The Department of Clothing & Textile Technology’s Merit Awards Ceremony was a happy, rambunctious affair. Continue reading
Category Archives: Events
New MoU a first for Africa
CPUT recently hosted a delegation of academics from the Changzhou Institute of Technology (CIT) to witness the signing of a historic agreement of collaboration. Continue reading
Food for Thought
The Agrifood Technology Station takes on all manner of projects, but sometimes guests remind them just how lucky the students are to have access to state of the art equipment.
Situated at the Food Technology building, the ATS provides a range of scientific, commercial and technical services to support innovation and technology transfer in the food industry. At the same time the Food Technology students watch and learn to apply their knowledge, working in the various laboratories.
Recently the ATS welcomed delegates from the Sorghum in the 21st Century conference. Prof Victoria Jideani, head of the Cereal and Legume Biopolymer Research for Food Security group at CPUT, was on the local organising committee.
She explained that the 2018 Sorghum Conference in Cape Town brought together the world’s experts on sorghum to harness the collective wisdom for the world’s food security. One issue explored at the conference was product development of sorghum and conference delegates were interested in what facilities are available around South Africa to explore processes.
“Bringing the delegates to the one of its kind in Africa food processing facility housed in the Department of Food Science and Technology will make an impression on the participants and open opportunities for international collaboration as well as putting CPUT on the map,” said Jideani.
ATS Manager Larry Dolley first spoke to the delegates about the industry linkages and relationships they have forged over the years.
Dolley pointed out that the Station’s companies database is full of projects they have worked on and currently they are exploring a venture on insects for human consumption, starting an indigenous knowledge documentation centre and setting up a mini chocolate factory in the laboratory for students to learn about confectionary making.
Then he took delegates around the laboratories where they were curious about whether the sensory analysis facility is pressurised (it is not yet but there is a plan in place) and whether students learn about all the machinery or have to specialise (CPUT students follow a diverse curriculum familiarising the students with as much as they have access to).
Ndegwa Maina, food science lecturer at the University of Helsinki expressed surprise when he ascertained that CPUT owned the building, because they have to pay rent for similar laboratories at his institution.
He visited the Agrifood Technology Station with an eye to possible collaborations and to see what he could learn about the CPUT curriculum.
“This is a luxury,” said Maina about the facility, pointing out that rent has become too expensive at the Helsinki University, forcing their department to consolidate their food laboratories into a smaller space.
Written by Theresa Smith
Ubuntu Global Network learns from university service learning projects
CPUT’s Civic Engagement Unit recently hosted an international delegation from the Ubuntu Global Network which is spearheaded by former CPUT Acting Vice-Chancellor Dr John Volmink.
The Ubuntu Global Network gathers together organisations and social-minded projects that use the Ubuntu philosophy as core values to guide their work. The network has chapters all over the globe including Mozambique, Portugal, USA and South Africa.
During its second conference recently, the group visited two CPUT Service-Learning projects co-ordinated by Desmond Jackson, and lecturers Eric Simpeh and Walter Kohlhofer from CPUT.
The first was the aquaponics project at the Tehillah Community Collaborative in Elsies River and the second visit was to a sandbag special needs classroom being built at the Balvenie Primary School.
Acting Director of the Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning, Jacqui Scheepers says she selected those projects to highlight the social responsibility of universities like CPUT.
“It was very inspiring to engage with like-minded individuals on the philosophy of Ubuntu. Our students, staff and communities brought immense value to the conference and has strengthened our commitment to embrace Ubuntu in our university and in our everyday lives,” she says.
The community site visits were followed by a formal session at the Cape Town Hotel School where Kevin Chaplain from the Amy Foundation (formerly Amy Biehl Foundation) and Charles Harris from the Provincial Department of Social Development provided their perspective on how they incorporate ubuntu into their work.
Ubuntu Global Network’s Rui Marques says the trip was eye opening, inspirational and gave participants a lot to think about when they returned to their respective countries.
