New UCT Council and other updates

15 July 2020 | Campus Announcement

Dear colleagues and students

This campus announcement aims to inform the UCT community about recent developments on campus.

1. New UCT Council for the 2020/2024 term

The new university Council officially started its term on 1 July 2020 and will be in office until 30 June 2024. Ms Babalwa Ngonyama has been elected as the chair of Council, and Ms Nazeema Mohamed as deputy chair. This is the first time that both positions are simultaneously occupied by women.


2. Weekly COVID-19 update

The total number of positive COVID-19 cases within the UCT community stood at 84 as at 14 July 2020. This includes 64 non-health sciences staff members and 20 students, of which five are Faculty of Health Sciences students on clinical platforms. A reported 40 staff members have recovered (recoveries for students are not included as not all cases are managed by the Department of Student Affairs). Regretfully, six deaths have been reported – five staff and one student. UCT has reached out to all the staff and students who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.


3. Chris Hani redevelopment project underway

The Chris Hani redevelopment project project (formerly New Science Lecture Theatre) has begun, with the site handed over to the construction company on Monday, 6 July 2020. The project is earmarked for completion at the end of October 2021. Construction will take place under challenging conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the contractor will ensure that all safety measures on site are in place.

For the physical safety of all staff, students and visitors to campus, all construction operations and activities will be carried out within the cordoned off area to limit the risk of injury. Students, staff and occupants of surrounding buildings who will be impacted by construction site operations will be timeously informed of any additional disruptive work. The contractor will endeavour to keep disruptions to a minimum.


4. Upcoming virtual events

UCT has a number of virtual events scheduled to take place over the next few weeks. These include annual events on the UCT calendar such as the Vice-Chancellor’s Open Lecture, the VC Inaugural Lecture series, the TB Davie Memorial Lecture and the Women’s Month commemoration event. It also includes events such as the #NewGlobalUni series and the Vision 2030 staff engagements.


5. Completing your academic courses during 2020

The university is aware that many students, through no fault of their own, are unable to complete their work as planned. General guidelines to deal with this situation have been shared – with specific reference to first semester work, clinical courses, courses in performing and creative arts, and engineering, first semester exams and deferred exams. Within the framework of these guidelines each faculty will communicate its specific arrangements to their students.


6. Ensuring sustained research excellence at UCT

The 2019 Report on Research to Senate and Council outlines the practical details of what UCT is doing to ensure that its research remains relevant, innovative and excellent, and outlines UCT’s research portfolio, including the research strategy and how it is being implemented. While it records the goals and successes, it also acknowledges areas of risk and targets that have not yet been reached.


7. UCT Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Study

In 2018 the UCT Leadership Lekgotla endorsed a project aimed at supporting the growth of entrepreneurship at the university – the UCT Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project. As a first step, the project steering committee commissioned a qualitative research study in 2019 to map UCT’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. A summary of the key findings of this report is now available. Having a good understanding of the ecosystem will allow the institution to better support its diverse entrepreneurship offerings to both students and staff.

 

Communication and Marketing Department


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UCT’s response to COVID-19

COVID-19 is a global pandemic that caused President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a national disaster in South Africa on 15 March 2020 and to implement a national lockdown from 26 March 2020. UCT is taking the threat of infection in our university community extremely seriously, and this page will be updated with the latest COVID-19 information. Please note that the information on this page is subject to change depending on current lockdown regulations.

Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, has in June 2022 repealed some of South Africa’s remaining COVID-19 regulations: namely, sections 16A, 16B and 16C of the Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions under the National Health Act. We are now no longer required to wear masks or limit gatherings. Venue restrictions and checks for travellers coming into South Africa have now also been removed.

In July 2022, the University of Cape Town (UCT) revised its approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic on UCT campuses in 2022.
Read the latest document available on the UCT policies web page.

 

Campus communications

 
2022

Adjusting to our new environment 16:50, 23 June 2022
VC Open Lecture and other updates 17:04, 13 April 2022
Feedback from UCT Council meeting of 12 March 2022 09:45, 18 March 2022
UCT Council
March 2022 graduation celebration 16:45, 8 March 2022
Report on the meeting of UCT Council of 21 February 2022 19:30, 21 February 2022
UCT Council
COVID-19 management 2022 11:55, 14 February 2022
Return to campus arrangements 2022 11:15, 4 February 2022

UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre

On Wednesday, 20 July, staff from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Faculty of Health Sciences came together with representatives from the Western Cape Government at the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre at Forest Hill Residence to acknowledge the centre’s significance in the fight against COVID-19 and to thank its staff for their contributions. The centre opened on 1 September 2021 with the aim of providing quality vaccination services to UCT staff, students and the nearby communities, as well as to create an opportunity for medical students from the Faculty of Health Sciences to gain practical public health skills. The vaccination centre ceased operations on Friday, 29 July 2022.

With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.

 

“After almost a year of operation, the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, located at the Forest Hill residence complex in Mowbray, will close on Friday, 29 July 2022. I am extremely grateful and proud of all staff, students and everyone involved in this important project.”
– Vice-Chancellor Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng

With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.


Thank You UCT Community

Frequently asked questions

 

Global Citizen Asks: Are COVID-19 Vaccines Safe & Effective?

UCT’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM) collaborated with Global Citizen, speaking to trusted experts to dispel vaccine misinformation.



If you have further questions about the COVID-19 vaccine check out the FAQ produced by the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (DTHF). The DTHF has developed a dedicated chat function where you can ask your vaccine-related questions on the bottom right hand corner of the website.

IDM YouTube channel | IDM website
 

 

“As a contact university, we look forward to readjusting our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in 2023 as the COVID-19 regulations have been repealed.”
– Prof Harsha Kathard, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning

We are continuing to monitor the situation and we will be updating the UCT community regularly – as and when there are further updates. If you are concerned or need more information, students can contact the Student Wellness Service on 021 650 5620 or 021 650 1271 (after hours), while staff can contact 021 650 5685.

 

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