December 2021 graduation celebration and other updates

Dear colleagues and students

The University of Cape Town (UCT) will host the “walk of celebration” ahead of the virtual graduation ceremonies on 13 and 14 December 2021. Read about this and other recent developments on campus.

1. December 2021 graduation celebrations

Due to COVID-19, UCT will hold graduation ceremonies virtually on 13 and 14 December 2021. These graduations will celebrate an exceptional cohort that has overcome so much to get to the finish line, having persevered and shown commitment despite the pandemic. Graduands have also been invited to a live “walk of celebration”, which will afford them the opportunity to invite up to three of their guests to watch them walk across a platform outside the Sarah Baartman Hall and have their name called out while the vice-chancellor, Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, and their loved ones congratulate and celebrate with them.

• Read the VC Desk: December 2021 graduation celebrations.

2. Welcoming the 2021/22 SRC

The term of the new Students' Representative Council (SRC) started on 1 November 2021 and will conclude on 31 October 2022. The university commends all the students who made time to cast their votes online, the Election Commission for delivering free and fair elections, and the previous SRC who stepped up by leading at a very challenging time.

• Read the VC Desk: Welcoming the 2021/22 SRC.

3. UCT bids farewell to retirees

This year UCT has the privilege of honouring nearly 90 retirees from across the university, including academic and professional, administrative support and service (PASS) staff. It is an opportunity for the university to say a well-deserved thank you to the staff members who have served UCT for as long as they have. Although UCT won’t be able to celebrate retirees through a physical ceremony as has been the case in the past, the university has since last year introduced an alternative to thank them for their selfless contributions by creating a feature page on the UCT News website. The page includes the retirees’ names, photos and their length of service.

• Read the VC Desk: UCT bids farewell to our retirees.

4. Teaching and Learning Encounters (TLE) 2021

In a bid to figure out how teaching and learning after the pandemic can be enriched by lessons and practices learnt, UCT will host the Teaching and Learning Encounters (TLE) 2021 from 26 November to 2 December 2021. The platform is designed to encourage staff members across UCT to share insights and reflect on their experiences over the last 18 months, and to dream and plan together for the post-pandemic future.

• Read the DVC Desk: Teaching and Learning Encounters (TLE) 2021.
• Register your interest in participating.

5. Reminder: Wolfson Memorial Lecture

The UCT community is invited to attend the annual Wolfson Memorial Lecture, which will be presented by Professor Valerie Mizrahi, the world-renowned director of the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, on 22 November 2021 from 17:00 to 18:00. This will be a hybrid event, which will be live-streamed, with a physical event held at the Wolfson Pavilion for a limited number of guests, in strict accordance with UCT’s COVID-19 protocols.

• Read more about the lecture.

Communication and Marketing Department