2020 Annual Report

Despite the obvious hurdles, CPUT managed to stabilise operations, and this is in large part thanks to the steadfastness of Council, supported by the Secretariat.
The Vice-Chancellor and Executive Management must also be commended for never sacrificing on good governance.
CPUT has a contribution to make to South Africa, and this has been ever more evident during the Covid-19 pandemic. The institutional response exceeded simply catering to the needs of our students and staff. On the contrary, the expertise of the
university community assisted on a national level to meet some of the pressing requirements presented by the pandemic.
The initial responses to lockdown at the end of March 2020 demonstrated the empathetic attitude to staff and students’ needs. As the first few weeks of lockdown loomed, most students were able to be reunited with their families; but for those students who opted to remain on campus, providing food security and health and wellness was a key focus. When classes switched to online, students were well resourced in that area, with data allowances, laptops and course notes being prioritised for those working remotely.

CPUT prides itself in being a SMART university, the core of that Smartness being imbedded into every operational aspect of our work, i.e.: Smart Teaching, Smart Staff, Smart Students, Smart Buildings, and most importantly, Smart Ideas. This all speaks to One Smart CPUT. I am of the opinion that 2020 has shown that we are indeed living up to that ambition, and our resourcefulness has been commendable.