Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Cape Peninsula University of Technology (Afrikaans: Kaapse Skiereiland Universiteit van Tegnologie) is a university in Cape Town, South Africa. It is the only university of technology in the Western Cape province, and is also the largest university in the province, with over 32,000 students. It was formed by merging the Cape Technikon and Peninsula Technikon as well as a few other independent colleges.

Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Other name
CPUT
MottoCreating Futures
TypePublic
Established2005 as a merger of Cape Technikon (1920) and Peninsula Technikon (1962)
Academic affiliations
AAU, CHEC, HESA
ChancellorThandi Modise
Vice-ChancellorChris Nhlapo
StudentsOver 33,569 (as of December 2013)[1]
Location, ,
South Africa
CampusFive campuses
Colours    Blue and White
Websitewww.cput.ac.za

History

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It was formed in January 2005 from the merger of the Cape Technikon and Peninsula Technikon, following years of change in the higher education landscape of South Africa. In 1993, the Technikons Act was promulgated, which allowed technikons to offer bachelor's degrees (B.Tech), master's and doctoral degrees in Technology. In March 2001, Kader Asmal (then Minister of Education) announced the National Plan on Higher Education, and in May 2002 he announced the possible merger of the two institutions, with the national working committee also recommending the University of the Western Cape to be included in the merger. Towards the end of 2002, the final merger was announced, and in October 2003 the new name was approved. The Executive Interim Management was appointed towards the end of 2004.

Prof. L Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga was appointed as the first vice-chancellor of CPUT in February 2006. Also at this time, the nine faculties of the original institutions were merged and re-organised into six: Applied Science, Business, Education and Social Sciences, Engineering, Health and Wellness Sciences, and Informatics & Design. A separate postgraduate unit was established to offer multidisciplinary postgraduate programmes and funded research known as the e-Innovation Academy, and as from March 2008 the Faculty of Informatics & Design Research Unit. The Department of Information Technology in collaboration with the Bridgetown Community, Athlone, COFISA and IDM launched the Athlone Living lab, a community ICT innovation project, in September 2008. This would be the first Living Lab in the Western Cape.

 
Logo of the Cape Technikon prior to 2005

Trevor Manuel was appointed chancellor of the university in April 2008.[2]

Foreign students (those from outside the SADC), are required to pay double the fees of local students.

Campuses

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The Cape Town Campus, with Table Mountain in the background

CPUT has five campuses:

The Cape Town Campus is built on a portion of District Six.

Co-operative education

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The large majority of courses offered by CPUT incorporate in-service training; the training consists of an internship, usually six months to a year. The university's comprehensive co-operative education policy ensures the student is placed within a company approved by the university; this ensures that institutional academic learning is incorporated into work-based content.

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "CPUT Facts and Statistics page". CPUT Management Information Services. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  2. ^ Keating, Candes (8 September 2008). "Dr Trevor Manuel installed as first Chancellor of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology". CPUT News. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
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