Message from the Dean, Prof Roelf Sandenbergh

The Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology at the University of Pretoria offers graduate courses that are not only at the forefront of the various disciplines, but that also equip graduates to be leaders in their chosen professions. The key to the Faculty's success is the high premium it places on innovation. This is embodied in our approach to training, training methods and research – but above all, in the wealth-creating attitude nurtured in our students. Therefore it is no wonder that the Faculty is the market leader and that the students who graduate here are known as the Innovation Generation!

The Faculty comprises three schools, being the School for Engineering, the School for the Built Environment and the School for Information Technology. The School for Engineering is the largest of its kind in the country and provides by far the greatest number of graduates. All disciplines in engineering in the country are presented here. The School for the Built Environment is also the largest of its kind in the country and it covers the entire spectrum of programmes in the built environment. The School for Information Technology is unique in the country. It is the first of its kind in South Africa and students have the advantage of an integrated approach in IT. Programmes in electrical, electronic and computer engineering, computer science and informatics are offered in a synergistic approach in one faculty. The Faculty is also unique in the country in its approach to and capabilities in innovation. Training and research programmes are supported by the Faculty's Institute for Technological Innovation and the Department of Engineering and Technology Management – both the first and only ones in the country.

The University of Pretoria aims to be internationally competitive while at the same time being locally relevant. The Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment and Information Technology supports this goal by ensuring that the training and research programmes always meet the highest standards. National and international accreditation is the order of the day, both for the graduate programmes and the research laboratories. We are serious about ensuring that the market value of the degrees awarded in this Faculty at the University of Pretoria will always have a competitive advantage for our students. The Faculty adds value to its degrees which are sought-after in the market, as are our students.

The Faculty's programmes are accessible to everyone who meets the academic standards. Undergraduate programmes are presented in Afrikaans and English (except in some instances where programmes are presented in English only). The University also has various financial schemes to assist deserving students with bursaries and loans.

Local relevance is assured through close co-operation with industry. In this field also, the University has deployed a number of innovations. The University's strategic alliance with the CSIR, known as the Southern Education and Research Alliance (or SERA), creates unequalled opportunities for students and personnel for both training and research. The Innovation Hub being developed on the University's experimental farm is a project of SERA and the Gauteng provincial government where some of the world's foremost high-technology firms are establishing research and development laboratories. The Faculty's students are involved in this to provide them with unique experiences and opportunities. Students who would like to establish their own firms get the opportunity to participate in the University of Pretoria Technology Incubator (UPTI). Contractual research and consultation are facilitated by the University's own firm, Research Enterprises at University of Pretoria (Pty) Ltd.

Come and study at the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology and become part of the Innovation Generation!