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UJ retains international IT accreditation

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 11 Oct 2013

The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is the first African university to attain and sustain full international accreditation for its BSc Honours IT degree.

According to the university, the British Computer Society (BCS) and the Chartered Institute for IT, based in London, have accredited its IT honours degree for the third consecutive year. This follows a visit by the team's accreditation panel to UJ earlier this year.

"UJ's BSc Honours IT degree met, above threshold, the education requirements for Chartered Information Technology Professional (CITP) registration for a period of five intakes, from the 2013 intake up to and including the 2017 intake," notes the institution.

"The international accreditation not only highlights the standard of the university's teaching and learning programmes, but also reflects its Academy of Computer Science and Software Engineering's (ACSSE's) drive to ensure the university's graduates are fully equipped to join industry, locally and internationally," says professor Elize Ehlers, ACSSE's department head. "The Academy fortifies IT research and strengthens innovation and skills development, which could translate into job creation within the IT industry, which is prioritised in the National Development Plan, driven by minister in the presidency, Trevor Manuel."

According to the institution, in 2003, UJ was the first institution to achieve the prestigious and exclusive BCS accreditation. Subsequent to this achievement, the accreditation was awarded again to UJ's ACSSE after meeting the required criteria in 2008. Currently, UJ is one of two universities in SA with the accreditation. Other international universities accredited include the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.

The accreditation means UJ students who successfully complete this degree can join the BCS as professional members and later achieve international CITP status, says Ehlers. "Students should complete either the BSc Information Technology or the BSc Computer Science and Informatics degree at UJ to obtain entrance to the BSc Honours Information Technology degree."

Currently, over 80% of staff are professional members of the BCS, with professor Basie von Solms, head of UJ and the International Telecommunications Union's Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security, being a certified information technology professional and fellow of the BCS.

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