The eNtsa staff lives by the motto of “Innovation through Engineering”, this is a boundary-less action which goes beyond technology and engineering but becomes a decision-making directive, guiding our engagement as engineers with nature and people. Innovative engineering engagement in eNtsa is supported by four core values: teamwork, integrity, innovation and excellence.

By using the above as our “engagement law”, the eNtsa engineers are obligated to be ethical in their endeavours to solve problems with an appreciation for social implications. This approach safeguards industry/public confidence in a rapidly changing world driven by the advancement of technologies, challenging our self-created comfort zones more regularly.

The Advanced Mechatronics Technology Centre (AMTC) is a community-engaged centre where faculty and staff, students, alumni, and partners from communities of diverse types, interests, and locations, from local to global, collaborate strategically to:

• Advance human capacity and community potential.
• Improve social, educational, and scientific progress.
• Strengthen the economy through scientific and technological innovation and new business growth.
• Promote social justice and cultural diversity; and
• Inspire creative expression and entrepreneurship.

merSETA Engineering Development Programme

The merSETA Engineering Development Programme at  Nelson Mandela University was established in 2010 with the purpose to grow human resources in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics and industrial engineering in order to enhance the manufacturing industry in the Eastern Cape to enable competitiveness and a growing and sustainable economy.

Renewable Energy Research Group (MandelaUni Autonomous Operations)

The Renewable Energy Research Group (RERG) and MandelaUni Autonomous Operations understand the need to be part of the solution to real-world engineering challenges. We focus on engaging with and understanding the needs of South Africans in a South African environment. We focus on tangible outcomes that improve the lives of people and assist the economy in a sustainable manner whilst involving and hence educating learners and the community. We see collaboration and group-thinking as the key to solving engineering challenges. With the synthesis of input from all engineering/scientific disciplines innovative, solid solutions grow from the ground up in record time.

Engaged engineering to the WELA team means creating a culture of inclusion, equality and innovation. It means being aware of the needs of our female engineering students and practicing female engineers and developing programmes and workshops to complement the academic skills acquired. Engaged engineering means taking responsibility for fostering a sense of leadership that is centred around innovation, change and forward-thinking. Engaged engineering means that we focus on the development and support of women operating in traditionally male-dominated environments, creating opportunities to grow female engineers and attract more girls and women to the field.  

STEM in ACTION consciously exposes learners to the technologies to empower them to engage with these. Engaging with learners on a technological level is applied to seeking information on academic matters, sharing information about careers and applications for universities. Engaged also gets a new meaning when learners are exposed to real-life careers by interacting with professionals and workspaces of scientists and engineers in a variety of circumstances. In the case of STEM in ACTION, there is real and active “connecting with “learners and especially mathematics and science educators from Grade 3 – 12 which is evident on several Community of Practice platforms created for groups of educators. All teaching and learning taking place at STEM in ACTION are aimed at engaged learning, whether it is an educator’s development or interacting with learners.

Siemens Training Centre

The Siemens Training Centre is fully accredited by the Siemens Automation and Controls training division (SITRAIN) and offers courses to both engineering students, staff (CPD points), and industry customers. A range of automation courses is offered as stipulated by an annually renewable contract.

The SIEMENS CERTIFIED training offered, provides individuals with the confidence to effectively apply systems and optimize product usage. Knowledgeable employees with the correct training, result in shorter start-up times, reduced downtimes, and faster troubleshooting. Training for electricians/technicians etc includes service and maintenance aspects of technology, advanced programming, industrial networking, and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) for technicians and engineers.

Through the long-term collaboration between academia and industry, the Isuzu Chair of Mechatronics makes a significant impact on human resource development, benefits students, local industry, and the community at large. For longer than a decade, Mechatronics students have been actively involved in industry-based projects clearly demonstrating how successful and mutually beneficial a university-industry partnership can be.

The Chair seeks to optimise the benefits placed upon the EBET Faculty by the university to lead the development and maintenance of multi-disciplinary human settlements academic programmes at both under- and postgraduate levels, since 2014. Formal education programmes are complemented by non-formal short learning programmes targeting practitioners in the three spheres of government and the private sector. A suite of short learning programmes (SLPs) has thus far been offered to Members of Parliament, Councillors, Traditional Leaders, and other government officials. These SLPs include topics such as sustainable human settlement planning, informal settlement upgrading theories and practices, social housing facilitation and administration, housing finance, housing business processes, project management, construction management, the theory of land use planning and management, property development and investment, property law and property valuation.

The Centre for Community Technologies’ work is focused on the development of human potential and wellbeing, particularly in disadvantaged, vulnerable, and deep-rural communities. Our tool towards achieving this is needs-driven smart technology,” says Professor Darelle van Greunen, Director of the Centre for Community Technologies (CCT).

