Towards a transformed Learning and Teaching Culture in an Engineering Faculty

For a while now I’ve been wanting to start blogging regularly. It’s like I went through a drought when I wasn’t studying, however now that I’ve started studying again, it’s like the floodgates opened and I have so much to say.

I work at CPUT – a merger of two technikons

Technikons were designed for very particular reasons – to help students develop skills to get a job (feeds the neoliberal narrative).

More than that, it’s a former “white” technikon and a former “black” technikon that have merged. That means that there are historical structures associated with each of these.

I guess the institutional culture?

But like considering the structures – there was land and buildings (some of the land was sold off just before the merger, due to the uncertainty… what would happen when we merge?)

There are systems and policies in place not only for L&T, but for support – HR policies – leave policy, retirement, medical aid for staff; two different ICT systems; and procurement. These structures gave rise to certain cultures for example at one institution there was a clique (family business – everyone could get a job – gave family members contracts) and so the culture with traces of undercover nepotism and I do not need to be/ or can’t be held accountable. With the two systems, the merger of the structures and the two different cultures that permeate as a result of the structure, it became hazy as to what employees do, who we are. People will naturally go for the easier way out – because there are two systems (chaos), this could be used as an excuse to cut corners, rather than do the sustainable right thing. When there is chaos, it makes it easy to access resources. People have a reason to not resolve the chaos.

Then there is the VC who wants us to be the MIT of Africa. Aspirational and a bit ludicrous. Provides support for that but not consistent support – like the basics aren’t covered though there is support for some of the fancier stuff.

Struggling with infrastructure; also struggling with technology integration