CUT Annual Report 2011

CUT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 | 17
Identifying strategies to enhance this area; recruiting senior scholars in technology-focused
areas; developing modules with a technology and innovation focus; enhancing technology
focus and establishing links between academic products and business/industry.
• In 2010 CUT earned 7.85 credits via conference outputs and 31.75 credits via article
publications. In total 39.56 credits were awarded to CUT in 2011, which is an average of
0,31 credit outputs per full-time academic staff member.
• The STEPS initiative has been rewarding, not only for its many specific outcomes, but
also for the collaboration that it has engendered amongst CUT staff, and experience in
introducing and managing change. By working together, substantial progress has been
made towards Vision 2020.
CUT, as a technology-oriented institution, to transfer technology to business and industry
as primary partners that will give financial and other support to such developments; turning
innovations and inventions into products useful to society.
• The IT Hub Project , in partnership with the Free State Provincial Government, is making
good progress. A total of 17 CUT graduates and alumni were identified for specialised
training that started in March 2011.
• The process of diversifying CUT’s support base, which commenced in about October
2010, has begun to pay off rather handsomely. Approximately R16 million has been
pledged by a number of brand new partners for projects on teacher development,
sustainable energy (through turning invasive plants into charcoal), the Saturday School
project and Contractor Skills Development project. An astounding figure of R10 million
has already been signed into contracts, which represents an increase of more than 200%
since the previous year and does not include funds procured from traditional partners
for research activities.
• CUT has been awarded its first NRF chair, based at the Centre for Rapid Prototyping and
Manufacturing (CRPM), which has been awarded R2.5 million towards the development
of medical devices (more on CRPM in the Technology and Innovation section).
• The delivery of two state-of-the-art direct metal laser sintering machines from EOS,
Germany, which was financed jointly through CUT funds and the CRPM, was a definite
highlight for 2011.
A symbiotic relationship between CUT, government and its agencies such as DST, DTI/SEDA,
and SETA, was necessary to provide support for collaborative programmes at provincial and
local governments.
• CUT is running a series of projects in partnership with many levels of government, at
local, provincial and national level. CUT has been able to attract more new companies to
partner with us, notably Telkom, Sasol, Mutual and Federal, and Standard Bank.
• A co-operation agreement exists between CUT and the Free State Department of Health.
Furthermore, CUT’s Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences and the Free State
Department of Health has established a Joint Advisory Committee (JAC).
The IT Hub Project, in partnership with
the Free State Provincial Government.
The need for software support and
development in South Africa, Africa
and throughout the world is massive,
since software has become part of
the world’s daily lives and is used for
security, entertainment (and more
recently social networking), banking,
education, transportation, and various
other communication activities.
These inexperienced CUT IT graduates
will be exposed to a real world work
environment in Software Development
as part of their Team Software Process
(TSP) training that will be instructed
by an Internationally SEI certified
professional through a programme
convened by the Johannesburg Centre
for Software Engineering (JCSE) from
Witwatersrand University.
CRPM is a multi-purpose centre
specialising in academic support of
students in Mechanical Engineering
and in providing support to the South
African manufacturing industry and
statutory research bodies in the
production of prototypes, final products
and production moulds using additive
manufacturing technologies.