Upcoming UCT inaugural lectures: July 2026

Dear colleagues and students

As we move into the second half of the year, we continue our tradition of celebrating academic excellence through the University of Cape Town (UCT) Inaugural Lecture series. Since the start of 2026, we have hosted several lectures showcasing the depth, diversity and impact of scholarship across our institution.

In July 2026, we will host three inaugural lectures that reflect UCT's commitment to advancing knowledge, addressing complex societal challenges and developing future generations of leaders, scholars and professionals.

These lectures will be presented by Professors Nicola Wearne and Joel Dave, Tanja Bosch and Djiby Thiam. Together, they offer perspectives spanning health sciences, digital media studies, economics, environmental sustainability and social transformation.

1. Professors Nicola Wearne and Joel Dave (Faculty of Health Sciences)

Professors Wearne and Dave will deliver a joint inaugural lecture, titled "The power of collective endeavour: Advancing through partnership, mentorship and inclusivity", on Thursday, 23 July 2026 at 18:00 SAST in the New Learning Centre Lecture Theatre, Anatomy Building, health sciences campus.

This will be a historic moment in this series at the university – it will be the first time that two academics present a joint UCT inaugural lecture.

Professors Wearne and Dave have followed distinct professional paths while sharing a common commitment to improving health outcomes, advancing medical knowledge and developing future generations of healthcare professionals.

Drawing on their experiences in nephrology and endocrinology, they will reflect on the roles of mentorship, inclusive leadership and collaboration in advancing patient care, strengthening health systems and supporting the next generation of clinicians, scientists and leaders. They will explore how partnerships, institutional capacity building and inclusive approaches can help address persistent inequalities in health, education and opportunity across South Africa and the African continent.

Their lecture is both a reflection on their professional journeys and a celebration of the mentors, colleagues, trainees, friends and family members who have shaped and supported them along the way. They will argue that the most meaningful legacy is not what individuals achieve for themselves, but what they enable others to become.

Professor Wearne is head of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Groote Schuur Hospital and UCT. She is the president of the South African Nephrology Society, co-chair of the AFRAN Advocacy and Prevention Committee, and president of Women in Nephrology – Africa. Her work focuses on HIV-associated kidney disease, peritoneal dialysis and kidney supportive care in resource-constrained settings.

Professor Dave is the head of the Division of Endocrinology at Groote Schuur Hospital and UCT. His research examines the intersection of infectious diseases and endocrinology, and he has played a leading role in advancing endocrinology education and training across South Africa and the continent.

• Register to attend the lecture.

2. Professor Tanja Bosch (Faculty of Humanities)

Professor Bosch will present their inaugural lecture, "Calibrated intimacies: Apps and decolonial refusal", on Wednesday, 29 July 2026 at 18:00 SAST in the Mafeje Room, Bremner Building, lower campus.

This lecture traces nearly two decades of research into how digital power is exercised through ordinary, intimate and mobile practices. Moving from early work on MXit and Facebook to more recent scholarship on social media, platform power and app cultures, Professor Bosch will explore how platforms function not simply as technologies that mediate communication, but as affective infrastructures that shape feeling, visibility and participation.

The lecture examines everyday digital life, the soft power of apps and digital citizenship as a relational and uneven practice before turning to refusal and decoloniality as methods for understanding and challenging contemporary digital systems. It will include a screening of the experimental film Coastal, Interrupted; and will be accompanied by RIP MacBook Neo, a conceptual installation exploring platform mortality.

Professor Bosch is the National Research Foundation (NRF) SARChI Chair in Digital Media Sociology and professor of Media Studies and Production in the Centre for Film and Media Studies. Their research spans digital culture, social media activism, platform power, digital citizenship, generative artificial intelligence and decolonial approaches to media studies.

Professor Bosch chairs the African Digital Rights Network and serves in several international scholarly leadership roles. They are the author and editor of numerous influential books and publications on media, politics and digital life in Africa.

• Register to attend the lecture.

3. Professor Djiby Thiam (Faculty of Commerce)

Professor Thiam will deliver his inaugural lecture, "The economics of water and climate resilience: Lessons learned from African experiences", on Thursday, 30 July 2026 at 17:00 SAST in the School of Economics Seminar Room, Level 4, School of Economics Building, middle campus.

In this lecture, Professor Thiam will examine how effective and context-specific environmental policies can help integrate sustainable water management with climate change mitigation. Drawing on evidence from several African countries, he will explore the relationship between water planning and management, climate resilience and economic performance.

This lecture will consider how water resource management affects productivity across sectors such as agriculture and industry, while addressing challenges related to water scarcity, environmental hazards and climate change. It will also examine how technologies, institutions and public policy can support sustainable development in regions with diverse socio-institutional contexts.

Professor Thiam will argue that many conventional environmental economic frameworks were developed within industrialised economies and that changing global realities require new approaches that better reflect the experiences and governance structures of countries in Africa and the Global South.

Professor Thiam is a full professor of Economics and director of the Water and Production Economics Research Unit. Internationally recognised for his work in environmental and resource economics, his research focuses on water economics, agricultural economics and development economics. He has led major research collaborations across Africa and internationally and has advised organisations including the African Union, the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the United Nations.

His work continues to shape policy discussions on water governance, climate resilience and sustainable development while supporting the development of emerging scholars across the continent.

• Register to attend the lecture.

Inaugural lectures offer a platform for scholars to reflect on the intellectual journeys that have shaped their work, share the ideas that drive their research and teaching, and engage the university community in conversations about the future of knowledge and society.

I encourage you to attend these lectures and engage with the ideas and debates they bring forward. They offer an opportunity to reflect on the role of scholarship in addressing complex global challenges and shaping more just and sustainable futures.  

Sincerely

Professor Mosa Moshabela
Vice-Chancellor

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements