Upcoming UCT inaugural lectures: June 2026

Dear colleagues and students

We are almost halfway into the year, and we are continuing with our tradition of hosting lectures in the University of Cape Town (UCT) Inaugural Lecture series. By the end of May 2026, we would have hosted seven inaugural lectures so far this year.

In June 2026, we will host two more lectures in this series – which offers a platform to listen closely to the ideas shaping our disciplines, reflect on the journeys that have brought scholars to this point, and engage with questions that define the future of knowledge. 

The next two inaugural lectures will be presented by Professors Nico Fischer and Jantina de Vries.

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

1. Professor Nico Fischer (Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment)

Professor Fischer will deliver his inaugural lecture, “Catalysis as key enabler of a just and sustainable transition”, on Tuesday, 9 June 2026 at 17:00 SAST in the Chemical Engineering Building, Chemical Engineering Seminar Room, upper campus.

This lecture will examine the central role of catalysis in modern industrial production and its link to both economic development and climate change. While catalytic processes underpin much of global industry, they also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. 

Professor Fischer will argue that catalysis is not only part of the challenge, but also a key part of the solution. He will explore how advances in catalytic science can enable cleaner industrial processes, new value chains and alternative energy systems. The lecture will consider how these innovations can support a transition away from fossil resources while promoting economic inclusion, skills development and equitable access to sustainable technologies.

Professor Fischer is the director of the Catalysis Institute. He is a chemical engineer and catalysis scientist whose work spans academia, industry and technology commercialisation. He holds the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation / National Research Foundation (DSTI/NRF) SARChI Chair in Sustainable Catalysis. His research focuses on advanced catalytic materials for sustainable chemical transformations, including synthesis gas conversion, CO₂ activation and plastic decomposition.

He has published widely in leading journals, holds multiple international patents and is an NRF B-rated researcher. Beyond academia, he is a founding director of C*STAR Holdings and part of the founding team of Moya Scientific, both UCT spin-off companies advancing catalytic technologies and scientific instrumentation.

• Register to attend the lecture.

2. Professor Jantina de Vries (Faculty of Health Sciences)

Professor De Vries will present her inaugural lecture, “Another world is necessary: ethics as a tool for worldmaking”, on Thursday, 25 June 2026 at 18:00 SAST in the Neuroscience Institute Auditorium, Groote Schuur Hospital.

In this lecture, Professor De Vries will position ethics as a space for collective reflection in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world. As technological innovation accelerates, she will explore how ethical engagement can help guide scholarship towards more just and inclusive outcomes.

Drawing on her work in genomics, artificial intelligence and neuroscience, she will reflect on how ethical reflexivity can shape research practices, interrogate whose interests are served, and address structural inequalities embedded in knowledge production. The lecture will frame ethics not only as critique, but as a method for dialogue and collaboration across disciplines and beyond the academy.

Professor De Vries is the founding director of the EthicsLab and a professor in the Department of Medicine. Her work focuses on global health ethics, genomics and emerging technologies, with an emphasis on equity, data governance and responsible research practices.

She leads several major international research initiatives and has contributed to global advisory bodies, including the World Health Organization and Médecins Sans Frontières. She has published extensively in international journals and is an NRF B2-rated researcher.

• Register to attend the lecture.

Inaugural lectures are not only milestones in an academic career. They are also moments where scholars take public responsibility for their work, its impact and the role it plays in shaping the world beyond the university. They remind us that universities are communities of thought, grounded in inquiry, debate and shared intellectual purpose.

I encourage you to attend these lectures and engage with the ideas and debates they bring forward.

Sincerely

Professor Mosa Moshabela
Vice-Chancellor

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements