Tag Archives: business faculty

Seasoned academic becomes leader of largest faculty

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Prof Paul Green brings a wealth of experience spanning over 24 years in academia to his position as the new Dean of the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences and is determined to improve service quality to all stakeholders in the university’s largest faculty.

Green was previously in the employ of the Durban University of Technology, which he joined in1995, and occupied various managerial positions such as Head of Department, Academic Director, Campus Research Co-ordinator, Deputy Dean as well as Campus Director and boasts an impressive track record in supervising students.

He holds a PhD from the University of KwaZulu-Natal with specialisation in Systems Thinking and is also registered with the South African Institute of Professional Accountants.

High on Green’s agenda for CPUT are building a student-centric faculty with emphasis on effective teaching and learning, research innovation and development, academic development of staff as well as community engagement initiatives.

“I believe Universities of Technology in South Africa have a critical role to play in identifying and exploring niche research areas which leads to addressing societal challenges through applied research,” he says.

He adds that the faculty should not operate in a silo, instead it should be an open system that interacts with industry partners, the community and other universities in the region, nationally and internationally.

“As the dean, what is of utmost importance to me is safeguarding academic integrity and I am a strong advocate of ethical leadership.”

His research focuses on developing applicable frameworks for UOT’s on the evaluation of service quality using a Systems Approach, Service System Interactions at tertiary institutions and application of Analytic Hierarchy Process for the evaluation of Service.

Full accreditation for CPUT’s HR qualifications

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The Human Resources Management Department has received full accreditation from the South African Board for Peoples Practices (SABPP) for all of its academic programmes from diploma to doctoral degree levels.

The SABPP is the professional body for HR practitioners in South Africa and also accredits HR academic programmes of universities.

The SABPP is registered with the South African Qualifications Authority as a non-statutory professional body and co-operates with all Quality Councils in respect of qualifications and quality assurance in its occupational field.

The accreditation is reviewed and updated every three to four years.

“The SABPP accreditation of higher education HR programmes is based on the CHE Programme Accreditation 19-criteria and alignment to the National HR Competency Model and National HR Professional Practice Standards,” says HOD: HR Management, Liiza Gie.

“It is noteworthy that the SABPP is the first HR professional body in the world to have launched both national competencies and professional practice standards,” says Gie.

The SABPP evaluation panel consists of HR academics from other universities and HR industry professionals who compile an evaluation report and recommend areas of improvement.

The accreditation process is developmental and promotes benchmarking and incorporation of HR professional standards into the curriculum.

She adds that the SABPP established a designated subcommittee to advise on pertinent issues affecting universities, and its members meet annually to promote professional benchmarking and collaboration of curricula between higher education institutions.

While CPUT staff members who are registered with SABPP benefit from lots of opportunities for Continuous Professional Development, CPUT’s accreditation entitles the university to actively participate in the Western Cape SABPP Committee and the HR Universities Forum as well as financial assistance for the CPUT SABPP Student Chapter.

“CPUT’s continued partnership, collaboration and accreditation with the SABPP enhances its HR programmes’ sustainability, quality of teaching and learning, relevance of curriculum, professional student experiences and opportunities for research and innovation.”

In 2010 CPUT was the first of all the Universities of Technology in South Africa, and the first higher education institution in the Western Cape, to obtain SABPP accreditation.

European dream team

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CPUT’s commitment to internationalization is gaining momentum as the university boasts vibrant international exchange programmes.

The Faculty of Business and Management Sciences will this term send 12 deserving students to CPUT’s partner universities in Europe.

The students are from the departments of Retail Business Management, Sport Management, Real Estate Management, Marketing and Office Management and Technology. They will be placed at the following European universities:

  • IPAG University in Nice, France,
  • Carinthia University of Applied Sciences in Austria,
  • Odisee University College in Belgium,
  • Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Netherlands,
  • Ravensburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany and,
  • Osnabrueck University of Applied Sciences in Germany

The faculty receives approximately 60 exchange students per year from overseas universities.  The exchange students spend a semester in the various departments of the faculty.

