UCT hosts ocean going students

Honoured: Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Thandabantu Nhlapo receives a plaque from the Scholar Ship director onboard, Prof Cecil Bodibe, for UCT's contribution

UCT is hosting the academic field study component of international students on board the Scholar Ship, the "floating university" that dropped anchor in Cape Town this week.

More than 200 students from 35 countries will spend six days of study, community work and travel in the Mother City until 4 March.

The Scholar Ship immerses students and faculty in an intercultural living and learning environment aboard the vessel, the students spending much of the 16-week academic programme on the vessel. They stop for port programmes at various ports around the globe.

The students, together with scientists, researchers and students from UCT and other universities in the Western Cape, also attended a two-day symposium on Confronting the HIV/AIDS epidemic: policy response in South Africa and India from 28 February.

The students will deepen and contextualise lectures offered on the vessel with what is happening in South Africa - Cape Town in particular - with different academic field programmes developed and offered by UCT's Centre for Open Learning (COL). According to Adrian Strydom of the COL, this includes elements of arts and culture, conflict studies and international business relations.

"The centre is encouraged by the support from the university and other universities in Cape Town, community organisations, government and the private sector without which this mammoth task would not have been possible."