The overarching goal of the CCT’s work is to contribute to the achievement of several Millennium Development Goals for South Africa and the continent; namely to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, diabetes, and other diseases, and develop global partnerships for development.

The SACASC is a partnership between Mandela University and Cisco Systems, which is a networking technologies conglomerate based in the USA. Through this partnership, the SACASC renders support and training services to a variety of private and public institutions in education and ICT. For the entity,” engaged technology” means building partnerships, infusing relevant cutting-edge communication networking skills to academic programmes, imparting computer networking skills to both the marginalised communities and established IT professionals who implement and support networking systems. Our projects are designed to yield social and economic transformation of the national and regional communities we serve. As an entity, we pride ourselves in fortressing the Nelson Mandela University brand in national, regional and international for an afforded by our support and training activities.

The Pearson VUE testing Centre at Nelson Mandela University is part of a global network of test centres. From online practice tests to high-stakes, proctored exams that require the industry’s most secure testing environments, Pearson VUE is the leader in computer-based testing. We serve test-owners and test-takers in nearly every industry including Academia & admissions, Financial & related services, Government, Health care and Information technology (IT).

Infrastructure development is essential for economic growth, community development and productivity. The provision of basic infrastructure such as transport networks, water and sewerage systems enhance communities while at the same time provides employment opportunities. There is no limit to the extent of engagement between the various stakeholders that should take place in order to ensure successful infrastructure development that meets the needs of the particular area.  Our goal as the Infrastructure Development & Engagement Unit is to seek to participate in all relevant initiatives within the domestic infrastructure landscape.

CLT is an alternative, manufactured timber, new building material that contributes significantly fewer carbon emissions, compared to concrete and steel, generated by building construction. Hence it is a more sustainable and environmentally friendly building material. The CLT Engagement Unit is working to promote:  the adoption of CLT as an alternative building material, the inclusion of CLT in the curriculum of existing programmes, the development of short learning programmes for reskilling practitioners (Structural Engineers, Architects, Construction Managers, and Quantity Surveyors), CLT research to better understand its characteristics and applications, and the establishment of a CLT ecosystem to support a CLT manufacturing facility in South Africa - with the associated triple benefits of economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction.

The Marine Robotics Unit is in its infancy and was established in March 2019 to support researchers based on the new Nelson Mandela Ocean Science Campus University as well as other activities that require such support and expertise in the field of marine robotics. The MRU is  based in The Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment and Technology (EBET) but works across all Nelson Mandela University departments and faculties given the transdisciplinary nature of the work the unit envisages conducting.

The Nelson Mandela University Maritime Training Centre was established in 2018 and is accredited by STC-SA to offer Maritime Training, Marine Engineering High Voltage and Marine Firefighting at our facility on the North Campus, Port Elizabeth. We offer Maritime/Basic Safety Training Learning Opportunities in accordance with the STCW Code, as amended in 2010 and the SAMSA Qualifications Code.

In the Centre for Research in Information and Cyber Security (CRICS), we are engaged through researching relevant, real-life problems, and by connecting to communities through professional and community activities. CRICS members are active in the International Federation of Information Processing (IFIP), specifically in the working groups of Technical Committee 11. Locally, CRICS engage with other industry bodies such as the IITPSA and ISACA, through organizing industry events. During 2019 ISACA awarded CRICS the ISACA Contribution Award. Members have also presented cybersecurity talks at a STEM workshop, a couple of schools, a Careers Evening and the FamHealth Leadership Academy.

An engaged Built Environment aims to do more with less, using technology as an additional tool to achieve this. By employing smart sensors in building equipment or civil engineering infrastructure we can optimise performance, reducing carbon emissions and extend maintenance cycles. Likewise, the very materials used can be teched to be stronger, lighter, cheaper and perform better in our changing climatic environment, thereby reducing raw material use and enabling new manufacturing processes such as 3D printing. Lastly, the business of construction can be streamlined through digital technologies that enhance the communication process, enable mistakes to be made virtually and provide a twin of the final product to enhance the management of those buildings through data analysis and AI.

The Advanced Engineering Design Group (AEDG) at Nelson Mandela University is an engagement group in the Faculty of Engineering that focuses on Design for Light weighting, Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM), Generative Design & Topology Optimization, Lattice Design, Biomimicry & Conceptual Design, IoT & Robotics, Industry 4.0 Design Integration, and Innovative Design for the Medical field, in projects that are student-driven and which involve cross-institutional, industry and private sector participation. The group focuses on collaborative projects to produce physical & functional real-world outcomes that promote & encourage engineering design utilising the latest available technology platforms in tandem with their industry and private sector partners.