PREfACE By ThE ViCE-ChANCEllOR: PROf ChRis NhlAPO

CPUT

PrEfacE bY THE VicE-cHancEllor: PROf ChRis NhlAPO

Prof chris nhlapo

The issues of transformation and social cohesion have been mainstreamed across CPuT’s institutional and governance structures and form an integral part of its strategic planning and vision for the future. however, although the university seeks to support its students and staff in meeting the broad socioeconomic challenges that they may face, it cannot succeed in fulfilling this obligation in isolation. Collaboration among tertiary education institutions and triple-helix partnerships with government, private-sector and civil-society stakeholders is required to produce safe, inclusive and equitable spaces for learning.

accordingly, cPuT collaborated with relevant national government departments to launch its genderbased violence (GbV) policy in 2019; and worked with the department of Justice and constitutional development as part of a national plan to combat race, gender, class and other intolerances, and subsequently to design a protocol on GbV tailored to the university’s needs. The goal is now to train staff to start to implement this protocol and to ensure that progress to counter GbV becomes a standing item on the agendas of all institutional structures.

This process should be overseen by the institutional Transformation forum in order to ensure that a zero-tolerance approach to GbV becomes an integral aspect of the university’s culture. in addition, the university is supporting a united nations (un) HeforShe initiative to mobilise boys and men in efforts to eradicate GbV. as well as encouraging male students and staff to sign an online HeforShe pledge, cPuT is supporting men in becoming agents of change against GbV through its amajita forum. The message being promoted is that GbVe is not only a women’s issue. in a separate development, the university, in partnership with the department of Women in the Presidency, held a conference to support young women in becoming the leaders of the future. The university, with a number of government departments, also convened a panel discussion to consider issues of gender equality and liberation in South africa through the prism of the life of struggle icon, mama albertina Sisulu. in another initiative, our Student representative council (Src) established cPuT’s first lGbTiQa (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexual, queer and asexual) chapter at the university’s mowbray campus in 2019. The goal is now to mainstream lGbTiQa policy across the institution. a particular focus is to engage academics who may lack the confidence to explore and challenge discrimination in the classroom – and may even be tagged “homophobic” in their approach. forging new platforms and opportunities for engagement on issues of social inclusion, the goal is to provide staff and students with the required tools to address discrimination.

cPuT has also coordinated with the department of international relations and cooperation (dirco), which provided conflict management and mediation training to former members of the Src and specialist transformation and equity staff at the university in 2018.

cPuT has prioritised social transformation and continues to seek the engagement of leaders within the tertiary education sector, including among TVETs, to share research agendas and initiatives in this field. The goal is for such cross-pollination to make the university smarter as an institution, strengthen its own transformation programme, and promote studentcentred transformation.