Cape Peninsula University of Technology (South Africa)

Last modified: 2023-11-18 by bruce berry
Keywords: south africa | cape peninsula university of technology |
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• Background
• Cape Peninsula University of Technology flag

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• South Africa
• South Africa - national index
• Cape Town

The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) was established on 01 January 2005, when the Cape Technikon and Peninsula Technikon merged. This merger was part of a national transformation process that transformed the higher education landscape in South Africa.

The Cape Technikon has its roots in the Cape Technical College, which was established in Cape Town in 1920. The establishment of the college followed more than ten years of petitioning by the community for the consolidation of technical courses that had been offered in various venues in Cape Town.

In the late 1960’s this institution had its status changed to a College for Advanced Technical Education and was renamed the Cape College for Advanced Technical Education. However, a decade later, the Technikons Act was promulgated and in 1976 the institution become known as the Cape Technikon and was allowed to offer degree programmes.

The Peninsula Technical College was established in 1962 to cater for the steady growth in the number of Coloured apprentices in a variety of trades. Classes were conducted in Cape Town until the relocation to a site in Bellville in 1967, which today is the administrative campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

Primarily offering education to Coloured people during the apartheid era, the institution opened its doors to all races in 1987. The 1990s also ushered in more changes for the institution, which was empowered to offer degree programmes.

In the 1970’s the institution had its status changed to a College of Advanced Technical Education and was rebranded as the Peninsula Colleges for Advanced Technical Education. However, this name and status change was short-lived and in 1979 the college was legally established as the Peninsula Technikon.

CPUT is currently the only university of technology in the Western Cape and is the largest university in the province with over 30 000 students, several campuses and offering more than 70 programmes.
Bruce Berry, 11 Nov 2023

The flag of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology is based primarily on its logo which is placed on a white field.

The CPUT logo visualises the identifying characteristics of the University: that of higher learning and technology, as well as its location at the southern tip of Africa.

The logo comprises four distinguishing elements.

• The waves symbolise technology, development and the flow of information. They are also a reference to the location of the University: the marine aspect of a peninsula.
• The two sections of the half shield encompassing the waves, illustrate a solid foundation of institutional integrity and excellence, supporting and encouraging dynamic forward movement, innovation and change, towards “Creating Futures”.

The shape of the shield subliminally evokes the outline of southern Africa and the traditional shape of a heart, emphasising the vision of the institution to be at the heart of technology education and innovation in Africa.

image sent by Paul Bassinson, 10 Sept 2023

A variant of the flag exists which incorporates the 'wave' spects of the CPUT branding, with the logo above a series of waves.

Waves represents technology, as in sound and light waves, oscillations, and graph parabola used in business and economics, amongst others.  The number, frequency (how many times they rise and fall), depth, length, thickness and colour are optional – at the designer’s discretion. Waves for brand executions must use the brand blues and shades of them. They can also use greys. Waves for faculty executions must use shades of the faculty colour, but can use brand colours in combination with them.
Paul Bassinson, 10 Sept 2023 and Bruce Berry, 11 Nov 2023