The Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) held its 15th Annual Prestige Research Seminar on 22 October 2012.  

The seminar is an invaluable means to showcase industry-related research conducted in the faculty by the staff, students and post-graduate students. Attendees include faculty staff and students, as well as partners from engineering and information technology (IT) sectors.   The seminar day started with a key presentation by Dr J Strauss who explained his modeling experience to the researchers and delegates. This was followed by four different sessions for the researchers to present their work. The seminar was concluded by prizes given to the best presenters.   While addressing the seminar, Professor Alfred Ngowi, Dean of the Faculty explained that in order for CUT to pursue its vision of being pegged as the leader in technological and social innovation in the central region and beyond, it is imperative that robust research culture that underpins innovation is established and carried out.   

“Devising the programme for the seminar started early in the year, selection processes of papers to be presented were made by a committee, which included researchers, engineers and scientists” said Prof. Alfred Ngowi. He continued by stating that twenty four presentation papers and five proceedings papers were selected this year which looked at the latest developments in engineering and information technology - keeping in mind the challenges facing the world’s population today, such as overpopulation, sustainable energy use and resource management.   A number of topics were presented ranging from vehicular road accident analysis for Bloemfontein City (South Africa), system dynamics modeling as a research tool, meteorological drought analysis in the Central Region of South Africa, model of mobile phone voting system for South Africa and automated robot vision system among others.   In 2011 the faculty developed a strategic plan with “Relevant Research” as one of its strategic outcomes, consisting of three processes: establishment of research clusters led by experienced researchers - as a way of creating critical masses; enabling all academic staff to become research-active by participating in clusters relevant to their interests; and assisting staff to become rated researchers.   “We believe that we cannot achieve this quest on our own and so our close collaboration with the engineering and IT industries is of paramount importance. Therefore, this research seminar should best be seen as an effort by the faculty to demonstrate the research capability that it posses and the work that is currently underway, and to invite industry input that will ensure this effort meets industry expectations,” continued Ngowi.  In an effort to further support research, the papers read at the seminar will be submitted to CUT’s own accredited research publication, the “Journal for New Generation Sciences”, or the “Interim Journal” which provides new researchers with the opportunity to publish their research and senior researchers to publish work in progress. 

By presenting this opportunity to young researchers in the faculty, it may help establish them as academic leaders in their own right.   In future, the faculty research seminar day will run concurrently with faculty advisory board sittings to advise the faculty on the critical interface which the faculty has to play in its relation with industry, government and community.  The advisory board will give constructive feedback on the presentations made at the research seminar and will advise on their application to industry in order to improve research output of the faculty while strengthening research-industry cooperation.   

Pictured is Ms Pearl Tsumake, Part-time Lecturer: School of Information Technology, Mr Moabi Kompi, Technical Assistant: School of Information Technology (Welkom Campus), Mrs Noluntu Mpekoa, Junior Lecturer: School of Information Technology.