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Mangosuthu University of Technology
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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.