| ####

13 / 32

13 / 32

Mangosuthu University of Technology

| 11

Along with other historically disadvantaged institutions in the country

that experienced stunted development under apartheid, MUT’s

overarching challenge derives from its history and location in an area

largely bereft of mainstream economic development opportunities.

For MUT to succeed in reaching its goals it is crucial that we bravely

face the challenges arising from this complex and debilitating legacy.

The major challenges we face include the following:

Strategic

challenges

Ensuring financial sustainability through diversification of our income streams

in the light of declining levels of state funding.

MUT’s governance structures and processes need to be strengthened

and supported by experience and clarity of roles at the levels of Council,

Executive Management, and Senate.

MUT is a young and previously disadvantaged university that has yet to

develop the infrastructure and expertise required to achieve the status of a

mature research university.

Our planned growth requires that we adjust rapidly to changes in our

culture and immediately locate funding and support for additional facilities

and academic staff development. We will need infrastructure to cope with

increased access. We must address the low levels of qualifications among

the academic staff.

To become nationally and

internationally respected, and

to attract and retain high-quality

academic staff, students,

researchers, and sources of

support, we must increase research

opportunities, productivity, and

funding. We must build superb

teaching and research facilities

with state-of-the-art technology and

effective electronic communications

systems.

MUT must review its Programme

and Qualification Mix and create

an equitable balance among

our disciplines to provide the

technological knowledge base and

innovation that enrich our society and

quality of life. Our academic offering

must be aligned to our strategic

positioning in a local and national

context.

MUT must increase support for both

undergraduate and postgraduate

students, improve student success

and graduation rates, and expand our

global focus and linkages.

We must nurture outstanding

leadership and build consensus by

emphasising service excellence

across the University, defining

clear standards of accountability,

establishing and prioritising

objectives for meeting those

standards, and creating a viable

means to assess progress toward our

strategic initiatives.

MUT needs to build a comprehensive

marketing plan to promote our

accomplishments, relevance and

responsiveness to national needs,

and to excite the public and ignite the

interest and support of government

and our business partners.

The strategic objectives addressing

some of these challenges, as outlined in

Section 9, will be complemented by the

projects in the University Campus Master

Plan as well as plans being developed

in partnership with the DHET in its

“Historically Disadvantaged Institutions

Development Grant” (HDI-DG) dedicated

to sustainable development of the

historically disadvantaged universities in

the country.