Paralegal studies degree hailed

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The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation lauded CPUT’s Bachelor of Paralegal Studies degree, as significant for the professionalisation of the paralegal field.

CPUT is the only institution in the country which offers this degree.

The foundation recently visited the Unit for Applied Law to learn more about the new degree programme and interacted with lecturers and students.

Lorenzo Wakefield, Programme Officer at the Foundation, says: “We’re looking at how best we can support the accessibility and inclusivity of community-based paralegals into the Bachelor of Paralegal Studies and we are having good discussions with the Unit for Applied Law.”

Wakefield added:  “Injustices happen to the people and they don’t know how to get justice, the formal legal fraternity is inaccessible,” he says. “We’re looking at how we can assist them with their research activities and support them to gain the most from the degree.”

This was a site visit by the global coordinator to gain insight into the activities of the Unit for Applied Law which the South African office proposes to fund, says the Unit’s Head, Adv. Noleen Leach.

Leach says the Unit has a Memorandum of Understanding with CAOSA (merged institutions of the National Alliance for the Development of Community Advice Offices) and the Association of Community Advice Offices of South Africa.

“The Mott Foundation is one of the funders of Community Advice Offices in the country.  Most paralegals in practice in the advice offices do not meet the prescribed admissions criteria for the Bachelor of Paralegal Studies programme and CPUT has terminated the age exemption option for access,” she says.

She adds that the foundation extended an invitation to the Unit to apply for funding for research that will inform the Recognition of Prior Learning instrument to be designed for access to the Bachelor of Paralegal Studies by community-based paralegals.  “They will be working in collaboration with the Open Society Foundation to ensure that especially community-based paralegals gain access to the programme.”

She argues that the need for paralegals have become critical in the light of the recent announcement by the South African government that it intends to cut legal aid by R500 million over the next three years.  “Cheaper legal services is an imperative if we are to ensure that the marginalised and the poor gain access to justice,” she concludes.

Flowers put focus on plastic pollution

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The flowers of the Cape served as the inspiration for an installation that provided food for thought on the issue of sustainable development.

Academics and students from the Design Department joined academics from the University of Lapland for a three-day workshop which culminated in the installation being placed on a lamppost in District Six.

Titled Flowers of the Cape, the project saw the participants creating flowers from plastic bottles and bags and other plastic waste.

Prof Satu Miettinen, Dean of the University of Lapland’s Faculty of Art and Design, said the participants had visited Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden to draw inspiration.

“This particular project is about sustainable development and figuring out your individual relationship to recycling and sustainability issues.”

She said it was hoped that the installation would draw some reflections from people.

“I will also document the installation and the work process and the photographs will be exhibited in Finland in the Victor Barsokevitsch Photographic Gallery.”

BTech Surface Design student Nicolene Mulder said when she heard what the project was about she immediately wanted to be part of it.

“I have already been working with plastic. It is important to promote plastic upcycling. I also want to use what people throw away to make the point that they should stop using it.”

The project forms part of the Participatory Development with the Youth (PARTY) Project, an international project which aims to support marginalised youth in developing countries.

Vikki Eriksson, a Lecturer in CPUT’s Department of Research, Innovation and Partnerships, said the benefits of the project included building bridges with institutions elsewhere in the world and fostering relationships on a one on one academic level but also at departmental and institutional level.

BLOOMING BEAUTIFUL: The flower installation was placed on a lamppost.

NRF renews funding for teacher education Chair

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Prof Yusuf Sayed, Research Leadership Chair in Teacher Education, says the renewed funding for the Chair from the National Research Foundation (NRF) is a testament to the hard work and effort of all members of the CPUT-based Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE).

“It is an affirmation of the support we have received from the university and faculty,” said Sayed. “It reflects a deepening of research at CPUT and the commitment and values of CPUT as becoming a research-intensive university.”

For the next phase the Chair and CITE will continue to deepen the work they have engaged with in the first phase which included developing new knowledge about teacher education, building research capacity and strengthening national, regional and international research partnerships.

“We will also seek to continue to actively enhance the impact of our research in the coming phase,” he added.

“I am pleased to communicate that the panel has recommended that funding for the Chair continue for the next five-year cycle and that this recommendation has been accepted by the NRF,” Dr Rocky Skeef, Executive Director: Reviews and Evaluations, wrote to CPUT recently.

Skeef also indicated in the letter that the panel’s recommendation outcome was reached by consensus.

CITE was founded in 2014 with the understanding that teacher preparation and teacher classroom performance are at the heart of enhancing education quality and ensuring that education acts as a vehicle for achieving equity and transformation in society.

CITE acts as a national, regional and international centre of excellence for research and policy dialogue about education policy and teacher education.

The specific objectives of the Chair are to:

  • Develop a rigorous and robust programme of research and scholarship to advance knowledge in the field of teacher education;
  • Support and build research capacity;
  • Bridge the current education policy-practice gap in South Africa and contribute to evidence based policy making;
  • Build on existing initiatives in the field of teacher education in South Africa and globally and;
  • Initiate and build a platform of research, research capacity, policy discussion, academic debate, and collegial collaboration pertaining to education policy and education in South Africa.

