The HEPSSA Project – A Catalyst for Capacity Building at Durban University of Technology

The Higher Education Partnerships in Sub Saharan Africa project is funded by the British Royal Academy of Engineering, and runs for 2 years from April 2017 to March 2019. It is a network of engineering faculties and schools in some Eastern and Southern African universities linked to a UK university with the aim of enhancing quality of engineering education and training. The project objective is to enhance the quality of engineering education and training through: academic staff secondment to industry; invitation of industry experts to university as guest lecturers; collaborative research with industry, industry supported curriculum review and knowledge sharing workshops. This paper presents the activities at Durban University of Technology and our efforts to enhance engineering training of technical staff through short-term industry internships and postgraduate studies. The goal is to produce graduate engineers and technicians: who possesses relevant skills, meet the expectations of modern industry and engineering professional bodies; graduates who are employable nationally and regionally. It is also expected to produce academic staff with enhanced practical experience and better teaching skills, which will enrich the relevant engineering curriculum at universities.