertising 2 students sold muffins alongside the campaign’s sticker which they designed.

They also walked around the campus in groups supplying bottled water to their fellow students as they encouraged them to save water. Additionally, the students designed posters on which they wrote their own motivational messages.

Business and Management Sciences Dean Prof Paul Green thanked the students for participating in the project and commended them for spreading awareness about being waterwise. Green reminded everyone that despite the falling winter rains local dams were not yet full.

Student Marcelino Gonsalves said they produced two videos showing the campaign’s sticker and a desert that will soon be uploaded to YouTube and broadcast on the screens on CPUT campuses.

Panduleni Mntu was part of the group which baked the muffins and attached the stickers to them. “Everyone involved in the campaign participated in selling the muffins and in less than two hours we sold everything,” said Panduleni.

Advertising lecturer Jody Daniels said the students explained the campaign’s aims and objectives in a UniFM radio interview.

Daniels said while the project was voluntary it also gained the students extra marks.  He added that the students were studying advertising agencies and campaigns in the first semester and the project challenged them to apply the skills they learned to create an actual advertising campaign.

“We are using our theory to deliver a community message on campus on how to use water responsibly,” he said.

The City of Cape Town pledged support for the students’ campaign when it was launched last semester.

Water Conservation Head at City of Cape Town Thembisa Gqamane said the City is now running the #thinkwater campaign which is aimed at encouraging people to save water which will hopefully lead to decreased consumption and drought awareness among the public.

SWEET: The sticker and muffin designed and made by students in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences.

 

Gourmet Guides donate books to Hotel School students

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Some of the Cape Town Hotel School students who recently received books from Gourmet Guides that will enhance their training in hospitality management. Natalie Brock, Brand Manager of Gourmet Guides, donated 67 2018 JHP (Jenny Handley Performance) Gourmet Guides to the Cape Town Hotel School.  The donation was for students who aspire to become the country’s future chefs. The book includes reviews of some of the country’s top restaurants, biographies and recipes of chefs as well as a restaurant guide and plating rating system. The Food and Beverage, Kitchen and Professional Cookery students received these informative books as part of JHP’s Mandela Day initiative.

Students encouraged to be professional

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CPUT Accounting Society recently hosted an event entitled Legacy Creators on District Six Campus to remind students of the importance of joining a professional body.

Dean of Business and Management Sciences, Prof Paul Green, encouraged students to look at ways to  expand their marketability by joining professional bodies, confirming his membership of  two of the professional bodies who presented later that day.

“It’s important for the university to interact with industry and professional bodies as we want to produce employable graduates,” said Green.

“We firmly value your input and the interaction,” he told the presenters who represented their professional bodies. “Graduates should have a better chance to be employable.”

Sizwe Nyenyiso from the Institute of Internal Auditing said joining the Institute entitles a student or qualified auditor to professional recognition, globally recognised certificates, on-the-job training and professional advice and guidance.

Mbali Mncwabe, Business Development Manager at Accounting Technicians South Africa (ATSA), a subsidiary of the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants, said ATSA is a leading, trusted professional body dedicated to the education and development of Accounting Technicians.

“We develop and empower skilled Accounting Technicians. They play a key support role to CAs,” she said. Other membership benefits include lifelong learning through the institute’s certification programmes as well as networking and mentorship programmes.

Heather Bangwayo, Education Manager at Chartered Institute of Management Accountant (CGMA)s, said their Institute helps people and businesses to succeed using the CGMA Competency Framework by imparting technical, business, leadership and people skills.

Catsville Residence wins FNB Koshuis rugby tournament

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Catsville Residence from District Six Campus showed  endurance when they bounced back from trailing Val Du Charon Residence (Wellington) by 10 points early in the first half of the final match to clinch the inter-residence rugby tournament.

The boys were recently crowned champions of this year’s edition of the FNB Koshuis Rugby Tournament on the Bellville Campus.

The team from District Six started the game slowly and found themselves trailing 0 – 10 to their Wellington counterparts, but things changed halfway through when Catsville scored two tries in quick succession and levelled the score.

Then as the first half looked set to end in a stalemate, Catsville were awarded a penalty right in the centre of the pitch. They did the unthinkable and elected to go for a kick and voila, the ball went over the bar. The half-time score was 13-10.

In the second half Catsville picked up steam and bulldozed their way to win the tournament 24 – 20.

They received a trophy and gold medals for their sterling efforts while the runners-up were capped with silver medals.

In the match which was a curtain-raiser to the final, De Beers Residence from Bellville Campus walked away with the Bronze medals.