Upcoming UCT inaugural lectures: May 2026

Dear colleagues and students

Inaugural lectures are an integral part of university life. They provide moments for us to pause, invite us to listen closely to the ideas that shape our disciplines, reflect on the journeys that have brought scholars to this point and engage with the questions that will define the future of knowledge. They remind us that universities are not only places of learning, but communities of thought – grounded in inquiry, debate and shared intellectual purpose.

It is in this spirit that I invite you to the next three inaugural lectures at the University of Cape Town (UCT), to be hosted during May 2026. These will be presented by Professors Sheetal Silal, Kasturi Behari-Leak and Ryan Nefdt.

These lectures highlight the work of distinguished colleagues whose research, teaching and leadership continue to shape their disciplines and contribute to the broader public good.

Professor Sheetal Silal (Faculty of Science)

Professor Silal will deliver her inaugural lecture, “Models, Policy and People: Predicting Health Impact in a Complex World”, on Tuesday, 12 May 2026 at 18:00 SAST at the Chris Hani Lecture Theatre, Level 1, Chris Hani Building, upper campus.

This lecture will explore how simulation models are used to support public health decision-making amid uncertainty. It will examine how models integrate data on diseases, populations and health systems to predict the impact of policy choices, offering a systems perspective on complex health challenges.

Drawing on her work, Professor Silal will reflect on the role of collaboration in strengthening decision support and improving health outcomes. The lecture will highlight how integrating diverse expertise can contribute to more equitable and resilient health systems.

Professor Silal is the director of the Modelling and Simulation Hub, Africa (MASHA) and a professor in the Department of Statistical Sciences. Her research focuses on mathematical modelling of infectious diseases, with particular attention to vector-borne and vaccine-preventable diseases across Africa and beyond.

She has played a leading role in advancing modelling as a decision-support tool, including as a key contributor to the South African COVID-19 Modelling Consortium, where her work informed national pandemic planning and response.

• Register to attend the lecture.

Professor Kasturi Behari-Leak (Centre for Higher Education Development)

Professor Behari-Leak will present her inaugural lecture, “Biographies and Geographies: Who Teaches Matters – Reimagining Knowledge, Belonging and the University”, on Thursday, 26 May 2026 at 18:30 SAST at The Atrium, Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking Afrika (d-school Afrika), middle campus.

In this lecture, Professor Behari-Leak will position academic and professional staff development as a critical site of institutional and sectoral transformation. She will argue that this work is central to advancing epistemic justice, curriculum change and socially responsive teaching and learning.

Reflecting on her journey as an activist, scholar, practitioner and institutional leader, she will explore how universities can cultivate environments that support intellectual growth, belonging and transformation. The lecture will reframe academic development as essential to building humane, engaged and future-facing institutions.

Professor Behari-Leak is the dean of the Centre for Higher Education Development. Her scholarship focuses on higher education transformation, decolonial and social justice pedagogies, curriculum change and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

She has held national and international leadership roles, including serving as president of the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa from 2017 to 2021, and president of the International Consortium for Educational Development from 2021 to 2023. She continues to shape global conversations on academic development and institutional change.

• Register to attend the lecture.

The lecture by Professor Behari-Leak has been rescheduled to Tuesday, 26 May 2026.

Professor Ryan Nefdt (Faculty of Humanities)

Professor Nefdt will deliver his inaugural lecture, “Language, Patterns and Automata: The Algorithms Behind Linguistic Reality”, on Wednesday, 20 May 2026 at 18:00 SAST at the Mafeje Room, Bremner Building, lower campus.

This lecture will explore the formal foundations of natural language, presenting the view that language consists of real patterns grounded in both cognitive structures and social use. Professor Nefdt will examine how grammars can be understood as formal compression algorithms, bridging theoretical linguistics, philosophy and computational approaches.

The lecture will engage with key debates in the philosophy of science and linguistics, offering new ways to understand language, meaning and intelligence in an era shaped by artificial systems.

Professor Nefdt is a professor in the Department of Philosophy, working at the intersection of philosophy of language, linguistics and cognitive science. His research focuses on the foundations of linguistic theory and the role of formal models in explaining language.

He is the author of several books and has received multiple awards, including the National Research Foundation P-rating and the Universities South Africa medal for emerging researcher in the humanities and social sciences.

• Register to attend the lecture.

Sincerely

Professor Mosa Moshabela
Vice-Chancellor

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• From the UCT Executive
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