Vaal University of Technology: new qualifications and phasing out of others
Since 1994 the South African education sector has gone through many transformative and structural changes. These have focused on widening access to higher education and creating opportunities for academic success.
At a recent branch presentation, Dr André Joubert, currently acting head of the Department of Process Control and Computer Systems in the Faculty of Engineering and Technology at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT), gave a broad explanation of the institution’s new qualifications, and how this will impact industry, technicians and technologists in the near future. He covered the following highly informative topics:
• Phasing out of the National Diploma in Engineering qualification.
• Phasing out of the BTech qualification.
• The Diploma in Electrical Engineering: Computer Systems, Electronics, Power Engineering and Process Control qualification.
• Work-based Learning (WBL or the old P1 and P2).
• The new Advanced Diploma – structure and entrance requirements.
• The new Post Graduate Diploma – structure and entrance requirements.
• The development of the BEng in Technology qualification.
• ECSA accreditation for all qualifications.
Dr Joubert has 20 years’ experience in instrumentation and control and 16 years’ in the academy. He was involved in various technician, technologist and engineer development programmes in industry and at VUT, as well as in the development of the various postgraduate programmes for Masters and PhD research students.
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