Preparing UCT’s future

Ensuring the talent that walks through the doors of the University of Cape Town (UCT) has an enabling environment to thrive will secure the institution’s standing well into the future, according to Vice-Chancellor (VC) Professor Mosa Moshabela.

Professor Moshabela was addressing the Cape Town Press Club on Thursday, 6 March, on the “Institutional sustainability at the University of Cape Town”. The Cape Town Press Club – among its long list of activities – “provides a strictly non-partisan platform for headline-makers, public and newsworthy figures to speak to the media and members”. Sustainability, a key feature of UCT’s Vision 2030, has been key for Moshabela as he’s settled into his role over the last seven months.

“UCT is not just an institution where we are just educating students. It’s a big societal project that is highly regarded and has a lot of interest from many quarters of society across the country, continent and the world, and that is my lived experience so far,” said Moshabela.

“We are going to have to make decisions from hereon; decisions we may not even see the results and impact of. This feeling allows us to confront the notion of sustainability and future-oriented thinking. I have five years of my term, and I am thinking about things that are not going to benefit me, but future generations. Expediency will tell me to focus on things that will bring results quickly, but we are compelled to think beyond our term of office. And while we are speaking about a future we cannot see yet, we must prepare for it,” he continued.

To prepare UCT’s future, Moshabela was clear on his approach, which is to ensure that the people at UCT have the best access to resources, the best support and the best infrastructure to succeed.

Protect the future

“What makes UCT is its people, and we are grateful we get the cream of the crop and attract the best talent from all over the world. When we talk about an enabling environment for our talent, we must think about the fact that if we don’t succeed, we will lose them.

“Talent moves and wants to be in a place where it can be nurtured and appreciated and that also means that we must create the right infrastructure for them to be the best that they can be. If you want to retain your talent, make sure the institutional culture is right because as is often said, culture will have your strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner because if your culture is wrong, your strategy won’t go far,” said Moshabela.

Among attendees were members of UCT staff, the diplomatic community as well as students, who were referenced at length by Moshabela.

When he was asked about his future-proofing efforts regarding short- and medium-term issues, he answered: “I look at short-, medium- and long-term solutions for the same issue and put in a framework to address the issue at those levels. We will solve our issues now, but in a way that also protects the future.”