A big thank you to all the alumni who so generously donated during the EBE phonathon which took place in July 2016. We trust you enjoyed interacting with some of our young students. R769 466 was pledged, and this will go a long way to funding students from our Student in Distress Fund. Over the past year, we have helped over 25 students who have found themselves in difficult financial circumstances and have had no money for basic food or transport. Our assistance gives them the temporary support they need to get back on their feet.

I am also extremely grateful for the support I have received from EBE alumni over the past year. One of our electrical engineering alumni has secured over R1 million funding for the Department of Electrical Engineering for bursaries and research work. The same alumnus started a book fund to assist students with purchasing their books. We have also received support in the funding of bursaries. A number of our alumni are sitting on the faculty and departmental advisory boards and are part of our mentor programme. Our alumni play a valuable role in the faculty, and I look forward to ongoing engagement.

There are lots of exciting new happenings in the Faculty, and EBE staff are discovering innovative and creative ways to address the global challenges we are facing. With water scarcity, a high priority in the country, Future Water, a newly formed interdisciplinary research institute hosted by the EBE Faculty, is looking at creating new knowledge and provide innovative solutions to urban and industrial water challenges. We are also discussing our activities and synergies in Energy research.

To work in the complex environments of today’s world, an interdisciplinary master’s degree with an aspect of sustainable development is fast becoming the standard entry point for employment. With this in mind, the faculty is offering a number of inter-disciplinary postgraduate courses, for recent graduates and mid-career professionals. These include sustainable energy engineering; energy and development studies; city and regional planning; design and management of urban infrastructure; public transport and sustainable mineral resource development. We also offer a wide range of CPD courses and invite you to visit www.ebe.uct.ac.za for more information.

I hope you will enjoy the newsletter.

Kind regards

Professor Alison Lewis
Dean: Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment