The Civil Engineering and Surveying Department honoured their top students of 2017 at a recent Academic Excellence Awards Ceremony on Bellville campus.
Opening the ceremony Head of the Civil Engineering & Surveying Department Ashaadia Kamalie said she sometimes felt they spend far too little time with the students who excel. “We don’t always take the time to recognise the students who do well and are ambassadors for CPUT. Also, the special relationships we have with our industry partners. We appreciate you,” said Kamalie.
Altogether there were 43 categories, with the awards sponsored by various companies from the Civil Engineering and Surveying industry.
The top students in various subjects were honoured, with awards ranging from the Parker Award for Best BTech dissertation (Thabani Thusi) to the Adkins Medlab Supplies Best Student in Surveying 1 and 2 (picked up by Denve Du Plooy who also won the country-wide Smarttech Best Student in Surveying 1 and 2 in South Africa for 2017 award).
Two students picked up four awards apiece (Jan Hendrick Bothma and Gerrit Brand) while three students got three awards each (Denve Du Plooy, Whidaad Nazier and Ridwaan Vorajee). Six students picked up two awards each, including Rahima Nordien adding to the rising number of merit awards won by females in the department.
In welcoming the students, their parents and staff to the Awards Ceremony, acting Dean of Engineering Prof Mellet Moll said he is proud of CPUT’s track record in advancing the role of women in engineering. “Especially in this department where we have such wonderful role models,” said Moll, referencing by name Kamalie and acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Technology Innovation & Partnerships Prof Marshall Sheldon.
The awards ceremony’s guest speaker was retired Head of the Flow Process and Rheology Centre, Prof Rainer Haldenwang, who delivered a motivating speech, recounting his life’s story and 31 years spent working at CPUT.
A CPUT alumnus, Haldenwang was one of the first people to gain his MTech in Civil Engineering as well as DTech from CPUT.
“I look back fondly on these 31 years,” he said. “I’ve done things I would not have perceived possible when I started out. I am incredibly blessed and it’s an amazing journey. I wish young people could grasp that… It doesn’t matter where you start, it is how you grasp the opportunities that come your way,” said Haldenwang.
Written by Theresa Smith