COVID-19 cases and other updates

Dear colleagues

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

1. Update on COVID-19 cases

UCT has a total of 116 reported COVID-19 cases as at 4 August 2020. This includes 87 non-health sciences staff members, of which 63 have recovered. The reported number of student cases is 29, which includes eight Faculty of Health Sciences students on clinical platforms. UCT has not had any new cases of staff or student deaths since the last update. The university has unfortunately had 10 deaths due to COVID-19 – nine staff members and one student.

2. Distinguished Teacher Award recipients for 2019

Each year through the Distinguished Teacher Award (DTA), the university recognises excellent teaching and acknowledges the primary place of teaching and learning in the institution’s work. The DTA Committee chooses awardees from a large pool of eligible teachers whose portfolios, submitted in support of their nominations, attest to the distinctiveness of some of UCT’s teachers. The recipients this year are: Professor Andrew Argent, head of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health and the medical director of the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital; Dr Tessa Dowling, senior lecturer in African Languages; Associate Professor Amrita Pande, a sought-after supervisor in sociology; and Associate Professor Romy Parker from the Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine department.

• Read the VC Desk: Distinguished Teacher Award recipients for 2019.

3. UCT’s Women’s Day celebration event

Women’s Month is an important time to reflect and celebrate achievements of womnx at UCT. This year, amid the complexities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng will host a virtual Women’s Day event on Thursday, 13 August via Microsoft Teams. The programme will include Chancellor Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, who will present the keynote address, and chair of Council, Ms Babalwa Ngonyama, who will deliver a vote of thanks.

Recipients of the For Womxn By Womxn research grants – Professor Floretta Boonzaier, Professor Janet Hapgood and Dr Katye Altieri – will also provide an update on their research projects which range from shifting how we do research around gender-based violence, to contraception and HIV risk of women in sub-Saharan Africa, and building capacity in the field of oceanography. The research grants were launched two years ago by Professor Phakeng to focus on training postgraduates and postdoctoral fellows, with an emphasis on building capacity among black South African women and transgender researchers.

• Please register online to attend the virtual event.
• Read the VC Desk: UCT’s Women’s Day celebration event.

4. Socially Responsive Course Development Grants

Applications are invited for four socially responsive, engaged teaching and learning course development grants. The grants of R10,000 each are available to develop, design or revise a course that meets the criteria outlined in the application form. Applicants need to outline their motivations for their use of funds in the application. UCT’s Social Responsiveness Committee will oversee the grant application and selection process. There is an optional briefing session on Wednesday, 12 August 2020 at12:30-14:00 via a Teams Meeting, where the criteria for selecting successful applications will be discussed. Grantees are encouraged to attend. Final applications need to be submitted by Monday, 31 August 2020. No late applications will be accepted. Questions and queries must be sent to Prince Qwaka.

Communication and Marketing Department

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements

• Read the DVC Desk: Socially Responsive Course Development Grants.