“The world needs Ubuntu, we are here to spread this uniquely South African concept around the world,” he says.
Volmink says the Ubuntu Global Network aspires to create a world which is kinder, gentler and more united.
“It is about engaging beyond yourself and investing in a belief that things can get better,” he says.
Stroke workshop benefits health professionals
The Emergency Medical Sciences Department’s immersive simulation laboratory took centre stage during the recent Northern Suburbs Stroke Workshop.
Lecturer Ryan Matthews said the workshop focused on interdisciplinary acute stroke care and rehabilitation and was a collaborative effort between the EMS Department, The Angels Initiative and the Tygerberg Stroke Unit at Tygerberg Hospital.
“It was aimed at teaching health professionals, mainly doctors and nurses in emergency centres, paramedics and paramedic students the basics of early stroke care,” said Matthews.
The workshop consisted of a morning of lectures followed by an afternoon of practical application. Allied and rehabilitation professionals also received training in specialist medical procedures such as swallow assessments, nasogastric tube placements and mobilisation techniques for stroke patients.
“Our major contribution was the use of our simulation laboratory to conduct simulations of the management of stroke. We had live patients simulating a strokes,” said Matthews.
The participants would go into the simulation room to attend to the scenario while other workshop attendees could watch them from a remote room.
The various neurologists and professors present would then give the participants feedback on how they had performed in the situation.
“With the click of a button the participants were transferred from a pre-hospital setting to a hospital setting and we could even simulate physiological changes for them,” said lecturer Siciro Rossouw.
Lecturer John Meyer provided the technical expertise in the laboratory.
The speakers included UCT’s Prof Alan Bryer, head of the division of neurology at Groote Schuur Hospital and chairperson of the SA Stroke Society and Dr Naeem Brey, consultant Neurologist at Tygerberg Hospital, while Matthews delivered a talk on pre-hospital notification.
Cultural Day teaches students to value diversity
First-year students in the Management and Project Management Department leant a lot from a cultural day they hosted on the District 6 Campus recently.
According to the department’s Communication lecturer Nobuhle Luphondo, the idea came out of a discussion the class had about Intercultural Communication and the significance of diversity in workplace.
“As managers they need to learn how to manage diversity and its value in the organisation,” said Luphondo.
Having initiated the project, the students came donning traditional regalia on the day and served traditional dishes from different cultures.
“This was a platform for them to share and exchange their cultures, the objective was for my students to learn to embrace and appreciate other cultures.”
They also managed to convince others to taste their dishes at costs of between R2 and R5 and their sale proceeds could either be used to donate to an organisation of their choice or to use as a budget for their upcoming Community Engagement Project.
“The event was a success and I am very proud of my first year students, they have coordinated this event not for marks but for them to learn.”
Students could not contain their delight at the different cultures which were exhibited. Nwabisa Madywabe said it felt amazing tasting different traditional dishes such as Indian soup and traditional ginger beer.
Fruda Pumbulu enjoyed the pleasure of serving her Congolese delicacy, Pondu (cassava leaves), with bread. “Some of my fellow students had never tried the dish before, it was a nice idea for us to come together as Africans to celebrate our cultures.”
Tania Jacobs said the family spirit that the students showed each other during the event was inspiring as the students truly embraced each other’s cultures.
Mark Muyumba said he was excited to see the different cultural outfits donned by his classmates as he was used to only seeing such outfits on TV.
Success of records management workshop
The Registrar’s Division recently hosted a successful Records & Archives Management seminar-workshop which was attended by the university’s Records Coordinators.
Kuselwa Marala, Director: Academic Administration, said the overall objective of the event was to develop an understanding and appreciation of best practices in records management as pointed out in the CPUT’s Records & Archives Management Policy.
“The intention is to enable you as key players, to handle with care records in your custody, right from the time of receipt or creation, maintenance, use and disposal,” said Marala
She challenged the participants to learn as much as they could by asking as many questions as possible during the workshop and to later pass the knowledge to their colleagues.
