Page 21 - DUT Annual Report 2020

Steve Biko Campus – were at their early stages of implementation. With delays associated with COVID-19, our engineering building could not be completed in time for registrations in 2021. This is only a temporary setback in our first-time entering (FTEN) student enrolment and the proportion of our Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) offerings.
After years of protracted delays, there was finally some movement regarding the Imbali Education and Innovation Precinct Project in the Midlands. DHET allocated about R5 million as project initiation costs. It is our hope that 2021 will see all stakeholders finalising the final details for completion of this project and the launch of the precinct.
SUSTAINABILITY
Our approach to sustainability is explained in detail in our Sustainability Statement later in this report. We understand the concept of sustainability to speak holistically to the Economy, Environment and Equity, as many other organisations across the world do. In the context of ENVISION2030 we address these three foundational aspects of sustainability through three interconnected SOs, namely Distinctive Education, Financial Sustainability and Green Ecosystems, which address equity, economy, and the environment, respectively.
Distinctive Education
Distinctive education requires that beyond our Innovative Curricula and Research we must provide a holistic framework for the education we offer. Such a framework must incorporate knowledge acquisition and generation, teaching-learning approaches and extracurricular programmes.
Ultimately, our unique, distinctive, and holistic education will attract quality people – staff and students – who will join DUT by design and not by default or as a mere convenience. It will also attract quality quad- helix partners, with whom we will build and share our creativity and innovations, and our entrepreneurial flair too, for the benefit of our broader society. I have already mentioned the interconnectedness of our Strategy Perspectives and their constituent Strategic Objectives, in our deliberate quest to create internal cohesiveness and intra-institutional harmony, and the sub-section on Innovative Curricula and Research detailed a number of advancements registered in this area.
We recognise that our distinctiveness cannot be separated from the knowledge, intellectual capacity and skill sets of our primary people – staff and students. For this reason, we have introduced a number of capacity
building projects, some of which are funded by DHET; for example, the University Capacity Development Programme(UCDP), the Nurturing Emerging Scholars Programme (NESP), New Generation of Academics Programme (nGAP), and the internally funded Hlomisa Academy. The latter includes younger members of staff who are not academics. All these interventions are geared at ensuring that we reach the target of PhD holders we committed to in our Enrolment and Efficiency Plan 2020 – 2025 and beyond.
Earlier I mentioned the Siyaphumelela 2.0 project funded by Kresge Foundation to support our efforts at increasing student success and improving the student experience at DUT. This project plays an important role towards student retention, success rates and graduation rates.
Financial Sustainability
Council continued with its prudent and responsible oversight by passing a balanced budget for the year under review. The cash contribution made by DHET to the University was reduced due to the reprioritisation of funds by government as a result of pressures and emergencies brought about by the outbreak of COVID-19 and consequent national lockdown. The University block grant allocation was reduced by R12.8 million. We maintained a positive cash balance due to the proactive reservation of seven months’ working capital and investing unencumbered cash in 2019 at favourable interest rates, yielding higher investment income on maturity in the years 2020 to 2021.
Council and Management use several principles, parameters, norms and benchmarks to ensure financial sustainability. These include, but are not limited to: a refined Resource Allocation Model, finalised in August 2020, that provides for equitable, fair and transparent allocation of University funds to the various divisions and faculties; budgetary norms and benchmarks that ensure equitable allocations are made to all of the budgetary envelopes; financial ratios that determine our overall financial health; and salary budget sustainability
R12,8million
DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY ANNUAL REPORT 2020
University block grant
ALLOCATION
reduced by
19