Dear students and colleagues
The UCT Summer School invites all those who are interested to register for the 2022 courses, which are designed to immerse participants in new ideas, expert insight and creative thinking. Read more on this and other updates below:
UCT Summer School 2022: Education Everywhere
The 72-year-old UCT Summer School, the largest of its kind in Africa, offers a wide range of extramural courses – each with a special desire to unleash human potential. By integrating with the Development and Alumni Department and migrating the course content to digital platforms, the school now reaches a more diverse community of alumni and friends around the world, including via livestreaming into resource-poor communities.
While courses are available online, participants can also return to the annual university experience in 2022, with the opportunity to meet people from Cape Town’s diverse communities.
Announcement of the UCT COVID-19 vaccination panel
At its October meeting, the university Council approved that the executive establishes a UCT COVID-19 vaccination panel whose mandate will be to develop the operational details required to implement the campus access dispensation approved in-principle to take effect from 1 January 2022.
The panel comprises a wide range of experts from disciplines and specialities including, but not limited to, constitutional law, public health, ethics, infectious diseases and employee relations. There is representation from unions and the Students’ Representative Council. This panel is also tasked with, among others, working out the principles and guidelines for exemption from a requirement to provide proof of vaccination.
The panel has already begun its work and the executive will be required to report back to Council at its December 2021 meeting.
UCT vaccination site operational on Saturdays
In ongoing efforts to support the government’s vaccination drive, the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre is open every weekday from 08:00 to 15:00. The site is also open on Saturdays, from 09:00 to 13:00.
Staff and students are encouraged to also inform friends and family members to make use of the vaccination site.
The site is located at the university's Forest Hill residence complex on the Main Road, Mowbray, with access via Broad Street.
Staff survey on undergraduate assessment practices at UCT
The university set the Assessment Framework Working Group (AFWG) as part of the work of the Teaching and Learning Committee of Senate before COVID-19, which will continue operating into 2023. UCT staff involved in undergraduate teaching are invited to complete a short survey about their assessment practices. The purpose of this survey is to provide a clearer picture of the range of assessment practices that can be found across UCT.
The project continues until 2023 and is focused on improving the practice of assessment at undergraduate level across all faculties, with a view to improving learning outcomes for all students.
Reminder: Please complete the 2021 South African Survey of Student Engagement
UCT is calling on undergraduate students to participate in the 2021 South African Survey of Student Engagement (SASSE), which explores the extent to which they engage in educational activities and behaviours.
The survey will also provide students with an opportunity to reflect on their opportunities to engage in research with staff, to make use of academic advising, peer learning, academic literacy or numeracy courses, the First Year Experience and service learning, among other things.
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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.