Mangosuthu University of Technology is a university of technology situated in Umlazi near the city of Durban, South Africa, on a site overlooking the Indian Ocean. MUT is located in the academic hub in the eThekwini metropole. It is a residential university.
In 1974, the Chief Minister of KwaZulu, Dr. Mangosuthu Buthelezi, began discussing the idea of a dedicated tertiary educational institution specializing in technical subjects for black students to meet the urgent and growing demand for expertise in these subjects.
Anglo American and De Beers Consolidated Mines pledged R5 million to start building the initial facility, and later they were joined by Mobil Oil, AECI, the S.A. Sugar Millers’ Association, the Rembrandt and Distillers Corporation, LTA Limited, Sasol, and other sponsors, who pledged more funds to establish the Schools for Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Building, and Business and Secretarial Studies.
By mid-1977, the project could go ahead. The KwaZulu Cabinet decided to site the Technikon in Umlazi, which, while part of KwaZulu, is also part of the Durban Metropolitan Area.
Given the urgency of the demand for technicians and the need to build up the institution in an orderly fashion, it was decided to open its doors as soon as possible.
Hence preliminary but permanent buildings were designed and built, and teaching began in 1979. The Technikon moved into its main buildings on their completion in September 1981.
In November 2007, Mangosuthu Technikon was renamed Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT).