Plugging into renewable energy

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The Centre for Distributed Power and Electronic Systems is starting to flex its muscles as the biggest Research Centre in the Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering Department.

Earlier this year CDPES launched its own real-time simulation and hardware-in-the-loop laboratory, the Opal-RT Real Time Simulation Laboratory. They recently invited representatives from marine diamond mining company DebMarine Namibia to check out the system.

The company is in the process of designing a new mining vessel but does not have the in-house ability to test the capacity of proposed electrical systems before they are installed on the ship. Potentially this research could be handled by CDPES or DebMarine Namibia employees could be trained to use the OPAL-RT simulator in the CPUT laboratory in order to do the testing themselves.

While giving the DebMarine Namibia representatives a brief overview of CDPES and the Energy Institute deputy head of operations at CDPES, Dr Marco Adonis, pointed out that the laboratory in which he was standing was operating completely off the grid. The Solar MD Renewable Energy Laboratory is powered and run by a Photovoltaic back-up laboratory system and is already used as a teaching lab.

CDPES is also currently setting up a Phoenix Contact Instrumentation Laboratory and about to install a Chroma Solar PV Simulator and Inverter Testing Laboratory plus a Chroma Battery Simulator and Testing Laboratory.

“We are trying to set ourselves up as unique and to specialise with regards to our research ambit,” Adonis explained the new laboratory spaces.

CDPES is currently overseeing 36 BTech students, all on track to graduate at the end of 2018. At the recent 2018 CDPES BTech Conference the students presented papers on a host of subjects ranging from the voltage regulation of wind turbines connected to the grid to thoughts on a renewable energy-based water purification system for a rural village in South Africa.

Engineer Hermann Oelsner was invited to open the Conference and he delivered a talk on renewable energy and his ideas for setting up a desalination plant on the West Coast. Oelsner spoke about the changes in renewable energy technology over the past ten years and challenged the BTech students to think about what research was needed in a quickly changing industry.

After all the papers were delivered Dorian Anyala won best presentation for his paper “Feasibility study into the possibility of setting up a concentrated solar power plant into the Namibian national grid” while Asive Poswayo was the runner-up for his paper “Resynchronisation of grid-connected PV system after downstream faults clearance.”

 

Written by Theresa Smith

Exercising your way to wellness

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The annual Wellness Day was well received by staff this year.

Over 130 staff members took advantage of Discovery health screenings on both campuses and CPUT Campus Health Clinics and the HIV/Aids unit tested and screened almost 100 staff members.

Human Capital – Lifestyle & Wellness specialist Samukelisiwe Mbambo said more staff members participated in the Fun Walk than the Virgin Active Zumba sessions while the shoulder massages proved to be very popular.

“Our partners for the 2018 Wellness Day sponsored soccer balls (Sanlam) and T-Shirts (IEMAS), conducted assessments on mental health (Akeso Clinics and The South African Depression and Anxiety Group), provided budgeting tools (DGSA) and information on the CPUT Omega Caro-E capsule,” said Mbambo.

The fun run which took place on the Bellville campus saw staff walk around the campus before taking to the track on the Sports Field where they encouraged each other to break into the occasional jog with much laughter.

The Lifestyle & Wellness unit has started working on their plans for next year and want to include more of the CPUT satellite campuses in their efforts.

“We have partnered with the CPUT Sports Department. Currently we have two teams, soccer and netball, and we want to launch a cycling club in 2019. We are looking into branding through caps and other fitness gear for employees who participate in Discovery Vitality activities on weekends, such as fun runs. This would allow the office to know how many Vitality members are active.

“Employees are encouraged to sign up for group or departmental fitness activities so that the Wellness office could support them,” said Mbambo.

She was excited that Virgin Active are negotiating with the Lifestyle & Wellness unit to partner with CPUT to offer Zumba classes next year.

Written by Theresa Smith

CPUT hosts successful MACE congress

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Marketing, advancement and communication practitioners from tertiary institutions across the country sharpened their blades at the recent MACE Congress hosted by CPUT.

The annual three-day Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE) congress was held at the Bellville campus and provided delegates with opportunities for benchmarking, networking and professional development.

This year’s theme was Sharpen your blade – skills for a new reality.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Chris Nhlapo welcomed the delegates to CPUT and said the congress came at a particularly pivotal time in the higher education arena.

“As marketing, communication and advancement professionals you have a critical role to ensure that Higher Education, in whatever capacity you represent it, remains relevant. We can never be caught sitting on our laurels blissfully ignorant to the changing environment around us,” said Nhlapo.

Prof Johannes Cronje, Dean of the Faculty of Informatics and Design, delivered the keynote address while other CPUT speakers included Prof Nirvana Bechan, Head of the Media Studies Department and Lauren Kansley, media liaison.

Top Civil Engineering students awarded

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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

Fostering healthy industry relationships

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The Faculty of Applied Sciences recently hosted a WIL industry breakfast.