She added that the kind of legacy left by the current staff members will be determined by the records and archives kept by the institution.
Staffers were introduced to records management practices, preservation of archival and historical records as well as the CPUT File Plan and Records Retention Schedule.
During the workshop the implications of the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act and the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) were also discussed.
CPUT has entered into an agreement with Neopak Recycling to undertake the secure shredding of paper-based records. Neopak has supplied CPUT with recycling boxes and lockable wheelie bins.
Neopak Recycling’s Thembi Botha, said documents will be shredded in front of CPUT’s representatives and a destruction certificate confirming how and when the record was destroyed will be issued.
HEAIDS is upbeat about CPUT
The Higher Education Aids Project (HEAIDS) complemented CPUT for recovering in a relatively short space of time from a university which was riddled by students’ unrests to the peaceful environment conducive for teaching, learning and innovation that now prevails on the university’s campuses.
This view was expressed by HEAIDS Director, Dr Ramneek Ahluwalia, during a HEAIDS visit to CPUT recently. Accompanied by HEAIDS Project Manager, Alex Semba, Ahluwalia met with Acting Vice-chancellor, Dr Chris Nhlapo, before addressing the HIV Institutional Co-ordinating Committee.
Ahluwalia commended Nhlapo for how he has turned the university around in the last five months. “I met the Vice-chancellor to acknowledge him as well as telling him about our programme and vision,” he told CPUT staffers.
He added that a university’s legacy is that its alumni should live longer and that Dr Nhlapo agreed about the importance of leaving this legacy to the benefit of alumni and society.
“Academia has for a long while ignored issues of gender-based violence, employee wellness and HIV/Aids,” Dr Ahluwalia said.
He added that few universities in the country, including CPUT, have a Gender-Based Violence policy or processes in place to develop a policy. He congratulated CPUT for being one of the institutions in higher education to integrate HIV into its curriculum.
EUHOFA board member visits Hotel School
International benchmarking and forming strategic partnerships allow CPUT to collaborate with some of the best university consortia in the world.
Gerald Lipman, Chief Executive of the International College of Hotel Management in Adelaide, Australia, recently visited the Cape Town Hotel School for engagement as part of his annual business trip to Cape Town.
The college and the school are members of EUHOFA INTERNATIONAL, the International Association of Hotel Schools.
EUHOFA INTERNATIONAL is an association which contributes to the improvement of hospitality training and promotes the achievements of its members. The association has more than 140 hotel schools, colleges and universities which are represented by their directors who are full members.
Lipman, who is also an EUHOFA board member, has been visiting the hotel school annually since he recruited it to join the association in 2013. Each year EUHOFA host a congress that brings together members.
These congresses are hosted by an EUHOFA member school and are a combination of informative and inspiring lectures and presentations, interactive workshops and formal and informal gatherings in the hosting school/institution and cultural events.
During these congresses academic input as well as informal networking are very important and a lot of international exchanges, top-up programs for alumni as well as international projects have been started during these conversations.
Food for Thought
Conceptualising a five course meal for industry experts can be an intimidating experience but Food and Beverage students took this in their stride at their latest practical assessment.
The third year students prepared a feast which included homemade brioche, rosemary chicken goujons, butter basted Chateaubriand with a crispy potato rose flower and for dessert a black sesame macaroon with a yogurt and honey panna cotta paired with iced coffee.
The meal was accompanied by a wine pairing and front of house students were also expected to act as sommeliers and explain how the wine complimented each course.
At the end of the meal the front of house staff joined the kitchen staff for a face to face critique from industry experts, alumni, suppliers and staff.
Allister Esau the Vice President of the SA Chefs Association gave a lengthy critique on each course and complimented the students on a job well done.
“When we judge we always start at 100% and deduct from there but rarely go below 50% because we don’t want to break anyone’s spirit,” he says.