2019 Annual Report

In the aftermath of #FeesMustFall, 2019 will be remembered as a year in which university life returned to normality. It was also the year in which I was installed as the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Cape Peninsula University of Technology
(CPUT). Having to finalise and assess the success of its ten-year plan, Vision 2020, and to develop, together with my senior team, a new vision for the decade ahead, was both exciting and challenging. Whilst the past was known, to lead in challenging and unpredictable times, steering a university from good to great, is still a humbling experience.

In spite of the many challenges CPUT (like all other universities in South Africa) had to face, 2019 was a productive and progressive year. Not only could we conclude 2019 by informing the CPUT community that the goals set out in Vision 2020, were almost met, but we could also start shaping the following decade with a draft, though preliminary, Vision 2030 Strategic Plan. Whilst Vision 2020 focused on building a strong research culture at CPUT by unlocking the potential of staff and students, Vision 2030 will be geared towards becoming “One Smart CPUT”.