Our Services
The Central University of Technology (CUT) Free State established the Central University of Technology Innovation Services (CUTIS) in 2019 in response to South Africa’s triple challenge of poverty, inequality, and unemployment.
When delivering client solutions, we leverage the expertise of numerous disciplines from four faculties of CUT (Central University of Technology). Our approach involves deploying versatile, multi-faceted teams that deliver customised, innovative, and practical solutions with real-world relevance.
- Knowledge Application (e.g. Contract Research, Consultancy Services, Special Projects, Short Learning Programmes, Training & Skills Development)
- Intellectual Property Management (e.g. Licensing of Intellectual Property, Spin-out Companies)
- Infrastructure Development & Management (e.g. Rental of CUT Facilities, Laboratory Services)
- Innovation Support (e.g. Ideation, Proof of Concept, Prototyping)
- Entrepreneurship Support (e.g. Enterprise Development, Incubation);
Are fundamentally linked to positioning the university’s capabilities with the global perspective of being responsive to the continental developmental needs.
We cater to an extensive range of clients from both the private and public sectors focused on but not limited to the following areas:
- Agriculture Food and Hospitality (AFH)
- Circular Economy
- ICT & Smart Industries
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Infrastructure
Key Focus Areas
The ICT thematic area includes 4IR Technology Development. CUT is the first university in South Africa to be accredited as a Microsoft AI University which is a Microsoft Artificial Intelligence Certification Programme. The aim is to create the capacity needed in order to have suitably qualified facilitators in Artificial Intelligence that will be able to train large numbers of unemployed youth. The idea is to create a steady pipeline of AI Professionals in the Free State Province with Industry Standard International Certification from Microsoft
CUTIS is endeavoring to establish an incubation programme which will provide business development support to start-ups in the ICT and smart industries e.g., internet of things, cyber security, big data and analytics, artificial intelligence. The business incubation service offerings will be geared towards enabling, growing and fostering start-ups that will create jobs, commercialize innovative technologies and improve the competitiveness for the Free State Province.
The idea is based on the looking at enabling the establishment of a smart city which can be defined as “a city that strategically utilizes many smart factors such as Information and Communication Technology to increase the city’s sustainable growth and strengthen city functions, while guaranteeing citizens’ happiness and wellness.”
A human-centric smart city thus relies on an advanced ICT infrastructure and continued urban development, always taking environmental and economic sustainability into account.
CUTIS would like to emerge as the Centre of Excellence for Regenerative Agriculture and its value chains in South Africa by effectively using science, innovation and indigenous knowledge-based systems to develop agriculture towards a more inclusive and environmentally sustainable future that is beneficial for mankind.
The agriculture component will be themed on Regenerative Agriculture. All the farming systems to be supported will have an element of sustainable production in them incorporating climate change issues (carbon sequestration, reduction of GHG emissions), organic farming, resource conservation principles and inclusiveness (youth and women). With the Land Reform Programme underway in South Africa, the component will augment it with co-planning and implementation support through training, extension and mentorship.
The Food component will be themed on Food Security redefined through nutritional value parameters. The component will support the industry through integration of scientific methods in the development of agro-processing technologies that preserve the integrity of nutritional value of food commodities and promote diversification of the food choices through incorporation of indigenous knowledge systems in the food chain. This will be accomplished through establishment of Agro-processing Support Services, Diet & Recipe Development and Food Safety Research & Monitoring units within the CUTIS and CUT framework.
The Hospitality component of the Programme will be themed on Realization of Food Value through broadening variety of food service channels. The main focus of this initiative will be the Modernization of CUT Hotel School in CUT through an injection of investment to bring it up to global best practice standards while also differentiating itself through integration of local culture. As a spinoff from better training by the Hotel School new small businesses will be set up by the trained chefs and supported through the Management of Commercial Operations unit and will be backstopped by the Management Systems R&D function also to be established in-house.
CUTIS seeks to develop a Product Development and Advanced Manufacturing (PDAM) incubator which will focus on 4IR skills and technologies centered on additive manufacturing and related advanced manufacturing technologies. This incubator will be sector/industry-agnostic because of industry convergence fueled by 4IR and thus promote creation of new sectors and markets to assist entrepreneurs to develop product and /or process prototypes through which they can test the market and enhance their business cases.
CUTIS seeks to develop a Product Development and Advanced Manufacturing (PDAM) incubator which will focus on 4IR skills and technologies centered on additive manufacturing and related advanced manufacturing technologies. This incubator will be sector/industry-agnostic because of industry convergence fueled by 4IR and thus promote creation of new sectors and markets to assist entrepreneurs to develop product and /or process prototypes through which they can test the market and enhance their business cases.
The PDAM programme will be designed to attract and incubate entrepreneurs, start-ups, SMMEs, students, researchers who are running or want to start a manufactured-product centric business in any of the industry sectors being prioritized by the Free State Provincial Government e.g., agriculture, mining, manufacturing and the key sectors prioritized at the Maluti-a-Phofung Special Economic Zone (MAP SEZ) which include logistics, ICT, automotive, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, Agri-processing, light industrial and heavy industrial, food, plastic products, and textiles. These priority sectors are expected to result in a spurt of emerging SMMEs which are needed for the downstream and upstream of these value chains. These opportunities present viable markets for SMME goods and services in these various sectors, and also present supply chains in which the incubated start-ups and SMMEs can slot into. Therefore, the PDAM incubator will be a key enabler in addressing these specific market opportunities.
The focus of the PDAM programme will therefore be to bridge the gap between product development and commercialization of products in the aforementioned sectors. To mediate the prohibitive cost of tooling in South Africa that often limits advancement of new product development in the broader manufacturing industry, the PDAM seeks to support the creation and development of enterprises within the tooling sector which can provide innovative tooling solutions on time, within budget and of high quality.
The PDAM aspires to be a world-class incubator bridging the gap between product development and commercialization through:
- Advanced Product Development and Production knowledge and infrastructure
- Bridge tooling / limited run production tooling using additive manufacturing technologies
The incubator programme will be designed to help develop technical competencies and the required entrepreneurial skills to create and grow new businesses. This programme aims to assist in reducing the early-stage failure rate associated with SMMEs in the manufacturing sector and increase the probability of their survival in this highly competitive market.
CUTIS will develop a circular economy programme to integrate various aspects ranging from waste minimization to waste recycling and value edition. The over-arching approach is to champion integrated waste management and energy nexus. CUTIS wishes to implement a circular economy hub in Lejweleputswa District. The hub will consist of a repository of knowledge products, research and development, and practical demonstrations. This will be in conjunction with Welkom CUT campus as well as relevant partners in the area such as Lukhanyiso Food and Energy project incorporating the Lukhanyiso Bio-CNG project. It will also incorporate rehabilitation of mining damaged soils, rehabilitation of waste-water treatment plants and development of alternative building materials. There is also a “proposed environmentally compliant handling of automotive waste” project that will pioneer best practices in automotive waste management.
The vision of the Central University of Technology Innovation Services is to be the trusted provider of integrated and smart public infrastructure and property. It involves improvement of the quality of the various components of infrastructure, such as roads, power, ICT, water and sanitation.
