UCT to strengthen south-south ties

International pulse: The Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Njabulo S Ndebele was among top political and business leaders at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Swtizerland.

Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Njabulo S Ndebele has indicated that UCT will seek to strengthen its links with the developing world in response to global economic needs.

He expressed this view at the February PASS forum, an information meeting for staff in pay classes 10 and above.

Ndebele, who recently attended the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, was giving feedback on what he thought UCT's priorities should be in the coming months.

He said the Davos meeting had highlighted the issue around China and India's burgeoning need for resources, including human capital.

He said he believed that UCT should revisit its vision and mission in the light of the global meeting at Davos and of President Thabo Mbeki's state of the nation address, which indicated that higher education had a pivotal role to play in economic development.

He saw the revisiting of the vision and mission as an "intense exercise", which should happen quickly in order to "capture the moment".

"I see an immense opportunity for UCT," he said. "From the international perspective, our primary responsibility is to our country and our continent."

Also reported at the PASS forum was that:

• UCT is currently building a 398-bed women's residence between Kopano and Marquard, scheduled to be ready for the 2007 intake
• a long-term guide plan for UCT will undergo a public participation exercise with the guiding principal to unite the campus between medical school and upper campus
• in order to be tax compliant, parking is no longer eligible for pre-tax deduction. New legislation with regard to medical aid will also have tax implications. The car scheme for certain pay classes will end on February 28 for the same reason
• staff at UCT will be urged to save electricity from March onwards in anticipation of rolling blackouts due to the problems at Koeberg power station that is running at only 50% capacity
• the International Academic Programmes Office (IAPO), headed by Dr Loveness Kaunda, who has returned to UCT, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

Please note: The PASS forum is convened by the Communication and Marketing Department on the second Thursday of the month in the Senate Room, Bremner Building. If you are in pay class 10 or above and wish to be on the mailing list, please e-mail clyons@bremner.uct.ac.za.