Inaugural lecture by Professor Bosch and other updates

Dear colleagues and students

The University of Cape Town (UCT) will host an inaugural lecture by Professor Tanja Bosch as part of the UCT Inaugural Lecture series on Wednesday, 29 July 2026 at 18:00 SAST in the Mafeje Room, Bremner Building, middle campus. Read more about this and other recent developments on campus.

1. Inaugural lecture by Professor Bosch

Professor Tanja Bosch, 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, will present their inaugural lecture on Wednesday, 29 July 2026.

Titled “Calibrated intimacies: Apps and decolonial refusal", the 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’s research spans digital culture, social media activism, platform power, digital citizenship, generative artificial intelligence and decolonial approaches to media studies. They chair the African Digital Rights Network and serve 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 this lecture.

2. Inaugural lecture by Professors Dave and Wearne (Faculty of Health Sciences)

Professors Nicola Wearne and Joel Dave will deliver a joint inaugural lecture on Thursday, 23 July 2026 at 18:00 SAST in the New Learning Centre Lecture Theatre, Anatomy Building, health sciences campus.

This lecture will mark a milestone when the two professors become the first to present a joint inaugural lecture. The lecture is titled “The power of collective endeavour: Advancing through partnership, mentorship and inclusivity”.

While Professors Wearne and Dave have followed different professional paths in endocrinology and nephrology, they share a commitment to improve health outcomes, advance medical knowledge and develop the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Drawing on their respective fields, Professors Wearne and Dave will reflect on the importance of mentorship, inclusive leadership and collaboration in improving patient care, strengthening health systems and supporting future clinicians, scientists and leaders. They will also 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.

The lecture will reflect on their professional journeys while celebrating the mentors, colleagues, trainees, friends and family who have shaped their careers.

Professor Wearne is the head of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Groote Schuur Hospital and UCT, where 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; and his research explores the intersection of infectious diseases and endocrinology while advancing endocrinology education and training across South Africa and the continent.

• Register to attend the lecture.
• Read the full VC Desk: Upcoming UCT inaugural lectures: July 2026.

3. ICTS scheduled maintenance on Sunday, 26 July (with important action required afterwards)

Please note that Sunday, 26 July 2026 will be an ICTS scheduled maintenance slot from 09:00 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. Please note that external connectivity to the UCT network, i.e. connecting to the UCT VPN, will be unavailable from 07:00 on the day.

Cloud-based services, including Amathuba, email, Microsoft 365 services and ServiceNow, are not impacted and can still be accessed.

Important: During this slot, ICTS will also update authentication certificates for connectivity services. As a result, you will need to take action on Monday, 27 July 2026, or the next time you're on campus thereafter.

Please remember to consult the scheduled ICTS maintenance slots page before planning any teaching, conferences, meetings, etc. that require ICT services. For more information, see the article on why ICTS schedules regular monthly maintenance slots.

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