| University of Technology, Mauritius | |
|---|---|
| Established | 21 June 2000 |
| Type | Public |
| President | S Reddi |
| Location | La Tour Koenig, Pointe aux Sables, Mauritius |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | www.utm.ac.mu |
The University of Technology, Mauritius (commonly known as UTM) is a public university in Mauritius. The main campus lies in La Tour Koenig, Pointe aux Sables within the district of Port Louis. It was founded following the Government of Mauritius approval of the setting up of the University of Technology, Mauritius in January 2000 and the proclamation of the The University of Technology, Mauritius Act [1] on 21 June 2000. The UTM is the latest of the two universities present in Mauritius.
UTM has a specialized mission with a technology focus. It applies traditional and beyond traditional approaches to teaching, training, research and consultancy. The university has been founded with the aim to play a key role in the economic and social development of Mauritius through the development of programmes of direct relevance to the country’s needs, for example in areas like technology, sustainable development science, and public sector policy and management.
UTM is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities and is listed in the Commonwealth Universities Handbook and in the International Handbook of Universities. UTM is also a member of the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA) - A network of public universities in the SADC region.
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The initial phase of the setting up of the university consisted in the merging of two public training institutions, the Mauritius Institute of Public Administration and Management (MIPAM) and the State Information Training Centre (SITRAC) into Schools. The School of Business Informatics and Software Engineering, the School of Public Sector Policy and Management and the School of Sustainable Development Science became operational since September 2000. With its sustained expansion in the following years, the University started a restructuring process in September 2008. The schools were respectively renamed as School of Innovative Technologies and Engineering (SITE), School of Business Management and Finance (SBMF) and School of Sustainable Development and Tourism (SSDT) to match their designated objects.
UTM explicitly aims to co-operate with the mauritian government and business, and to promote entrepreneurship. In-company training is part of the curriculum in the tourism management programmes. It offers programmes on a part-time and distance basis as well as flexible entry and exit points, in order to facilitate access. Many of the programmes are occupationally or vocationally directed, for example, banking and finance, or tourism management and marketing, or software engineering. It offers short course programmes such as a full-time course for higher executive officers for 15 weeks. In this orientation and approach it differs from traditional universities in the SADC.[1]
Courses are run within the main campus in La Tour Koenig and its satellite centres in La Tour Koenig, Bell Village and Moka. The building of a new campus near Moka, is underway to sustain its expansion.[2]
UTM tuition fees are non subsidised, as opposed to the University of Mauritius (UoM). A Tertiary Education Commission study revealed that the percentage of students satisfied with respect to course delivery was higher at the UTM as compared to the UoM.[3]
The School of Innovative Technologies and Engineering (SITE) is considered as the leading Software Engineering and Business Informatics institution on the island and the region. It aims at helping Mauritius create the necessary IT professionals to work in the Mauritian Cyber Island and the region.
The three principal degree courses that attract the most student applicants are the BSc(Hons) Computer Science with Network Security, BSc(Hons) Software Engineering and BSc(Hons) Business Information Systems.
The School of Business Management and Finance (SBMF) delivers education, training, research and consultancy in areas of Public Policy and Management, Public Administration, Human Resource Management, Financial Management, Business Administration, Banking and International Finance and Communication. The School has more than 700 students enrolled on its full-time and part-time programmes which are delivered by more than 70 full-time and part-time academic staff.
The School of Sustainable Development and Tourism (SSDT) caters for very specific areas of the Mauritian economy such as Tourism, Sustainable Development and Environmental Sciences. An MoU has also been signed with the Hotel School of Mauritius for UTM students to benefit from their facilities for practical sessions. In-company training, especially in hotels is also part of the curriculum. The School aims at producing graduates to work in the sustainable economic, social and environmental sectors of Mauritius.
The Research Degree Committee (RDC) is responsible for research degrees. Staff are encouraged to pursue doctoral degrees. In 2008, there were 30 MPhil/PhD candidates on a full time and part time basis. The areas of research include management, tourism, applied mathematics, modelling and sustainable development.
UTM has established academic partnerships with industry leaders like Microsoft, InterSystems,[4] SAP,[5] Oracle Corporation and Sun Microsystems. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with the Mauritius Information and Technology Industry Association (MITIA) and the National Computer Board (NCB) for fostering a pool of qualified ICT professionals to sustain Mauritius' booming ICT industry.[6] The University has established links with the Hotel School of Mauritius and Constance Academy[7] to deliver tourism courses and the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE) to offer Bachelor in Education degrees.[8]
Since June 2009, the university has been affiliated with Dr D Y Patil Medical College to award postgraduate medical degrees in General medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Gynecology, Orthopedics, Radiology, Anesthesia, Psychiatry, Ophthalmology, Skin and VD.
The number of programmes and intake of students have increased consistently since the foundation of the University in order to meet Mauritian government's national objectives. The main campus' capacity being limited, decision was taken as from 2004 to set up satellite centres to hold courses, thus affecting campus life.[9]