Ms Ncomise Mcata-Mhlauli, Chief Director: DTI presenting on the Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme (THRIP).

Delegates from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) visited the CUT on 28 March 2019 to share and discuss funding opportunities offered through the Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme(THRIP).

THRIP is a programme established to respond to the shortage of high-level technical skills within the industry and improve the competitive edge of South Africa’s industry through the development of advanced technologies and highly skilled people. To achieve that, government, industry and academia need to collaborate on collaborative research and development programmes in science, engineering and technology on a cost-sharing basis.

 Ms Ncomise Mcata-Mhlauli, Chief Director: DTI said that the purpose of their visit was to provide support for research and product development and collaborate with the university on issues of agro-processing and cosmetic industry. “As DTI, we provide different types of support in terms of research, development as well as product commercialisation. We want to make sure that we industrialise different agricultural sectors and the cosmetic industry. We also want to strengthen partnerships with universities, industry and government to create networks, linkage and collaborative projects that will address issues of unemployment, industrialisation and economic growth. We want to make sure that we have incubation programmes with universities especially around agro-processing products.”