Dear students
This campus announcement aims to inform the UCT community about recent developments on campus.
1. New SRC constituted
The UCT Students Representative Council (SRC) for the 2020/21 term of office has been constituted. The constituting meeting was held on Tuesday, 3 November 2020, where portfolios were allocated to the 15 office bearers. Congratulations to the newly elected members.
The SRC elections were held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, from 12 to 16 October 2020. This year’s elections had a voter turnout of 7531, which is 28.6% of the university student population.
2. Farewell to the outgoing SRC
As the university bids farewell to the outgoing SRC, Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng has lauded the student leaders for the role they played in advocating for student needs during their term of office. Professor Phakeng alluded to their many achievements in making student life seamless during one of the most difficult years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. UCT CMC special daily conference offer
The UCT Conference Management Centre (CMC) offers a very special rate at the state-of-the-art new Academic Conference Centre at Protea Hotel Breakwater Lodge, V&A Waterfront. The limited special offer is R430 per person for the daily conference package. Any events planned for the remainder of 2020 until the end of 2022 qualify for this special offer. Bookings have to be made by 31 December 2020. Email CMC or call 021 406 6733 to make bookings or for further enquiries.
During this period of navigating the conferences, virtual events and hybrid models due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UCT CMC makes it easier to manage any event! CMC offers a total event management solution with specialist services in all areas – from accommodation and registration to the latest technology solutions and design.
4. Update on COVID-19 cases
The university has 106 reported positive COVID-19 cases among non-health sciences staff as at 3 November. A reported 93 staff members have recovered. With regards to students, 50 cases have been reported, including 16 health sciences students on clinical platforms. Staff and students’ deaths due to the pandemic remain nine and one respectively. The university has created a dedicated web page through which we pay tribute to students and staff lost during the pandemic.
5. Feedback from UCT’s Council meeting
UCT’s Chair of Council, Babalwa Ngonyama, gave feedback from UCT’s Council meeting which took place on 17 October 2020. She also shared updates on the important engagements she has had with several internal and external stakeholders. Ms Ngonyama further shared information on UCT’s plan for accelerated transformation and reports by Council committees, among others.
6. Drupal 8 implementation and website migration
The university is in the process of upgrading its web content management system from the older Drupal 7 system to Drupal 8. The upgrade will ensure that all websites hosted on the system don’t find themselves vulnerable to attack and by extension expose all websites on UCT’s Drupal platform to a high level of risk as there won’t be security upgrades available for Drupal 7 from November 2021. The Drupal 8 Development and Website Migration Project will roll out in two phases. Phase 1 is underway, while Phase 2 is scheduled to start next year.
Read previous communications:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Please view the republishing articles page for more information.
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.
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 PhakengWith 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.
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.