The Vaal University of Technology (VUT) was first established as a college for advanced technical education in 1966 and then transitioned into a Technikon in 1979. With the restructuring of the higher education landscape, the institution became a University of Technology in 2004 and has seen significant growth in its activities and reach since that time.

The University now operates from its main campus in Vanderbjlpark and the Science Park at the Sebokeng Campus where there is ample vacant land for future expansion. Within the higher education context, VUT’s mandate is to:
• promote teaching and learning which, through the use of technologically advanced education, prepares graduates for either employment or entrepreneurship.

• promote innovation and the commercialisation of new knowledge by undertaking basic and applied research and the promotion of technology and technology transfer, and

• be an engaged institution through an engaged scholarship with industry and its local community. With a total of nine (9) centres of excellence and 14 NRF-rated professors, VUT prides itself on its association with academics and NRF-rated researchers who not only produce world-class research that solves real-life problems but also empower aspiring researchers to engage the most experienced minds in several research fields as supervisors and aides.

On the international front, VUT has adopted a vision of comprehensive Internationalisation, specifically focusing on academic excellence, research, and innovation. The University continuously produces graduates whose qualifications are internationally recognised, and locally relevant. Community Engagement at VUT is guided by the principle of engaged scholarship and thus entails research that is informed and aims to solve community problems.

To achieve its concerted mission “The Vaal University of Technology’s mission is to develop techno-entrepreneurial graduates and innovators who will drive a vibrant transformation of a flourishing and sustainable society, industry and commerce.”; VUT has recently approved its Strategy 2033+ to refocus and comply with its mandate as a University of Technology.