Agency rewarded as Rahul Rama-Panchia wins Abe Bailey Travel Bursary

Rahul Rama-Panchia – a fourth-year University of Cape Town (UCT) student – is the latest from the institution to receive the Abe Bailey Travel Bursary. This is a prestigious leadership award offered to full-time students at South African universities, as well as academic staff members who hold junior lecture status.

As an all-rounder student who has served on the Health Sciences Students’ Council (HSSC) chairing the Constitutional Committee, who was also a faculty lead for Health Sciences at the African Research Society, a Research, Advocacy and Innovation (RAI) Fellow within the Division of Global Surgery, and deputy head of research for the UCT Surgical Society, among others, it is no wonder his name emerged from the UCT cohort. The programme joins students from diverse disciplines and institutions for a three-week educational and cultural tour of the United Kingdom (UK).

“This is something I still don’t fully have words for. Being selected means I am not merely representing myself, I am representing my family, values, and most importantly, the institution and everyone in it who has poured into who I am as a leader,” he said.

“This comes back to something I keep returning to [that] the relationship between an institution and the people it shapes is never unidirectional. UCT gave me the room to become who I am, through the societies, committees, research and community work. Being selected for Abe Bailey feels like a marker that the work I’ve put into giving back to this place hasn’t gone unnoticed, and it deepens my sense of responsibility to keep doing exactly that,” Rama-Panchia said. The bursary recognises leadership, service, integrity and students with potential to contribute meaningfully to society – both at home and on the world stage.

In line with Strategy 2030

“I’ve always had an energy to act – in a good way, and it is very serendipitous, because I was not initially planning on being this involved on campus. But I have come to see that there are certain things that have required me to get involved. I took agency and decided to embrace that temporary discomfort, because I believe that is where growth lies,” he said.

“I have learned that you don’t have to have everything figured out in order to start. Because of that, I have been able to do work I am genuinely proud of. Research Reels is a good example. I did not set out to build a media campaign that would generate over a quarter of a million views. I just saw a gap: African researchers doing extraordinary work that students knew nothing about. So, I started filming. That is the thing about this institution. If you show up with intention, UCT gives you the room to turn a small idea into something that moves people.”

“UCT has allowed me to do amazing things because of its ecosystem, like being part of the Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellowship for Entrepreneurship. Some of the things are not even related to my degree, but the opportunities UCT creates allow me to expand laterally, to grow in directions I never anticipated, and I’m grateful for that. I inherited the institution from hardworking people who made it the best university on the continent; in doing that, I now need to be the best I can be in these four walls to continue that trajectory,” he said.

Rama-Panchia’s words can be linked to some of the text found in the university’s Strategy 2030 on societal and social responsiveness goal, which is about “demonstrating thought leadership and praxis on social justice and responsiveness through a redress and humanising lens”. Further, it elaborates, “we also recognise that our societal mission must first be lived internally - through the ways we engage with one another as a university community. This requires honest reflection on our institutional culture, acknowledgment of the pain that exists within our community, and a shared commitment to healing and transformation.”

“For two years now, I’ve been able to raise R42 500 for the children’s hospital.”

Rama-Panchia expanded: “By being in the ecosystem, I have been allowed to shine. This is especially important because being in a health sciences degree, the assumption is often that altruism is enough. But I think people need to actively choose to go above and beyond and use their energy intentionally.” As a member of the UCT Surgical Society, they do a scrub run every year where they run races in medical scrubs to raise money. “For two years now, I’ve been able to collectively raise R42 500 for the children’s hospital to help get extra procedures done on weekends. That is an opportunity that arose to me simply by existing in this wonderful space.”

Beyond one lane

The university has also taken note of his efforts. Last year, he was awarded the Leadership Excellence award. When asked if the vice-chancellor’s award is his next ambition? “Any recognition should be a byproduct of me showing up fully for the people and places that matter. And so, if that were the case, then it would be an honour and privilege to be recognised with the VC’s award.”

He explains why he thinks he got this bursary. “I don’t think it was any single achievement. If anything, I think the panel was looking for students who haven’t confined themselves to one lane, who show excellence academically but also carry a real social accountability and impact factor, pushing towards UCT’s own Strategy 2030 transformation goals rather than just personal advancement.”

Looking forward to the trip to the UK, Rama-Panchia concluded: “I want to come back with the knowledge I’ve gained from engaging with some of the best institutions and minds in the world and find ways to implement that here at UCT. Whether that’s at a student governance level, within a society, or later in my career.”