VC’s Campus-wide Conversations and other updates

Dear colleagues and students

The Vice-Chancellor’s (VC) Campus Conversations initiative has shared an update on the trends that have emerged from the conversations held so far. Read more about this and other recent developments on campus.

1. VC’s Campus-wide Conversations

The VC’s Campus-wide Conversations, facilitated by two independent practitioners – Professor Thandabantu Nhlapo and Ms Nomfundo Walaza – were designed to unfold over multiple phases, with the first running until June 2025. This was meant to lay a foundation for subsequent phases that would anchor the lessons we learn and ways in which we choose to move forward.

From what the practitioners have been able to gather in just over 40 weeks of listening, and notwithstanding the dangers of misinterpretation, misunderstanding and over-generalisation, the most worrying trends can be clustered under the statement: “UCT is not a welcoming place”.

High up on the list of problematic cultural practices reported by participants are lapses in governance and a tendency to adhere to an archaic and outdated bureaucracy. Members of the UCT community shared stories of failings in admissions, registration and accommodation. The practitioners viewed this as a worrying trend given that an institution is judged by how it caters to its critical stakeholders, who in this case are the students.

Running across the themes was a sense of a university where the Gaza resolutions adopted by Council have laid bare entrenched divisions and polarisation to the point where collegiality is at its lowest point. The words “toxic” and “unsafe spaces” were a constant reference. This climate causes individuals to fear expressing their honest opinions, which has an adverse effect on creative and innovative thinking.

• Read the preceding VC Desk for more details, including the practitioners’ bios.
• Watch a video interview with Professor Thandabantu Nhlapo and Ms Nomfundo Walaza.

Your voice is vital to the success of this campus-wide initiative. You are invited to:

• secure a session with the facilitators by sending an email.
• share your insights, questions or suggestions by contacting us through the dedicated mailbox.
• Read the full VC Desk: Update on VC’s Campus-wide Conversations.

2. Survey: How artificial intelligence (AI) is affecting assessment practices

Teaching staff are invited to participate in a research project, the findings of which will contribute to developing support services and resources to build AI in education literacy and to support assessment practices at UCT.

UCT continues to respond in multiple ways to support sound and caring assessment practices. For example, the Senate Teaching and Learning Committee recently endorsed the UCT AI in Education Framework; AI Teaching Innovation Grants have been awarded to 14 AI tool implementation projects; the AI in Education Community of Practice was launched, and a number of AI Guides as well as the AI Literacies self-paced module were developed.

The research is conducted by the Enhancing Assessment Literacy and Practices in the Age of AI (UCDG Project 7) team, who completed this survey last year, working with the Assessment Practices Working Group.

• Read the full DVC Desk: Survey: How AI is affecting assessment practices.
• Complete the brief survey.

3. Invitation: Support UCT’s QS reputation rankings

As part of UCT’s participation in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings (WUR) 2027 cycle, the university is required to submit a list of senior academic peers and graduate employers. QS will contact these individuals and invite them to take part in the Academic and Employer Reputation Surveys. The academic reputation survey counts for 30% of the overall ranking, and the employer survey counts for 15%. Together, they influence UCT’s position in the QS WUR.

Each year, UCT can nominate academic peers and employers for inclusion in these surveys. While rankings do not define the university’s success, they offer opportunities to attract strong students, funding and collaborators. The rankings also draw criticism because the reputation surveys tend to favour institutions in the Global North. Reputation metrics remain an area where UCT and many universities in the Global South face challenges. This nomination process creates space to address that imbalance.

Staff are invited to share the contact information of international peers who are familiar with their work and recognise the quality of research and teaching at UCT.

• Read the full DVC Desk: Invitation: Support UCT’s QS reputation rankings.
• Complete the online form by 12 December 2025.

4. ICTS scheduled maintenance on Sunday, 14 December

Please note that Sunday, 14 December 2025, will be an ICTS scheduled maintenance slot from 07:00 to 17:00. Unless advised to the contrary, do not expect any on-premise ICT services to be available for the duration of the maintenance slot. Cloud-based services (including Amathuba, email, Microsoft 365 services, and ServiceNow) are not impacted and can still be accessed.

Additionally, numerous buildings on the upper, lower, and Health Sciences campuses, as well as Health Sciences remote sites, may experience a brief interruption to network services during the day. Please see the December 2025 scheduled maintenance notice for details.

Please remember to consult the scheduled ICTS maintenance slots page before planning any teaching, conferences, meetings, etc that require ICT services. The 2026 schedule has been published to the page.

Communication and Marketing Department