Our day in the UK

Flying the flag: Prof Anna-Lise Williamson (middle) at the SA Day in London with Dr Khotso Mokhele (left), president of the NRF, and Minister of Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena.

UCT scholars grabbed their share of podium time at the two-day South Africa Day hosted by the Royal Society in London at the end of January. Professors Greg Hussey and Anna-Lise Williamson of the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IIDMM) presented at the workshop, Biotechnology Focusing on Infectious Diseases. Professor Bruce Hewitson of the Climate Systems Analysis Group then gave a report at the Energy and Climate Change workshop, as did Dr Patricia Whitelock, representing the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) and UCT, at the astronomy session. And at the evening public lecture, Dr Thebe Medupe, also of SAAO and UCT, gave an "excellent and uplifting" talk Cosmic Africa, reports Williamson. There were a couple of other UCT faces at the meeting, including Professor Peter Dunsby (maths) and Dr Mike Lucas (zoology). In between the science, there was also plenty of talk around bread-and-butter issues like funding, the development of human capital and, of course, collaboration between the UK and South Africa. The event was hosted by the Royal Society, alongside South Africa's Department of Science and Technology (who invited and funded the UCT representatives) and the National Research Foundation, as well as the UK Office of Science and Technology.