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Mangosuthu University of Technology

| 9

The strategic choices enunciated through

the Vision, Mission and Strategic Goals

of this Plan are aligned with the DHET’s

steering mechanism to implement

the policy imperatives outlined in the

National Plan for Post School Education

and Training (2018) and the draft DHET

Framework on Institutional Differentiation.

The key levers of DHET steering of the

system are:

The differentiation of institutional

mandates as prescribed in the

amended Higher Education Act

(2016), which frames the main

academic focus of MUT as a

university of technology.

The compact between the Minister

and MUT in the form of a medium-

term institutional enrolment plan,

which determines MUT’s institutional

mandate and academic character

in terms of several dimensions, such

as size and shape parameters, the

Programme and Qualifications Mix,

and efficiency indicators.

DHET programmes and initiatives that

enhance institutional differentiation

and sustainability. Programmes

applicable to MUT are the Historically

Disadvantaged Institutions’

Development Grant, the Infrastructure

and Efficiency Grant, the Foundation

Provisioning Grant, the Clinical

Training Grant and the University

Capacity Development Grant, the

Staffing South Africa’s Universities

Framework, the new Generation

of Academics Programme and the

Foundation Provisioning Grant.

Imperatives of the Fourth

Industrial Revolution

The Plan recognises that the world is in

the early stages of an era characterised

by rapid evolution and fusion of

technologies which are combining digital,

physical and biological systems, resulting

in the disruption of almost every industry

and changing the job market and the

way that we live and work. This change is

accompanied by positive gains such as

an increase in safe and rewarding jobs,

on the one hand, and by negative trends

such as greater inequality in society and

a widening gap between the rich

and the poor, on the other hand.

MUT will leverage its key features as

a University of Technology to better

prepare students for the future of work in

the following ways:

Our career-focused programme

offerings will embed principles of

career-flexibility to better prepare

students for the fast pace at which

technological advances are changing

job functions and occupational

activities.

Existing linkages with the world of

work through our advisory boards,

comprising input from business and

professional leaders, will allow us to

refine our curricula to be responsive

to demands from industry

Enhancing our research in

technologies and building

programmes combining digital,

physical and biological systems.

Through its mission focused on SET

related fields, MUT is well-positioned

to prepare its students, staff, and

stakeholders to thrive in the social,

economic and political contexts

associated with this changing world

and the associated future world of

work. The set of values, expectations of

leadership capabilities, and foundations

of MUT experience outlined in Section 8

aim to position MUT staff and students

to have the requisite soft skills to thrive

and trade on their uniquely human

capabilities in this complex environment.

The strategic objectives in Section 9

emphasise the development of curricula

that will equip our students with the

requisite skills and competencies.

Students will, among other things, be

empowered through the fostering of

entrepreneurship culture and cultivation

of a global mindset and appreciation

of many different cultures. The anchor

strategy will seek to embed the University

in its local communities. We aim to

introduce a few areas of academic

collaborative excellence cutting across

Faculties to house impactful research

and innovation related to the emerging

fields of knowledge in the emerging era

of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.