Our vision & mission
The IFOW’s vision is to become a leading ideation hub for the future of work by:
- Collaboratively engaging in high-impact research on 4IR and the Future of Work;
- Innovation endeavours intended to offer solutions to various societal challenges;
- Shaping curricula development to address the contemporary reality of the digital economy;
- Leading the narrative on 4IR and the Future of Work.
Our objectives
The IFOW’s strategic objectives are to:
- Engage in high-impact research and facilitate industry-funded and directed research in the areas of 4IR and Future of Work.
- Develop 4IR technologies that solve local problems.
- Optimise the use of TUT resources to serve the industry better in the area of 4IR.
- Provide an ideational platform for strategic dialogue and thinking on 4IR among different stakeholders in South Africa and internationally.
- Forge strategic relations with the industry and government to enhance work integrated learning (WIL) opportunities and funding for students.
- Influence curricula development endeavours and pedagogical practices to centre 4IR technologies in the University’s instructional offerings.
- Build capacity and capability for 4IR technologies at TUT; and
- Generate new businesses in areas of 4IR technologies.
Our people
Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee comprises members of the TUT Council and senior management, as well as external members.
Management
The day-to-day operations of the IFOW will be managed by a Director, supported by three programme managers.
Researchers
In addition to two full-time researchers, researchers from TUT, PhD candidates, as well as other local and international researchers with knowledge in the mapping of the future and emerging technologies will enhance the Institute’s research capacity.
About TUT
- A people's university that makes knowledge work
About TUT
Established in 2004, the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) is the largest contact university in the country, a preeminent university of technology (UoT) in Africa and rated among the top eleven universities in South Africa. Known as the people’s university, TUT provides quality education to more than 60 000 students annually, most of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The University has six campuses located in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, namely the Pretoria, Soshanguve, Ga-Rankuwa, eMalahleni, Mbombela and Polokwane Campuses. In addition, there are two learning sites based in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape respectively.
- More than 400 different career options through seven faculties
Large numbers of students enrol from other provinces, as well as neighbouring countries such as Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Swaziland.
TUT offers more than 400 different career options through seven faculties, namely Arts & Design, Economics & Finance, Engineering & the Built Environment, Humanities, ICT, Management Sciences and Science.
In teaching and learning, there are a number of interesting aspects that set the University apart. In line with our vision of “a people’s university that makes knowledge work”, the courses offered by TUT are entrepreneurship-based to equip students with the skills to contribute actively to the economy.
In addition, the University is the only tertiary institution in South Africa with a Faculty of ICT offering diverse fields of study. Our Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment is the largest in the country and our programmes in engineering was rated in the top 300 globally by Times Higher Education (THE) in 2018. The Sunchaser Solar Car designed and built by the faculty was ranked fourth internationally and first nationally in the 2018 Sasol Solar Car Challenge hosted in South Africa. TUT is also the only South African university of technology with an internationally rated business school – the Tshwane School of Business and Society.
A strong impetus for impact and innovation
- 13 distinct research chairs
A strong impetus for impact and innovation
The University’s research is strongly attuned to the needs of industry and society, creating a strong impetus for impact and innovation. TUT has 13 distinct research chairs, including the Gibela Chair in Manufacturing and Skills Development; Rand Water Chair in Water Utilisation, as well as DST-NRF Chairs in Innovation; Phytomedicine and Enabled Environment and Assisted Living. In addition, the University houses 18 centres, institutes, technology stations and incubators (CITSIs). Among these are the Centre for Tissue Engineering – housing the only Skin Bank in South Africa; the Centre for Energy and Electric Power; Centre for Entrepreneurship; Institute for Advanced Tooling; Institute for Economic Research & Innovation; the French South Africa Technology Institute (F’Sati) and the Institute for Nano-engineering.
TUT is truly an institution in service of the community. In our quest to promote knowledge and technology, we provide business and industry with a career-ready workforce and job creators, while focusing research and innovation to solve real-life challenges.