Page 10 - DUT Excellence

Speaking about the Research and Innovation Awards, Prof Mthembu said that despite the COVID-19 breakout, its impact and the many lives that have been lost in the country and globally, the year 2020 marks a very special year for DUT for a number of reasons.
“In the context of our Research and Innovation Awards, it is the year that DUT, being a very young university of technology within South Africa and the continent, got ranked in the coveted Top 10 globally for citation impact, ranking it rst on this indicator alone among all South African and African universities. Here we are: a young university, never designed to be research intensive and hardly known globally, punching above our weight and making a global impact that is still elusive for many others many years older and differentiated as research-intensive,” said Prof Mthembu.
Furthermore, Prof Mthembu stated that the excellent outcome in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021 helps DUT to accelerate its rocket ight to 2030.
The awards were handed out for 28 categories, including a new category on Field Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) Awards (2015- 2019) and the Top 10 High Impact Authors for the period (2017- 2019) to celebrate the DUT NRF Rankings 2021.
“Without the sterling contributions of our researchers and innovators, we would be nowhere. We thus very highly appreciate their commitment and their excellence and generally, how they continue to demonstrate how our values and principles should be lived and some aspects of The DUT Way.To all the winners, you are our lodestars; you are our leaders.You have demonstrated beyond doubt that ENVISION2030 is not a dream but a reality. I wish you a great future at DUT as we build a new legacy for generations to come to bene t from,” concluded Prof Mthembu.
Chancellor’s Awards
In recognition of Innovative Excellence in the category of Engagement, the recipients were:
• The Lalela Ulwandle Project by Dr Kira Erwin and Dr Tamlynn
Fleetwood. It is a university project in teaching, research or public engagement that has made an outstanding positive contribution to the institution’s local community.
• The Indigenous Knowledge EDU-EXPO 2019 Project by Ms Thulile Ndlovu and Ecotourism third-year students of 2019. Awarded to an outstanding partnership with business, industry, NGOs or Government in the elds of teaching, research or enterprise, with lasting impact for students, staff and/or society.
• The SAQA DUT Articulation Research Partnership Project by Professor Darren Lortan, Dr Savathie Maistry and Ms Kristena Doorosamy. Awarded to an outstanding partnership with business, industry, NGOs or Government in the elds of teaching, research or enterprise, with lasting impact for students, staff and/or society.
In recognition of innovative excellence in the category of Student Centredness:
• The Student Bursaries Project by Ms Ugeshni Moodley. It is
an innovative project or initiative that has positively enhanced the student living and/or learning experience – academically, socially and/or in the context of student welfare and well-being.
In recognition of innovative excellence in the category of Building Sustainable Student Communities of Living and Learning:
• Coil: Food and Nutrition Project by Dr Ashika Naicker, Ms
Evonne Singh and Ms Lisebo Mothepu. It is a programme providing an outstanding online or distance course with high quality teaching, student experience and support.
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