“In return we send between 8-12 students and 4-6 staff members per year to our partner universities,” says Nizaam Peck, the faculty’s coordinator for International Exchanges.

“Our students participate in a three-month academic exchange programme which counts towards their studies and the staff members lecture for two weeks as part of our focus on collaboration with our partner universities.”

Two deserving students are selected by their respective departments for the programme and are notified timeously of their acceptance into the programme by the faculty’s International Exchanges Office. The faculty sponsors their flights, arranges their accommodation and provides a basic subsistence allowance for the exchange duration.

They are also encouraged to raise extra funds and save, for possible sight-seeing during their stay.

“It is amazing to see how the students’ outlook on life changes once they return and that is my rewarding feeling of doing this job,” says Peck.

Students who are interested in the programme should keep their grades up, actively participate in class and enquire at the faculty’s International Exchange’s Office in the Engineering Building (Room E3.60) at the Cape Town Campus.

 

 

 

 

Creating futures: Sustainable economies

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Creating a sustainable future requires a formidable collaboration between different disciplines.

Recently academics from across the globe had the opportunity to debate, review existing strategies and propose mechanisms for the likely achievement of a sustainable economy at the 7th International Conference on Business and Finance, which was hosted by CPUT and took place in Cape Town.

Conference convener, Dr Michael Twum-Darko, says the conference was themed “Creating futures: Sustainable economies?”

Twum-Darko says the three day conference is a collaboration between CPUT, the Universities of Namibia, KwaZulu-Natal, Mauritius, Delhi and the University of Technology Mauritius.

From strategic management and innovation to integrated business concepts, conference delegates had a wide variety of sessions to pick from.

One of the sessions focused on Entrepreneurship, Wholesale, Retail and Trade and was sponsored by CPUT’s Wholesale and Retail Leadership Chair.

The chair was established as a result of the  Wholesale and Retail SETA’s initiative to co-operate with universities to encourage the production of academic and applied research in this sector of business.

Various researchers shared their research and ouputs, covering topics ranging from models for wholesale and retail assessment centres to challenges and concepts of business incubators in the Western Cape.

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

CPUT staffer in world conference of Reserve Officers

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Nizaam Peck, a lecturer in the Tourism Department, will soon be flying to Bulgaria to learn about global threats and counter-strategies.

Peck is a reserve member of the South African National Defense Force and will be attending the annual Summer Congress organized by the Inter-allied Confederation of Reserve Officers.

A junior officer with the rank of Second Lieutenant, he is looking forward to attending the workshop for young reserve officers, which is the congress’ key feature.

The confederation is composed of Reserve Officers organisations from NATO and associated countries.

Peck was selected as one of four candidates who will be representing South Africa at the congress in Sofia, Bulgaria, in August.

“It will be a great opportunity for young South African officers to network with other young officers from NATO nations and receive exposure to strategic planning regarding present day global threats,” he says.

He made it through a rigorous selection process which pitted junior officers from around the country against each other in interviews, presentations and report writing.

Say NO to xenophobic violence!

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The CPUT community joined the government in condemning the recent spate of violence perpetrated against foreign nationals.

It started with a strongly-worded statement from the Vice-Chancellor to all staff and students explaining that CPUT was against the violence and hinting at research opportunities that the university may explore to unearth its causes.

Staff and students in the Department of Office Management and Technology also expressed their outrage against the recent violent attacks on foreign nationals by demonstrating on the Cape Town Campus and student societies also published similar messages.

According to senior lecturer, Mandie Richards, the demonstration was the product of robust debates in her Diversity Management 1 class where the students first condemned the attacks.

Addressing the demonstration, Richards spoke about how we have to work together as one so that all people are treated with respect, regardless of race, culture or country of origin.

Students chanted various anti-xenophobic slogans and observed a minute of silence for all the victims and their families before singing the National Anthem.

Student societies which published messages in support of this campaign include the Association of International Students, Pan Africanist Student Movement of Azania, the Central SRC and Cameroon Football Club.