Cape Peninsula University of Technology

The Cape Peninsula University of Technology is at the heart of technology education and innovation in Africa. An internationally acclaimed institution, it is the only university of technology in the Western Cape and is the largest university in the region with an enrolment of more than 30 000 students.

The university has six faculties offering a wide range of accredited undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the fields of Applied Sciences, Business, Education and Social Sciences, Engineering, Informatics and Design as well as Health and Wellness Sciences.

Website

Intersections of the Indigenous and Modern in Settlement Planning Concepts and Traditions in Africa

AuthorInstitution
Tapela, NigelCape Peninsula University of Technology

Keywords: 

Discipline: 

Architecture & Built Environment
Indigenous and Modern in Settlement Planning Concepts and Traditions in Africa

Full title: Learning From Synergies Between the Intersections of the Indigenous and
Modern in Settlement Planning Concepts and Traditions in Africa:

The study of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) in the built-environment disciplines has for a long time been limited and trapped in the idyllic discourses of 'exotic’ or 'primitive' architecture, and the ‘organic’ nature of the development and planning of such built forms and settlements, by emphasizing the essentially transient nature of these built forms.

Read Detail (right-click to open in new window)

From the Grave to the Cradle: The Eco-Design Case for the Re-Evaluation of Hemp

AuthorInstitution
VermeulenCape Peninsula University of Technology
M’Rithaa, Mugendi K.Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Keywords: 

Discipline: 

Fashion, Jewellery & Textile Design
The Eco-Design Case for the Re-Evaluation of Hemp

This paper argues that the story of hemp is one of mistaken identity and focuses on the potential of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) in a social and economic context and how it can help to develop with modern technology into ‘new’ materials on a national level with reference to examples from abroad.

Read Detail (right-click to open in new window)

Conformity & Creativity: tensions in portfolio requirements

AuthorInstitution
Dahl, AvrilCape Peninsula University of Technology

Keywords: 

Discipline: 

Fashion, Jewellery & Textile Design
Conformity & Creativity: tensions in portfolio requirements

This paper investigates how prospective fashion design students at a University of Technology are required to reflect an understanding of the process of design and the process of construction in their sketches, which are a component of the portfolio they submit for evaluation. I begin by outlining how the portfolio guidelines initiate the anomaly between two desired requirements of novelty and originality / creativity versus the technical / conformity. I reveal how the portfolio requirements encourage students to conform from the onset and argue that this is because the fashion design program continues to train undergraduates to service a traditional and conservative mass market.

Read Detail (right-click to open in new window)

Cape Town’s Search for an Inclusive Future

AuthorInstitution
M’Rithaa, Mugendi K.Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Futerman, Rael GCape Peninsula University of Technology

Keywords: 

Discipline: 

Media & Communications Design
Cape Town’s Search for an Inclusive Future

The anticipated hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ events has provided significant impetus to opportunities for mainstreaming Universal Design in Cape Town. Other cities have been benchmarked to demonstrate the efficacy of Universal Design, albeit in markedly different contexts and using different approaches to effect change. Cape Town stands to benefit from the experience of such cities that have hosted similar mega-events or wherein similar challenges for promoting greater inclusiveness obtain. The issues highlighted in so doing could potentially inform Cape Town's quest to become a sustainable Universal City- in which accessibility, equity and ubuntu form the inherent characteristics of its engagement with its residents and visitors.

Read Detail (right-click to open in new window)

Shifting pedagogies: the impact of recurriculation

AuthorInstitution
Dahl, AvrilCape Peninsula University of Technology

Keywords: 

Discipline: 

Design Education Strategy
Shifting pedagogies: the impact of recurriculation

On Monday, June 5 2006, on the front page of the Business Report, it was stated that, “Schools fail to teach the basics, MPs hear”. The article proclaimed that young people were leaving school without having reading or numeracy skills, and because of that businesses were often unable to train young recruits. Each year, fewer than half of the million children who started at grade 1 will register for grade 12. Even those who leave after grade 12 do not have the basic skills to seek work (Hamlyn, 2006: 1).

Some of those school leavers may become our students.

Read Detail (right-click to open in new window)

Redesigning education for inclusiveness

AuthorInstitution
M’Rithaa, Mugendi K.Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Keywords: 

Discipline: 

Design Education Strategy
Redesigning education for inclusiveness

By responding to issues such as Accessibility, Disability, Inclusive Education, and Universal Design, Design Education is uniquely placed to positively impact upon the greater community. This paper discusses the emerging subject of Universal Design and its potential contribution towards greater inclusiveness in education (and by extension professional practice) in particular, and in society in general. Though Universal Design is relevant to disciplines such as Urban & Regional Planning, Architecture, Interior Design, and Graphics/Information Design, the focus will be on its applications in the context of Industrial/Product Design.

Read Detail (right-click to open in new window)

Academic Knowledge Management

AuthorInstitution
van der Merwe, JohanCape Peninsula University of Technology

Keywords: 

Discipline: 

Design Education Strategy
Academic Knowledge Management

Many corporate firms, although operating within this age of information and the knowledge economy, still rely on the skill and expertise of individuals to the extent that the ‘organisational memory’ can be severely weakened when that individual’s store of knowledge (skill, know-how, individual memory of corporate behaviour) ceases to function as an input. This highlights a parallel lack of system in organising collective and strategic knowledge - to collate and retain the most valuable and necessary units of knowledge. These circumstances will be compared to the general technikon situation, in which a related, academic, lack of knowledge management is all too evident.

Read Detail (right-click to open in new window)

Reshaping Business by Design

AuthorInstitution
Groenewald, JurieCape Peninsula University of Technology

Keywords: 

Discipline: 

Product & Industrial Design
Reshaping Business by Design

Design can reshape business by suffusing a design ethos throughout the organisation. This paper will explain the conversion model, indicating how inputs are turned into outputs and the value that design can add in the process. This principle will then be illustrated by four actual case studies: SL Magazine, Steers, Safari Wines and Cadbury's P.S. chocolate.

Read Detail (right-click to open in new window)

Pages

Our partners in promoting design education excellence

Latest News & Events

DEFSA conferences

DEFSA promotes relevant research with the focus on design + education through its biennial conferences, to promote professionalism, accountability and ethics in the education of young designers. Our next conference is a hybrid event. See above for details.

Critical skills endorsement

Professional Members in good standing can receive a certificate of membership, but DEFSA cannot provide confirmation or endorsement of skills whatsoever. DEFSA only confirm membership of DEFSA which is a NPO for Design Education in South Africa (https://www.defsa.org.za/imagine).