CUT | Research Development and Postgraduate Studies

Research Development and Postgraduate Studies

As a university of technology, all research programmes are directed at solving problems in business, industry, and government (this is known as the triple-helix approach), and are aimed at contributing to the socio-economic development of the region.

The focus of research programmes is multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary of nature, with emphasis on sustainable development, answering especially questions such as:

what kind of research is done?
what are the objectives?
and what impact will the research have?

The Research Cycle

At CUT research, research development, technology transfer, innovation and commercialisation activities are understood to be complementary. These activities form part of what is commonly known as the research cycle.

The research cycle can be described as the process of taking the research problem through various academic stages, such as:

knowledge generation (postgraduate research),
knowledge transmission (publications, presentations, and intellectual property),
knowledge application
- spin-in to business and industry, and first step towards third-stream income,
- spin-out and sustained third-stream income, and
- socio-economic development.

Innovation brings Solution

Where research is normally understood to have a research question/problem for which a solution must be sought, innovation can be explained as having the solution to the problem which must now be converted into a possible product/prototype that can be commercialised.

The research cycle thus reflects the integration of research, research development, technology transfer, innovation and commercialisation.