UP’s new engineering campus set to enhance critical skills, says vice-chancellor
'It is important for us to make sure our students are not taught on old platforms but on the new technologies that are relevant to the modern day world.'
University of Pretoria’s new campus, Engineering 4.0, was set to place the institution on a new level in “advancing the training of critical skills in the digital modern day revolution”, the university’s vice chancellor has said.
While the new campus was already in operation after it was completed in February it was not officially launched due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
Its official launch has now been set for 30 November.
Speaking at a media briefing held at Javett-Up art centre at the university campus in Hatfield on Tuesday, professor Tawana Kupe said the development would place the institution on another level.
“Through that development, with the latest digital equipment, we can provide cutting-edge research technologies that can be used to resolve real life problems, the campus also provides better platforms for teaching and learning.
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“We are living in the fourth industrial revolution and it was important for us to make sure our students are not taught on old platforms but on the new technologies that are relevant to the modern day world.”
The new campus has its own highway, sometimes open to motorists, while students get to use technology to analyse the impact different vehicles have on the road.
“All that research is meant for the building of better roads for smarter cities. In that campus there is a student, Andre Broekman, who is doing research on the impact the road has on fresh produce. He placed computer chips in fresh produce such as tomatoes set for long travelling to see the impact of the road on the produce.
“This was very important as the fourth revolution is trying to leverage the opportunities provided by new technologies to improve our economy, in that research farmers can know what affects the produce for better economic decisions.”
Kupe said the campus would work towards resolving constraints faced in transportation engineering while also enhancing critical skills needed to build transport infrastructure.
“The sector plays a huge role in the economy of the country and we are striving towards equipping our students with the skills they need to play their part.”
The construction of the campus, that is also in Hartfield, started in 2018 August and was completed within a year and seven months.
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