Staff survey on remote teaching and other updates

26 August 2020 | Campus Announcement

Dear colleagues

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

1. Staff survey on emergency remote teaching

With the second semester under way, staff working in academic units are invited to share insights and experiences on emergency remote teaching and learning through the UCT Staff Experiences Survey for Term 2, 2020.


2. UCT’s COVID-19 cases update

Since the last update, UCT now has 92 reported COVID-19 cases among non-health sciences staff members as at 25 August. The number of staff recoveries has increased to 76. The university has 35 reported student cases, including 10 Faculty of Health Sciences students on clinical platforms. Ten members of the UCT community – nine staff and one student – have sadly lost their lives during this period.


3. Taking a stance against SGBV and remembering Uyinene

High levels of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) remain a great concern in the country, a challenge that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. UCT remains committed to dealing with SGBV cases through a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of sexual violence and/or sexual harassment. This Women’s Month, the UCT community remembers our late student, Uyinene Mrwetyana, whose life was brutally taken away on 24 August 2019. The university executive will keep on improving services and the response to this scourge through improved SGBV management and awareness.


4. Call for proposals: TLC2020

The 2020 Teaching and Learning Conference (TLC2020) provides an opportunity to check in with UCT colleagues, hear about their experiences and those of their students, and consider ways to transform teaching and learning at UCT during, and well beyond, the pandemic.

Proposals are welcomed for presentations, conversations and workshops that highlight hopeful paths to changing academic and student identities and where the university is heading during and beyond the current crisis.

TLC2020, as a first online conference, will support a range of formal and informal interactions that reaffirm and grow the UCT teaching and learning community.


Read previous communications:


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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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