The University envisions itself as a centre of knowledge, innovation and excellence, producing a critical mass of researchers and innovators that directly contribute to the skills shortage in the engineering field. 

Through its vision, CUT seeks to consolidate its uniqueness and comparative advantage in order to contribute substantively to addressing the developmental needs of the Central Region, South Africa as a whole, and beyond. In order to achieve this, CUT is hosting today more than 100 delegates at 6^th African Engineering Education Association Conference 2016; seeking further collaborations across boundaries.  The delegates are from various institutions in the country, Australia, Benin, Botswana, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda. 

33 of these delegates are presenting research papers that focus predominantly on engineering education research within the civil engineering, electrical engineering and information technology fields. A number of papers also consider pedagogy, with emphasis on problem-based learning. This conference has seen extraordinary growth as one of leading international association over the years. It brought a sterling line-up of renowned experts in the field including Prof Hans Hoyer from International Federation of Engineering Education Society (IFEES),  Prof. Funso Falade, President of African Engineering Education Association,  Prof Yacob Astatke, a keynote speaker from Morgan State University, USA and Dr Thomas Auf Der Heyde, Deputy Director General, from Ministry of Science of Technology,  executives of internationally acclaimed bodies such as Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC) and World Engineering Education Forum (WEEF). 

The objective of this conference is to provide a unique opportunity for researchers and graduate students to network and embrace intellectual development within the field of Engineering Education. It also aims to provide a forum for educators, professional organisations and industry leaders to discuss common problems in Engineering Education. In addition, this conference represents an opportunity for CUT and the region to interact with other experts and forge new alliances and ways of driving change within science, engineering and technology.