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Wamkelekile, Welkom
Wamkelekile, Welkom
UCT puts Africa at the centre of global debate on universities and AI
The Times Higher Education (THE) World Academic Summit , hosted by the University of Cape Town (UCT) at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, got under way on Tuesday, 29 September 2026 – bringing around 600 higher education leaders, academics, policymakers and stakeholders from more than 60 countries to Africa for the first time to debate the future of universities in an age of artificial intelligence (AI).
29 Sep 2026
Media release
Global higher education leaders gather at UCT for first THE summit in Africa
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is on the eve of hosting the Times Higher Education (THE) World Academic Summit from 29 September to 1 October 2026, bringing more than 500 delegates and 100 speakers from universities, government, research organisations, business and civil society to Cape Town. The event will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and the UCT upper campus.
28 Sep 2026
Media release
UCT’s Emerita Professor Harrison elected Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering
University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Emerita Professor Sue Harrison has been elected an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), recognising her distinguished contribution to engineering research, innovation and capacity development.
28 Sep 2026
Media release
UCT’s Professor Matjila champions maternal health through research and collaboration
Professor Mushi Matjila, head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the Groote Schuur Hospital, has been committed to improving maternal health for women and adolescent girls in South Africa and across Africa.
23 Sep 2026
Media release
UCT students get 1.8m to ease financial strain
For more than 30 University of Cape Town (UCT) students, the pressure of wondering whether they will be able to return to university next year has been eased by a R1.8 million bursary initiative involving the Department of Student Affairs’ (DSA) Student Financial Aid, Eskom Rotek Industries (ERI) and KEPCO KPS.
23 Sep 2026
Media release
UCT research reduces concussions through changing tackle laws in rugby
Protecting players from injury without taking away the physical contest that makes the sport compelling forms part of the research led by University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Dr Sharief Hendricks and his colleagues at the UCT Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport (HPALS) Research Centre and Leeds Beckett University.
23 Sep 2026
Media release
Can Africa turn its resource wealth into prosperity?
What stands between Africa’s extraordinary resource wealth and broad-based prosperity? Drawing on his research, University of Cape Town (UCT) Professor Amin Karimu’s inaugural lecture will examine how natural resources, institutions, energy and finance interact to shape Africa's development, and consider how renewable energy, climate and green finance, and private investment can support a more sustainable and inclusive development path.
23 Sep 2026
Media release
Western Cape children caught in pesticide drift
For children growing up in South Africa’s farming communities, exposure to pesticides may not end when the tractors leave the fields. A two-year study involving 533 children in three agricultural areas of the Western Cape found that household pesticide use and pesticide spray drift were consistently associated with higher levels of pesticide-related chemicals in children’s urine.
22 Sep 2026
Media release
UCT leads pan-African drive to tackle deadly infectious diseases with cutting-edge imaging
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is leading a £4.4 million, four-year pan-African research programme to give scientists across the continent advanced imaging tools to better understand and tackle some of Africa’s deadliest infectious diseases.
22 Sep 2026
Media release
New tests could slash SA’s TB deaths by two-thirds, UCT study finds
A new study led by University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Associate Professor Leigh Johnson suggests that new tests, which can be performed in clinics on either tongue swab or sputum specimens, could reduce TB incidence by as much as 49% and TB mortality by as much as 67%, over the next 15 years.
21 Sep 2026
Media release
Ouch! One in seven hospital patients in Africa suffers severe pain
Being admitted to the hospital is supposed to bring relief. But for thousands of patients across Africa, hospital care comes with another burden: severe pain. A landmark study led by the University of Cape Town (UCT) found that two-thirds of adults admitted to hospitals across Africa experienced pain, while one in seven suffered severe pain.
21 Sep 2026
Media release
UCT to host global dialogue on the future of universities in the age of intelligence
In just under two weeks, the University of Cape Town (UCT) will welcome senior leaders from across the global higher education community at the Times Higher Education (THE) World Academic Summit (WAS) 2026 – the first time ever this global convening will take place on the African continent.
16 Sep 2026
Media release
UCT student takes SA student voice to global AI and education debate
A University of Cape Town (UCT) postgraduate student is helping to shape international conversations about artificial intelligence (AI), Open Education and the future of higher education through her work with a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) network.
16 Sep 2026
Media release
UCT expertise contributes to charting the future of genomics in Africa
The future of precision medicine depends on understanding the genetic diversity of the people it aims to serve – yet African populations, which represent some of the greatest human genetic diversity in the world, have historically been among the least represented in genomic research and reference datasets.
15 Sep 2026
Media release
Manuel and Sachs among speakers at UCT hosted African Inequality Review launch
The University of Cape Town (UCT) will co-host a high-level gathering of policy stewards and research experts to take stock of what African policy leaders need from inequality research on Tuesday, 15 September 2026 at the Protea Hotel by Marriott, Waterfront Breakwater Lodge, Cape Town.
14 Sep 2026
Media release
Institutions and conflicts are determinants of external debt in the SADC – UCT study
A University of Cape Town (UCT) doctoral study in Economics has found that apart from macroeconomic factors, institutions and conflicts are important determinants of external debt in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
14 Sep 2026
Media release