2014 2018 STRATEGIC PLAN - University of Cape Town · » Increase in NRF rated researchers from 35 to 51 » Increase in research contracts from 227 to 296 » Increase in postdoctoral

FACULTY OF Engineering & the Built Environment

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STRATEGIC PLAN 2014–2018

www.rothko.co.za

Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment

5th level

New Engineering Building

Ring Road

Upper Campus

University of Cape Town

Rondebosch

e: [email protected]

w: www.ebe.uct.ac.za/

t: 021 650 2699


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FACULTY OF

Engineering & the Built Environment


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UCT and EBE – Overview

Message from the Dean – Introducing our strategic plan

Our vision

Guided by values

Introducing our six strategic themes

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Theme 1: Theme 2: Theme 3: Theme 4:

Theme 5:

Theme 6:Key enablers

Visual map of the strategic plan

Building and transforming our human capital base

Valuing and developing all our staff and students

Strengthening the research and innovation focus

Providing excellent teaching and learningwithin a

research-intensive environment

Internationalisation and contributing to

African development challenges

Financial sustainability and good governance


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The University of Cape Town (UCT) is Africa’s premier tertiary institution and strives to advance and disseminate knowledge that addresses the key challenges facing society – in South Africa, on the African continent, and globally. The Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment (EBE) has a proud place as one of six faculties at UCT and is a research-intensive environment focused on leading the way in terms of breakthrough research, innovation, and useful applications of new technology.

In 2013 the faculty expanded into a brand new building with state-of-the-art equipment, laboratories, classrooms, and offices, offering undergraduate and postgraduate students the

very latest technology and equipment for research and academic study.

From its prime location at the top of the main UCT campus against the slopes of Devil’s Peak, the faculty comprises six departments: Architecture, Planning and Geomatics; Civil Engineering; Construction Economics and Management; Chemical Engineering; Electrical Engineering; and Mechanical Engineering.

With a diverse student body, UCT has more than 26 000 students representing over 100 countries and EBE celebrates and draws on this energy to produce well-rounded, socially conscious graduates who are in demand in the 21st century workplace.

UCT AND EBE overview


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The Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment has emerged from a five-year strategic planning cycle (2009–2013) and we are pleased that significant strides have been made towards our goal of establishing the faculty as a top choice for national and international students and staff.

A great amount of energy, time, and capital was spent on achieving our targets for the past five years including infrastructure development, the acquisition of new equipment, and investment

in our staff and human capital. Perhaps the most manifest evidence that we have progressed towards achieving our targets was in moving into the new engineering building towards the end of 2013. By the end of 2014, work on this and two other prime infrastructure projects will be completed, giving the faculty an enviable base from which to develop further.

Some of our achievements over the past five years include:

» Increase in NRF rated researchers from 35 to 51» Increase in research contracts from 227 to 296» Increase in postdoctoral research fellows from

13 to 21» Nine granted patents and 60 filed patents» Seven DST–NRF SARChI research chairs» 13 accredited research groups » Two University of Cape Town signature

themes (Minerals to Metals and African Centre for Cities)

» DST–NRF Centre of Excellence in Catalysis» DST–NRF Centre of Competence in Hydrogen

Economy» New state-of-the-art building

The next five years: building on a solid baseMessage from the Dean



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» Strong academic development programme to improve undergraduate throughput

» Revising and reviewing the academic curriculum in the faculty

» Growth in postgraduate numbers and the establishment of various postgraduate programmes.

In going forward, we seek to build on this and ensure that the faculty cements its reputation as one of the top research and teaching facilities on the continent.

Demand for the Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment continues to grow - the faculty has more than 4 200 (2014) enrolled students.

Partly to keep up with this demand, our future strategy will include a larger focus on blended learning, with various courses and modes of learning being planned for imminent implementation. Linked to this will be an increased emphasis on innovation in relation to our teaching, research, and our knowledge transfer.

Excellent relationships have been built with industry, private sector, and government. The faculty has ensured that it is financially sustainable and can look forward to more stability in future. Exciting

opportunities for research exist, as well as the participation in new projects with wider ranging socio-economic benefits.

But our work is far from done. Now it becomes imperative to pay even more attention to improving teaching and learning as well as to provide a unique graduate experience, to assist students to successfully complete their degrees. We want to excel in our research output, appreciating that this varies from high-impact publications, to patents, other creative outputs, and spin-off companies. We want to push forward, break new ground, and discover new frontiers in all fields related to our faculty.

To help us to do this, we have broken our strategic plan down into six key performance areas or pillars summarised in the pages that follow. This will help us streamline our operations and attain our goals. I am confident that we are more than able to address the issues posed not only by academia, but by society and industry as well. These are exciting times and this faculty is more than ready to rise to the challenge!

Professor Francis PetersenDean: Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment


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Our vision is to be the faculty of choice for engineering and the built environment students and staff nationally and internationally.

Our vision



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We strive to develop outstanding graduates and scholars, academics and researchers who are able to think beyond the obvious and are mindful of the bigger picture – men and women with international stature who have sound technical knowledge, who are professional and contribute to society, and address socioeconomic challenges and issues through their work.

