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Wamkelekile, Welkom
Wamkelekile, Welkom
UCT achieves 96% pass rate in accounting to secure top national rankings
The University of Cape Town (UCT) has delivered a standout performance in the January 2026 Initial Assessment of Competence (IAC), with a 96% pass rate among first-time candidates and a strong showing on the national honours list.
20 Apr 2026
Media release
Healthcare practitioners must understand the needs of the people they serve – UCT lecture
Amplifying the voices of people living on the margins of society is an ethical imperative for healthcare scholars. It helps them to understand the needs of the people they serve to improve their quality of life, said University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Professor Lionel Green-Thompson, dean of UCT’s Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) , during his recent inaugural lecture.
16 Apr 2026
Media release
UCT study reveals illicit cigarettes dominate South Africa’s market
A study by researchers at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products (REEP) has revealed that illicit cigarettes constitute more than half of the South African market. The research, published in Tobacco Control , warns that this crisis poses a severe threat to both public health and government tax revenue.
16 Apr 2026
Media release
UCT researchers part of major global effort to fight fungal infections
Researchers at the University of Cape Town (UCT) are playing a key role in a major international collaboration that has been awarded £4.5 million (approximately R100 million) to advance understanding of fungal diseases that claim around 2.5 million lives each year.
09 Apr 2026
Media release
UCT professor calls for clearer legal principles to guide global tax reform
In the face of uncertainty and rapid societal transformation driven by new technologies, University of Cape Town (UCT) Professor Johann Hattingh , in his recent inaugural lecture, called for clarity on guiding principles for law reform and for the development of legal theory to invigorate discussions on reforming the international tax regime.
31 Mar 2026
Media release
Chronic pain linked to disability in South Africa – UCT study shows
A study out of the University of Cape Town (UCT) has found that chronic pain is both common and closely linked to disability, highlighting an urgent public health issue that has long lacked local data. The study, published in PAIN Reports , analysed more than 10 000 adults and provides the clearest picture to date of how ongoing pain affects daily life and functioning in the country.
26 Mar 2026
Media release
UCT to lead Africa's first higher education dedicated AI compute initiative
The University of Cape Town’s African Compute Initiative (ACI) will establish Africa's largest graphics processing unit (GPU)-intensive compute cluster dedicated to Artificial Intelligence (AI) research in a higher education institution. The initiative is part of the AI for Development (AI4D) programme , a £58 million co-funded partnership between the United Kingdom (UK) government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC). It will give African researchers and innovators access to the computing infrastructure needed to develop, train and test AI systems locally – an area where the continent has faced persistent and growing constraints.
26 Mar 2026
Media release
UCT study finds Uber and Airbnb centralise power, deepen inequality
A University of Cape Town (UCT) study on the workings of the platform economy – with companies like Uber, Airbnb and other digital platforms as part of a larger shift in capitalism itself – has found that these platforms don’t just connect buyers and sellers; they reshape how work is organised, how value is created and who holds power in the economy.
25 Mar 2026
Media release
UCT collaborates on Africa-wide biodiversity genomics initiative
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is playing a vital collaborative role in the African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP), a Pan-African initiative aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). Through this partnership, UCT researchers are supporting large-scale genomic and bioinformatics efforts across the continent, helping to mitigate biodiversity loss while promoting equitable sharing of benefits derived from genetic resources.
23 Mar 2026
Media release
Early mental health support urgently needed among young adolescents in schools – UCT study
Research from the University of Cape Town (UCT) has found a concerning prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among young adolescents in the Western Cape, highlighting the need for earlier mental health support in South African schools.
19 Mar 2026
Media release
UCT tax law expert to unpack landmark ruling shaping South Africa’s legal reasoning
A landmark court judgment that reshaped how South African law is interpreted will take centre stage when University of Cape Town (UCT) Professor Johann Hattingh delivers his inaugural lecture titled “An Integrated Framework for Legal Reasoning in South Africa’s Law of Taxation: The International and Comparative Dimensions”, on Tuesday, 24 March 2026 at 18:00 SAST at Kramer Moot Court, Level 5, Kramer Law Building, middle campus.
19 Mar 2026
Media release
UCT study pioneers microbiome-based treatment for bacterial vaginosis
A collaborative study by researchers from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Department of Pathology and researchers from several institutions in South Africa and the United States has evaluated a novel microbiome-based approach for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis (BV) in women.
Central to this work was the isolation and characterisation of vaginal bacterial strains from South African women by collaborating research teams, including UCT researchers Dr Brian Kullin, Ms Anika Chicken, Dr Anna Happel, Prof Heather Jaspan and Professor Jo-Ann Passmore from UCT’s Department of Pathology. The UCT team contributed more than 20 potential Lactobacillus crispatus strains to develop two multi-strain live biotherapeutic candidates designed to restore a protective vaginal microbiome.
18 Mar 2026
Media release
African coastlines face unprecedented sea level surge crisis
A groundbreaking study led by researchers at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Department of Oceanography has revealed that Africa’s coastlines are facing a rapidly accelerating crisis. It found that the 2023-2024 El Niño event triggered the most significant sea level surge ever recorded in the region, exceeding even the historically powerful 1997-1998 event and highlighting a dangerous new reality for the continent’s coastal nations.
18 Mar 2026
Media release
UCT-led project supports highly growing number of adolescent mothers
With Africa projected to have nearly one billion adolescents by 2050, the number of pregnant women and young mothers would likely double, and supporting them by designing services that fit their needs is crucial, said University of Cape Town (UCT) Centre for Social Science Research’s Associate Professor Elona Toska.
17 Mar 2026
Media release