UCT alumni shine on 200 Young South Africans list

At least 22 of the young South Africans featured on the Mail & Guardian's 200 Young South Africans 2016 list have studied at UCT.

This year marks the 11th anniversary of this annual list, which features notable South Africans under the age of 35 who have made a mark for themselves in categories ranging from civil society to the environment.

The following UCT alumni feature on the 2016 list:

1. Jazz vocalist Vuyolwethu Sotashe studied at UCT's College of Music and graduated with top honours and the 2012 class medal.
2. Playwright and director Penelope Youngleson has an MA in theatre making from UCT and is a 2016 Bertha scholar at UCT's Graduate School of Business.
3. Dr Tinashe Chandauka, a medical intern and aspiring academic surgeon, will be pursuing a DPhil in surgical studies at Oxford University after qualifying at UCT.
4. Dr Mamaila Lebea obtained her MBChB at UCT at the age of 23 and is specialising in paediatric cardiology.
5. Biochemist and lecturer Dr Tozama Qwebani-Ogunleye completed her master's at UCT. She has been named as one of 25 emerging women scientists in South Africa.
6. Urban development researcher Alexandra Appelbaum obtained a BA(Hons) in urban history at UCT. Her interest in urban planning arose from an exchange programme with the University of California, Berkeley.
7. Storyteller Ameera Patel completed a BA in theatre and performance at UCT in 2005. She is an actor, theatre practitioner, poet and novelist.
8. Presenter and producer Thenjiwe Stemela obtained a degree in theatre and performance at UCT before landing a job with SABC 3's Expresso morning show.
9. Kgotsi Chikane is president of a non-partisan, youth-led social movement called InkuluFreeHeid and has a degree in public administration from UCT. He played a prominent role in the #FeesMustFall campaign in 2015.
10. Attorney Georgina Jephson, who graduated with a BA LLB from UCT in 2005, made a name for herself working on South Africa's biggest class action suit seeking compensation for gold mine workers with silicosis and TB.
11. Co-founder of designer fashion label Burgundy Fly, Nobesuthu Ndlovu completed her studies in information systems at UCT in 2001.
12. Entrepreneur Tokologo Phetla, who founded Black Industrialists and Commodore Media, studied finance and accounting at UCT.
13. UCT alumnus Mpho Sekwele founded the Cape Town-based Bantu Hikers' club for young professionals.
14. Emma Dicks is the founder and director of Code4CT, a programme that introduces learners to web development. She is a UCT business science graduate.
15. Ndoni Khanyile is an actress, presenter and storyteller who graduate with a BA in theatre and performance from UCT.
16. Award-winning filmmaker Teboho Edkins studied photography at UCT.
17. Michel Muberuka is the acting director of transportation services with the Polokwane municipality. His degree in civil engineering at UCT sparked his interest in urban engineering and transport.
18. A former UCT SRC president (2006/7), Zukiswa Mqolomba, also won the Vice-Chancellor's Student Leader Award in 2007. She is director of social insurance schemes in the Department of Social Development and is currently pursuing her PhD at UCT.
19. David Gluckman is director of Lumkani, a technology company that builds fire detection systems for informal settlements. He is a UCT business science graduate.
20. Space engineer Dayne Kemp is pursuing a PhD with NASA in the United States. As an undergraduate at UCT he founded the Space and Astronomy Association.
21. Laura Windvogel (who paints under the pseudonym Ladie Skollie) is an artist who produces work about sex, gender, relationships and sexuality. A history of art graduate from Michaelis, she's exhibited at several group shows and art fairs, and has recorded a series of podcasts talking about relationships.
22. Mandisa Shandu, co-director of activist organisation Ndifuna Ukwazi, graduated from UCT with a BSocSci in political science and an LLB. She heads the organisation's law clinic, and seeks to advance urban land justice in Cape Town by providing legal and advocacy support to communities and social movements.

Story Andrea Weiss.