Staff members and students who passed away in 2023 and 2024 were remembered and honoured during a moving ceremony held at the Dome of Remembrance.
The ceremony saw the CPUT community coming together to reflect on the contributions made by their late colleagues and students, celebrate their lives, and share in the collective memory of the impact they had on the lives they touched.
Candles were lit in honour of their memory.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Operations, Prof Gilingwe Mayende, welcomed the attendees and said: “We are here today because we deem it necessary to not forget.”
Vice-Chancellor Prof Chris Nhlapo said their legacy would continue to live on.
“We gather here to celebrate their lives and dedication to learning, teaching and service. They left an indelible mark on our university community. Our departed colleagues answered the call of duty with unwavering dedication and unalloyed commitment. As we remember their life and service, let us not mourn in sorrow but celebrate the legacy they leave behind.”
He said the CPUT community’s thoughts and prayers were with the bereaved families.
Nhlapo and Dr Laurine Platzky, chairperson of the CPUT Council, read the list of Immortalisation and a wreath was laid inside the dome.
The names of the departed colleagues and students were digitally displayed inside the dome.
Messages of condolences were shared by Platzky on behalf of the council, SRC secretary general Thato Masonganye and labour representative Johnny Basson.
In her closing remarks, Prof Driekie Hay-Swemmer, Executive Director in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, said she was touched to see how the CPUT community had come together to honour the lives of staff and students who have passed.
“I've seen a community today woven together by shared experiences, challenges, hardships and for me each name edged in this digital Dome of Remembrance, with the names there, they all tell a unique story – a life that has touched the hearts of many and a legacy that will hopefully continue to inspire us.”
