cer of the Department of

Water Affairs and For-

estry. The response has

been positive and this will

continue to be of benefit

to DUT students.

Achievements in

2010

Some of the achievements

in 2010 include the ever

growing World of Work

Careers Fair held at

Ritson Campus Exam Hall

in August. The great suc-

cess of this event was the

significantly greater num-

ber of companies partici-

To give force to the philoso-

phy above, the Co-

operative Education Unit at

DUT builds strong partner-

ships and links with a broad

range of external stake-

holders nationally and inter-

nationally.

Our vision and mission is as follows: Vision To prepare students for full occupational competence and critical citizenship through application of learning, external engage-ment and partnerships. Mission

Strategically manage the

university’s co-operative

education & community en-

gagement activities in the

pursuit of quality learning

experiences.

In order to ensure a seam-

less accomplishment of the

vision and mission, the Unit

has engaged Brian

Forbes, Executive Officer

of the Southern African

Society of Co-operative

Education (SASCE), to fa-

cilitate capacity building

workshops for academic

staff. The Unit has also

hosted mentorship work-

shops for internal staff

and external partners,

which are led by Callie

Fest, Chief Training Offi-

Dear Colleagues, welcome to this second issue of the TIP newsletter. This has a new masthead, in keeping with the format devised for the Vice Chancellor’s communication. In Issue 1, we introduced the various directors and heads within the TIP ambit to you; in this issue we begin the serious process of informing you about these directorates and how they support the core functions at the University. It is our intent to open the channel of communication and to get feedback from you, and in this regard, a series of surveys are being planned for 2011, to elicit information from you.We look forward to your engagement. In this issue we spotlight the Co-operative Education Unit and the Information Tech-nology Support Services—these are possibly two of the ‘better’ understood and known entities in the TIP ambit. Co-operative Education is a vital link in helping to ensure that our students get the necessary work exposure before com-pleting their qualifications. The ITSS department, in former times known as ICT, is the largest department in the ambit and provides the platform from which all the information communication technologies and systems operate.

Enjoy the read. Professor Fred Otieno, DVC: Technology, Innovation and Partnerships

Vol. 1, Issue 2, 15 October 2010

pating and the thousands

of students taking advan-

tage of it.

A number of Memoranda

of Understanding have

been signed with exter-

nal partners and new

relationships built to pro-

vide additional opportu-

nities for students to do

Work Integrated Learn-

ing.

Focus for 2011

Our strategic focus areas

for 2011 include assisting

departments that are

beginners in implement-

ing the WIL component

into their programmes,

improving and measuring

the strength of our work

preparednes s pro-

gramme, and, as part our

ongoing mission to widen

and maintain our industry

links.

Cooperative Education: “A philosophy of learning that promotes the concept of enhanced learning based on co-operation between education institutions and industry, commerce and the public sector” (HEQC)

Introducing … Co-operative Education Unit

C O - O P U N I T S TA F F G A L L E RY

Mr Shakeel Ori : Director Ext. 2228 2010 Highlights: In March, Mr Ori was elected as the President of SASCE at the SASCE International Conference held in Kempton Park. He is also a member of the 17th World Association for Co-operative Education Conference Planning Committee. Furthermore, Mr Ori has just been invited by the CEO of WACE, Dr Paul Stonely, to join the WACE Inaugu-ral Board of Directors. His responsibilities include: Strategic planning; relationship-building; interaction with DUT community; membership of Advisory Boards, Senate, Faculty Boards and external organi-zations such as SASCE, WACE, SETAs, FETs, Chambers of Commerce, DoHET, and keeping the office operational during DUT vacations.

Themba Msukwini : External Engagement Manager Ext. 2307 Highlights for 2010: In July, Themba attended the WACE Institute on Global and Experi-ential Education in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachussetts, USA, together with the Director of Co-operative Education and the Deputy Dean of Management Sciences. He acts as Head of Co-operative Education when the Director travels out of town on University business.

His responsibilities include: Managing interaction with companies, relationship-building,

approval of workplaces; membership of Advisory Boards, Faculty Boards; Co-ordinating

Capacity Building workshops for internal staff; Interaction – PMB Campuses; SETAs; Gov-

ernment structures, etc. and deputizing for the Director in his absence.

Paul Ramjugernath : External Engagement Manager Ext. 2705 His responsibilities include: Co-ordinating work-preparedness activities in all departments, moni-toring Advisory Boards; membership of Faculty Boards; Interaction with the SETAs and Maritime Centre of Excellence Steering Committee.

Zama Hlubi : Administrator Ext. 2879 Her responsibilities include: Administration of operational requirements of companies, collecting CVs, maintaining student database, company da-tabase, scheduling of company interviews and academic departments liaison.

Shireen Singh : Secretary Ext. 2657

Her responsibilities include: Co-ordinating the

diary of the Director and arranging business

travel; assisting in the management of the office

and taking minutes.

Simon Madiba : Driver Ext. 2877

His responsibilities include: Maintaining Co-op

vehicles; transporting Co-operative Education

students and staff for site-visits and work-

preparedness programmes; transporting visitors

(including after-hours).

The Co-operative Education

Unit also boasts its success rate

in its endeavours to place stu-

dents from different pro-

grammes to do productive

work within the unit as well as

throughout the entire institution

as part of WIL.

Useful DUT links

Page 2

We are responsible for, and provide the following:

Page 3

Introducing … IT Support Services

The ITSS Department is positioned as Technology en-

abler for the DUT community. The ITSS vision is to pro-

vide a dynamic and innovative technological solution to

the DUT Community

Working within the TIP ambit, ITSS ensures appropriate

services are delivered across all Sectors to meet the

requirements of a University of Technology.

ITSS strategic focus areas

Teaching & learning

Research

New Innovations

Information and Knowledge Management

Access and Equity of IT Services

E-Learning Infrastructure

Enterprise and E-Commerce Systems

Engagement with Industry

International Relations

Focus for 2011

At a very high level, the ITSS plan is to :- 1. Collaborate with HE institutions via ASAUDIT ITS User Group Oracle User Group Microsoft Cisco TENET Seacom SANReN Beta Testing 2. Provide technology for staff and students by imple-menting, maintaining and continuously refreshing the IT in-frastructure that support the teaching and learning environ-ment. The focus would be on the network infrastructure which is now 10 years old 3. Focus on the Business and Collaboration Systems (Microsoft) that supports the DUT community. ITSS will maintain and enhance these systems to meet Academic and Administrative requirements. 4. Position DUT as a leading Technology provider to its Students, Staff and Partners

Customer service and support Three ways to request for IT Support Services:

1. Walk-in. Visit the ITSS Department at the M L Sultan Campus

2nd floor Room A2-9/10 and request a service

2. Telephone. Phone any of the following to request a service:

373 5207 , 373 5471 , 373 5401 3. Via E-Mail. Email calllogging@dut.ac.za and give a de-

scription of service that is required.

Remember to keep the call number/ref ID to follow up.

Page 4

ITSS STAFF GALLERY

Achievements 2009/ 2010

Despite a number of vacancies the ITSS de-partment has been able to position DUT na-tionally:

1 Seacom – DUT is the Point of Presence for all Higher Education Institutions in South Africa

for international bandwidth in SA. This has had a direct benefit in Internet speed

for DUT staff and students. 2 SANReN (South African Research Network)

10Gb – DUT is a major Node for the KwaZulu-

Natal Research Network (Backbone

nodes comprise of Durban, Johan-nesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town,

Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth)

3 DUT was the first institution to

implement nine new Microsoft Technologies