Through close ties with other universities and institutions on the continent and abroad, we aim to extend networks, increase knowledge, and further our purpose of creating knowledge and developing expertise that ultimately benefits society and delivers tangible solutions to the critical issues facing our world.


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We believe in the importance of having clearly defined values to guide and determine our service; our action towards students and staff is more than just lip service, but an indelible part of daily life.

The faculty is always mindful of this value set when interacting with staff and reflects the high standards set by the university, which seeks to foster a culture of excellence, respect, integrity; with safety being a key component, underpinning our value of caring and compassion.

With these values as our moral compass we are able to judge whether a chosen method or path is truly in line with our general strategic plan for the faculty, as well as our moral obligation to the university and society at large.

Guided by values



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Introducing our six strategic themesOur strategy for the next five years comprises six pillars or themes to help us achieve our key goals and objective of becoming one of the leading engineering and built environment faculties in the world.

These six pillars encapsulate our thinking in terms of strategic objectives, which drive all academic, research, and educational operations within the faculty and its departments.

Within each strategic theme is a subset of objectives and targets, and students and staff members are involved in all relevant aspects of the plan to ensure its success and practical implementation.


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THEMES:

» Building and transforming our human capital base

» Valuing and developing all our staff and students

» Strengthening research, innovation and impact

» Provide excellent research-led teaching and learning within a research-intensive environment

» Internationalisation and contributing to African development challenges

» Financial sustainability and good governance



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Building and transforming our human capital base THEME 1

At EBE we want to build a diverse staff and student body that reflects the demographics of South African society and is academically robust.

While keeping the undergraduate cohort of students fairly constant, the faculty seeks to improve on throughput rates and ultimately boost the numbers of graduates. Reducing the amount of time students spend completing their degrees and improving the quality of teaching and learning will be achieved through major interventions including additional tutoring, mentoring, a revised undergraduate curriculum, and the optimal use of dedicated academic development lecturers in all the academic departments.

A continued focus on transformation will aim to attract students from designated groups , including students from rural areas in South Africa, to undergraduate and postgraduate studies, with an emphasis on additional support to assist students with inadequate school preparation.

The transformation of the faculty body will also continue and a significant amount of thought has gone into establishing partnerships and secondment agreements with industry to boost faculty recruitment. In addition, academic staff will be encouraged to undertake further studies in order to create a larger proportion of academics with PhDs, as well as to increase the overall professional registrations among academic staff.



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TARGETS:

» 70% of staff to have PhDs

» 35% of cohort to be postgraduate students

» 25% of academic staff registered professionally


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Behind all the strategic planning, the teaching, and the academic focus, not to mention the work, time, and effort spent on research and development – are the human hands that are putting these blocks for progress into place.

The Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment is keenly aware of the importance of treating both students and staff with respect and dignity, to encourage their feedback, and contribute to general wellbeing. That is why student feedback and participation is promoted and a high premium is placed on the physical and mental health of staff. We will continue to build a culture where our people feel valued and supported.

To this end, open communication channels have been created; while team-building, transformational, and social gatherings form an important part of the annual calendar. We know that without staff and students there would be no faculty at all – but we want to take this one step further and ensure that our people are happy, healthy, and motivated towards success.

Valuing and developing all our staff and students

THEME 2


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TARGETS:

» Positive responses through climate surveys

» Open communication between staff and students through active engagements with student councils, class representatives, Dean’s Forums, Speak-to-the-Dean email facility, dinner with the Dean, and quarterly faculty newsletters

» Diversity and teambuilding workshops

The disciplines of engineering and the built environment have a key role to play in improving the world we live in. Accordingly, having a strong and internationally competitive research and innovation agenda has always been at the heart of all strategic planning for the Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment.

With a state-of-the-art research facility at our disposal, nothing stands in the way of the faculty driving innovation and research at the highest levels. Although our strategy is directed towards global challenges, it is however also closely aligned with the national Department of Science and Technology’s Innovation Plan, the

strategic priorities of the SA government, and key questions in the South African National Development Plan. In addition, the faculty continues to build strong links to industry and the private sector to ensure that it stays close to the needs of these stakeholders.

Bringing our research and training programmes in line with the developmental needs of society and industry guarantees that our work is highly relevant and attractive to funders. To this end much has been achieved, and we will, through inter- and transdisciplinary work, build on excellence, visibility, and impact of our research and innovation.

Strengthening research and innovation impact THEME 3


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TARGETS:

» Increase the number of industry-sponsored research positions

» Establish an additional multi/transdisciplinary centre of excellence

» Creation of a set of instruments to incentivise additional research and innovation output

» Increase the number of NRF-rated researchers

» Increase the number of viable newly established postgraduate programmes

» Increase the number of patents and other creative output


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Provide excellent research-led teaching and learning within a research-intensive environment

THEME 4

Graduates from the Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment at UCT are much sought after in the international marketplace, because the high quality of our research-led teaching is well known.

Building this reputation and enhancing the academic profile of the faculty’s undergraduate and postgraduate students is of prime importance. A strong research focus sees to it that our curriculum, through a research-led teaching philosophy, is in line with current developments within industry and society.

