After long days of registrations, it was all-hands-on-deck when the academic year commenced yesterday, 05 February 2018 for all programmes at both Bloemfontein and Welkom Campuses.   About 16 088 students have enrolled for the 2018 academic year, 4093 of which are first time entering undergraduates. 

 

Prof. Henk de Jager, Vice-Chancellor and Principal welcomed and congratulated students for choosing CUT as their intellectual home. “You have joined thousands of other students who have made CUT their home away from home. Make maximum use of this great opportunity and never stop dreaming, as each one of you has the potential to be a CUT graduate.” He also spoke about the 2018 theme: Reimagining CUT: Embracing servant leadership. “Reimagining CUT as a university model of technology is our commitment for the next five years”. “Gone are the days where people used to refer to us as a Technikon,” said Prof. de Jager.  In 2004, CUT restructured from being a Technicon to a world-class university specialising in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Today, CUT is a leader in many technology and innovation fields, ranging from learning programmes in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), a broad field in which CUT has approximately 46% of student enrolment, much higher than many South African universities, especially the Universities of Technology. It is a small and dynamic university where students get all the personal attention that they need. Prof. said that servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enrich the lives of individuals, builds better organisations; ultimately creates a caring world. It is a blend and balance between leader and servant. “You do not lose leadership qualities when you become a servant leader; instead, you are leading with others in mind. Let us as the CUT family embrace this theme in 2018 in order to instil a culture of servant leadership,” said Prof. de Jager. When addressing parents and students in attendance, Mr Mangaliso Ngcolani, Welkom SRC President said that although Welkom campus is seen as relatively small, the academic excellence is on top as it is considered the best in grooming quality teachers. “As you make the transition from high school to tertiary, bear in mind that this newly found freedom is coupled with complexity and great responsibility. As the SRC, we are here to help you realise your dreams and aspirations and to achieve your academic goals. Ms Sinazo Hafula, Bloemfontein SRC President, said that the doors of learning had been opened for the poor and the missing middle and all students who are financially needy and academically deserving will be subsidised and catered for. She urged all academic staff to work together with the SRC towards the common goal of collectively assisting students. “Our role as the SRC is to ensure that CUT is a conducive learning environment for us all. As the year has been declared as the year of embracing servant leadership, I stand before you to tell you that we are the SRC on duty for access with success, should you face any difficulties, our doors are open.” Did you know?

• In 2017, CUT had 46% enrolment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects,
• CUT has a pass rate of about 75% average with the graduation rate of almost 25%, making it the 6^th best university of the 26 universities in the country.
• 33% of academic staff hold doctoral degrees, leading six Universities of Technology in the country.

Images

1: CUT choir entertained the audience with melodies, poetry and dance at the official opening. 

2: Prof. Henk mingled with parents and students after officiating the opening at Welkom Campus, and our photographer caught one young student taking the opportunity to grab a selfie or rather a “profie”.   06 February 2018