Inaugural lectures by Professors Yuen and Meyer and other updates

04 October 2023

Dear colleagues and students

The University of Cape Town (UCT) will host four lectures this month in the UCT Inaugural Lecture series. The first two of these lectures will be delivered by Professors Steeve Chung Kim Yuen and Ines Meyer, on 10 and 12 October 2023 respectively. Read about this and other recent developments on campus.

1. Inaugural lectures by Professors Yuen and Meyer

Professor Yuen, a professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department and director of the Blast Impact and Survivability Research Unit, will present the 10th inaugural lecture in this year’s series on Tuesday, 10 October 2023 at the Snape Teaching Studio 3B, Snape Building on upper campus at 17:30. The lecture is titled “Urban blast loading: An insight into scaling”. In this lecture, Yuen will present the results of a series of experiments investigating the scaling effects on blast wave parameters found for reduced-scale urban blast scenario laboratory experiments.

On Thursday, 12 October 2023, Professor Meyer will present her inaugural lecture titled "Work-for-pay – for what? A call for human dignity to take centre stage in the employment debate”. It will be held at LCOM2B, Leslie Commerce Building, on upper campus at 17:00. In this lecture, Meyer, a professor of organisational psychology at the School of Management Studies, proposes a shift – or at least more nuance – in how we see the link between work, income and inclusive prosperity.


2. DSA’s Student Wellness Services launch pharmacy on campus

The Department of Student Affairs (DSA) recently launched a Student Wellness Pharmacy aimed at not only improving how students interact with the campus-based healthcare services provided to them but also to enhance their student experience.

Housed at the Student Wellness Clinic in the Ivan Toms Building, the student-centred pharmacy will increase students' access to primary healthcare medication and preventive care on campus. This is the first time UCT has a licensed retail pharmacy on campus that is available to support student needs.


3. UCT Day road and parking closures

Please note that Madiba East (Rugby Road) on upper campus will be closed from 11:00 to 18:00 on Friday, 6 October 2023 due to the activities and events as part of the inaugural UCT Day. All UCT Shuttle buses will operate from the North and South stops as usual.

Please also note that P4 parking will be closed from 06:00 to 18:00. Parking will be available at P1 (the Sports Centre), P6 (above the dam) and P5 (next to the South bus stop) and on middle campus.


4. Sanlam Cape Town Marathon road closures

The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is scheduled for Sunday, 15 October 2023. As a result, full road closures will affect the areas surrounding UCT. These roads include Main, Campground, Sandown, Park, Milner, Klipfontein, Liesbeek and others. Please take note of the road closures and plan accordingly.


5. City of Cape Town water cuts on Thursday, 5 October

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) has advised that the water supply main to Mowbray and Rondebosch will be shut off from 09:00 until 19:00 on Thursday, 5 October 2023, to enable the maintenance team to install a 300mm diameter valve on the main water supply pipeline and repair fire hydrants.

UCT's middle and lower campuses will be affected by the water cuts. There will be no impact on upper campus and the Faculty of Health Sciences campus.


6. Deadline extension: Teaching and Learning Conference (TLC) 2023 proposals

The submission date for proposals for the 2023 UCT Teaching and Learning Conference (TLC 2023) has been extended to Sunday, 8 October 2023. TLC 2023 will be held in-person at the Neville Alexander Building, Lower Campus on 21 and 22 November 2023.

This year’s conference aims to provide the UCT community with an opportunity to connect, share and envision purpose-driven, innovative, inclusive and socially-just assessment practices and strategies that can unleash human potential and meet the three pillars of Vision 2030: excellence, transformation and sustainability. The focus for this year’s TLC 2023 is “Assessment entangled: Reimagining assessment for excellence, transformation and sustainability”.


7. ICTS implementing network access control mechanisms

Over the month of October 2023, ICTS will implement Network Access Control (NAC) mechanisms to enhance network security on campus and to help UCT comply with a range of local and international standards and legislation. This does not impact wireless devices. However, if you connect your computing device on campus using a network cable, please configure the device by Tuesday, 24 October 2023 to avoid losing internet access.

Read the ICTS web article for full information and instructions.

Communication and Marketing Department


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