Graduate experience is critically important and our well-developed Academic Development Programme will ensure not only valuable educational support, but will assist the faculty to achieve targeted throughput rates. Graduates will be exposed to

attributes of social consciousness, global citizenship, critical inquiry, safety, health, environment, and ethics and professionalism.

The faculty also seeks to promote a culture of service learning, where communities can benefit from the academic activities of students and to integrate digital content into learning and teaching. In this way, students can give back to communities some of the learning and knowledge acquired through tertiary education.

Technology has begun to play a bigger role in the teaching process and enhancing the quality of the education. The role of blended learning will be championed and phased in through various programmes and courses at different levels of the undergraduate and postgraduate qualification.


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TARGETS:

» Excellent graduate experience

» Increase throughput rate at undergraduate level

» Graduate attributes embedded in curriculum

» Culture of service learning part of mainstream curriculum

» Use of blended learning to enhance teaching


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Internationalisation and contributing to African development challenges

THEME 5

The Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment is alive to the South African and African developmental landscape. More than ever, there is a need for solutions to the many issues surrounding housing, energy, water, mineral and mining, roads and infrastructure. And increasingly, we are realising that these challenges are best addressed in collaboration with others.

Forming partnerships with other universities, institutes of higher learning, and industry leaders around the world and particularly in other African countries, will increasingly feature on the agenda, as the faculty builds on its reputation as one of the top engineering faculties on the continent. As an Afropolitan university, we want to collaborate, engage critically with African intellectuals, share

knowledge and expertise, extend networks and strengthen global connections and partnerships, and contribute to strengthening higher education on our continent.

Our Centres of Excellence, as well as several university accredited research groups are working in conjunction with industry, government, and other universities locally and abroad to come up with solutions to some of the most pressing environmental and technological issues facing the continent today.

Ground-breaking research is being done and close ties with industry and corporate partners ensures that the faculty remains up-to-date with the latest societal needs and changes, and is able to contribute in visible and immediate ways.



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TARGETS:

» Increase the number of effective partnerships internationally and on the continent

» Develop at least two South-South themed projects

» Increase the number of student exchanges


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Financial sustainability and good governanceTHEME 6

The implementation of any strategic imperative is dependent on ethical constraints, good governance, and sound financial management. The Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment is profoundly aware of the need for sustainability and to ensure a stable foundation of funding and donors to ensure the future success of academic programmes and research.

To this end, we promote strong academic governance and have initiated systems to ensure accountability.

The faculty encourages interaction with the Ombudsman as well as a ‘Speak-to-the-Dean’ session to promote transparency and accessibility. A strong whistle-blowing policy is in place to allow the faculty to quickly learn of concerns and complaints to enable speedy addressing of issues.

The faculty is always aware of its financial targets and works towards meeting annual recurrent operating targets, as well as financial governance with adequate prior year reserves.



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TARGETS:

» Achieving and exceeding our recurrent operating target (ROT) annually

» Grow third income stream through industry, government, and continuous professional development

» Adherence to academic, financial, and student governance through established risk register


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Bringing our strategy to lifeTo ensure that our strategic plan and its six pillars are implemented and able to bear fruit, we will rely on a team of exceptional staff, faculty, and students, as well as our partnerships beyond campus and academic boundaries.

The completion of our new building and the newly established laboratories with first-rate equipment gives us a wonderful platform from which to innovate. More than ever, the pressure is on us to deliver! This will translate into renewed focus on our academic staff and students, and striking multi-disciplinary relationships to build on existing ties and links.

Part of our strategy over the next five years is to enable the faculty to grow, to link with other institutions, and create frameworks at various academic levels. Recognising opportunities academically and within industry will stand us in good stead in enriching the faculty. This will also mean involving more alumni and meeting up with government, business leaders, and company CEOs to participate in an engaged, spirited, and motivated dialogue to help address the engineering and built environment needs of South Africa, the continent, and the globe.


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Our vision is to be the faculty of choice for engineering and the built enviroment students and staff nationally and internationally

We are a research-intensive faculty, which strives to create, advance, and disseminate knowledge and develop outstanding graduates and scholars.

OUR VISION

OUR PURPOSE

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS» Building and

transforming our human capital base towards a particular size and shape

» Financial sustainability and good governance

» Strengthening our research and innovation focus in tems of impact and engagement

» Contributing to African and global development challenges

» Provide excellent teaching and learning within a research intensive enviroment, enhancing the quality and profile of our graduates.

» Valuing and developing all our staff and students

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Y E

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BLE

RS STRATEGIC IMPERATIVES

» Transformation » Technology and blended

learning

» Industry, private sector, and government partnerships

» Encouraging and incentivising global and continental linkages


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www.rothko.co.za

Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment

5th level

New Engineering Building

Ring Road

Upper Campus

University of Cape Town

Rondebosch

e: [email protected]

w: www.ebe.uct.ac.za/

t: 021 650 2699

Documents

2014 2018 STRATEGIC PLAN - University of Cape Town · » Increase in NRF rated researchers from 35 to 51 » Increase in research contracts from 227 to 296 » Increase in postdoctoral