Guest speaker Mr Sandras Phiri

13 December 2019 | Video Nico Badenhuizen. Photo Roger Sedres.

Mr Sandras Phiri, UCT alumnus and CEO and founder of Africa Trust Academy, was the guest speaker at the Faculty of Health Sciences graduation ceremony at 18:00 on Friday, 13 December 2019.

In a warm and engaging speech that balanced serious notes and reflection on his own life experiences with relatable anecdotes about human behaviour, he encouraged graduands to take their work seriously, to persevere through countless challenges, to remember the humanity that is served by the work of science, and to keep trying until they find a solution.

“When you commit, you see different results. People see that. Your superiors see that. Your investors see that. But commitment requires courage. It requires the courage to say ‘I’ll do it’.”


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December graduation 2019


The University of Cape Town will be celebrating the graduation of 1 960 of its students over six graduation ceremonies on 12, 13 and 23 December, which include the conferral of three honorary doctorates and the presentation of the UCT Book Award and the UCT Creative Works Award. This graduation season, we also bid a fond farewell to our chancellor, Mrs Graça Machel, who has been the titular head of the university for the past 20 years. Her compassionate and dedicated service to the university will be deeply missed.
Farewell Chancellor Graça Machel
 

Our stories: inspirational graduates


UCT part of PhD graduand’s destiny As Olivia Matshabane prepared to receive her PhD from UCT this month, she said the highs have outweighed the lows during her journey. 20 Dec 2019
Former Miss SA’s road to graduation Tamaryn Green will graduate with her MBChB from UCT on Monday, 23 December, and says she will forever remember the “challenging yet fulfilling” seven-year journey. 19 Dec 2019
Through dysphoria to a doctoral degree Velile Vilane’s journey to a PhD from the Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment goes beyond the degree – it’s about coming into being. 12 Dec 2019
Balancing a baby and the books Rejoice Gorni, a student at UCT’s Graduate School of Business, returned to lectures just days after giving birth to complete her PGDip in management. 12 Dec 2019
‘Education was my only hope’ Monica Damane, who will graduate on Thursday, 12 December, with her MSc in engineering says the road to this achievement has been far from easy. 11 Dec 2019
‘I refused to be called a failure’ Having endured personal setbacks and defied the odds, Furaha Abwe will graduate with his PhD in Architecture and Planning on Thursday, 12 December. 11 Dec 2019
Swimming upstream – the second-chance graduand This week UCT celebrates its inspirational graduands, students such as staffer Nombuso Shabalala who reclaimed her life after a traumatic event had left her becalmed. 10 Dec 2019
Burn the boat to win the island Having worked her way through to her doctoral studies, Delta Ndou will soon don the sought-after red robe to receive her PhD in Media Studies at UCT. 10 Dec 2019
Dream big and apply yourself fully Musa Kika arrived at UCT to study for an LLM, but his master’s was upgraded and he will be graduating in December with a PhD. 09 Dec 2019
Graduation speakers
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