“King’s College London visits VUT to explore global engineering collaboration and empower female students with digital skills through an innovative COIL initiative.”
29 July 2025 | Story By: Tshepiso Kaibe | Picture: Naledi Nkosi
3 minutes read time.
On 24 July 2025, the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) welcomed esteemed delegates from King’s College London, one of the United Kingdom’s top ten universities, for an engagement focused on collaborative innovation in engineering education. This pivotal visit marked the beginning of promising international ties and capacity building between institutions across continents.
Dr Tabbi Wilberforce, a lecturer in the Department of Engineering at King’s College, attended the engagement in person at VUT’s main campus. He was joined virtually by his colleagues, Dr Naseem Ramil, a lecturer in Engineering Education, and Dr Francesco Restuccia, a senior lecturer in Engineering. The session attracted distinguished guests, including representatives from the Durban University of Technology (DUT) and the University of South Africa (UNISA), underscoring the significance of the visit.
The programme was led by Dr Grace Kanakana Katumba, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and Learning at VUT, who also served as the programme director. Official welcomes were delivered by Dr Speech Nelana, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation, Commercialisation and Internationalisation, who emphasised the importance of strengthening global partnerships in higher education.
VUT Vice-Chancellor, Professor Khehla Ndlovu, provided an overview of the university’s four faculties and academic offerings. He expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration with King’s College, UNISA and DUT, highlighting the mutual benefits of shared learning and institutional growth.
Dr Wilberforce then delivered a compelling presentation introducing King’s College London and its Department of Engineering. He explained that the interest in partnering with South African institutions began in 2023, driven by a commitment to enhancing curriculum development and expanding research networks through an engineering programme funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering.
He outlined the history of engineering at King’s College, which had been discontinued but was reintroduced in 2019 with a modern, interdisciplinary approach. Unlike traditional programmes delivered in separate streams, the curriculum at King’s allows students to explore multiple engineering disciplines, equipping them with a broad and adaptable skill set. Notably, King’s College has the highest percentage of female engineering students among Russell Group universities, standing at an impressive 33 percent.
According to Dr Wilberforce, the institution is focused on developing engineers who are capable of addressing emerging and unpredictable challenges. Students are taught to approach problems pragmatically, with an emphasis on learning technologies and solving open-ended problems that do not have predefined solutions. A central aim of the visit was to initiate Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) opportunities between King’s College and South African universities.
Representing VUT’s Faculty of Engineering and Technology was Dr Kentse Motsetse, Head of Department for Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering. Standing in for the Executive Dean, Professor Khaled Abou El Hossein, Dr Motsetse provided an overview of the faculty’s academic programmes, grant opportunities and strategic initiatives aimed at encouraging young women to pursue careers in engineering.
This prompted Dr Wilberforce to reference a recent study in the United Kingdom which revealed that male engineering graduates remain more employable than their female counterparts, largely due to early exposure to technical skills. He stressed the importance of equal access to development opportunities and proposed the upskilling of women in engineering, particularly through digital competencies such as programming languages like Python.
The programme then moved to an auditorium session arranged specifically for female engineering students at VUT. Dr Wilberforce presented the initiative designed to empower young women through digital skills training, assuring attendees that the online course would be scheduled around their academic commitments. Upon successful completion, students would receive a certificate validating their newly acquired programming capabilities, significantly enhancing their employability and confidence in the technology-driven job market.
The visit concluded with an induction in VUT’s engineering laboratories, offering students a glimpse into the hands-on learning experience they can expect through the programming initiative.