Industry representatives who regularly take in CPUT students for Work Integrated Learning stints mingled with lecturers, students and WIL coordinators at the Cape Town Hotel School Restaurant on Granger Bay for a pleasant exchange of ideas.

Students who excelled at their WIL assignments were profiled in a brochure and awarded trophies for excelling at their work.

In welcoming the attendees Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Prof Joseph Kioko, said the faculty took great pride in producing relevant and employable graduates.

“This breakfast is a way to acknowledge industry effort in making this possible and we also wish to recognise and affirm the students who do really well during WIL. I recognise that they cannot do this on their own,” said Kioko.

Roberto Isaacs, environmental manager at the City of Cape Town, shared what they have learned over the years of working with WIL students. CPUT students from the Environmental Health programme do WIL four times in a year and his department is instrumental in placing students within appropriate structures and providing mentorship and guidance.

Since the City of Cape Town does not yet employ enough environmental health practitioners to service the burgeoning population they treat the students as potential employees and prepare them for the reality of work.

“Like taking students into informal settlements when some of them have never been to one. During WIL the students are exposed to all the elements of environmental health so when they leave we want to believe they leave as all-round professionals. Real life knowledge is important,” said Isaacs.

He pointed out the quality of Environmental Health students has improved over the years as the City of Cape Town provided feedback to CPUT and the programme improved its curriculum according to the needs of industry.

Isaacs mentioned two CPUT third year Environmental Health students who won national awards at the South African Institute of Environmental Health’s recent conference.  Adiela Fakier won first place while Nonkosi Somwahla picked up second place for best WIL projects.

On a provincial level Environmental Health graduates Sinesipho Mpini won first prize and Boipelo Makotong won second prize for their community service projects at the recent Environmental Health Summit in the Northern Cape held in conjunction with SALGA.

Prof Lalini Reddy, Applied Sciences Faculty WIL Co-ordinator, was pleased by the turn out: “WIL is important because it gives students first-hand experience in the workplace, so that they enter the job market better prepared. Students have the opportunity to quickly mature by developing their holistic personality.”

Written by Theresa Smith

Taking teaching to another level

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Trendy teaching methods were discussed during the recent Learning and Teaching Symposium held by Fundani’s Student Development Unit on the Bellville Campus.

Topics presented ranged from using ICT and tutorials to enhance teaching and learning practices to supporting underprepared students in mathematics and learning through field trips.

Prof Lorraine Hassan, Head of Fundani’s Academic Staff Development, delivered the keynote address under the title “Enhancing learning through tutorials through the perspective of Legitimation Code Theory (of semantics)”.

Discussing her findings, Hassan said 61% of tutee respondents in her study said that tutors encouraged them to ask questions. She added that the students preferred the use of mother tongue during tutorials.

She also found that tutors helped the tutees produce new knowledge by focusing on the application of formulae such as in accounting, physics or even practicals.

“There is a need for the development of mother-tongue education,” concluded Hassan.

Nobuhle Luphondo, a lecturer in the Management and Project Management Department, presented a paper about rethinking teaching practices.

Luphondo said she started using WhatsApp Group for teaching purposes. “We formulated groups and made rules governing the interactions,” she said.

“Students are required to be prepared for the WhatsApp and other group discussions.”

She added her students were so motivated that they came up with a Cultural Day celebration during which they cooked various traditional foods and dressed in different traditional attires.

To round up the day there was also a panel discussion about experiences on collaborations that have worked between the Unit and academic departments which saw lecturers from the Unit and departments sharing their experiences.

Teachers’ workshop seeks to improve learning experience

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Various ideas to improve the learning experience and education quality were laid bare at a recent workshop attended by teachers, Western Cape Education Department (WCED) officials, teacher educators and education researchers.

Held by the CPUT-based Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) in Mowbray, the Teachers’ Workshop was co-ordinated with the WCED Metro East District Office.

WCED’s Benjamin Schereka said the department has an outstanding relationship with CPUT.

Schereka added that these were challenging times for teachers as they are under extreme pressure to produce, but with very limited resources they do not know how to go about achieving their goals.

He argued that the Constitutional Court ruling which decriminalises private use of marijuana among adults will pose threats to schools that operate without a Code of Conduct.

He said the current climate at schools imposes general demands on discipline among the learners before citing two learners who were found openly smoking marijuana on school premises.

“This all impacts on the teachers. The question is whether the department is preparing teachers for that environment?”

Research Leadership Chair in Teacher Education, Prof Yusuf Sayed, said teaching a class involves making a series of complex decisions such as what to pay attention to as well as ensuring everyone is included.

After presenting an overview of the CPUT-based Centre for International Teacher Education, Sayed said its research agenda addresses who the teacher is, where do they come from, their beliefs and experiences of learning to teach.

He outlined the research projects that the centre is busy with such as AFLA, Continuous Professional Development and Teaching for all (a project about mainstreaming inclusive education).

Sayed said their research findings had led to a new conceptualisation of global and national education quality as well as teacher’s agency and policies.

“The disjuncture between policy and practice led to us having to identify key gaps in teacher education provision and education practice,” he said.

The workshop’s participants were later subdivided into four commissions to discuss new trends in teacher education.