Inaugural Lecture: Professor Ulrike Rivett

Dear colleagues and students

I write to formally invite you to the Vice-Chancellor’s Inaugural Lecture to be delivered by Professor Ulrike Rivett, titled “ICTs for development: the good intentions of the mobile phone”. The lecture is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 4 October 2017, at 17:30 in lecture theatre TS2B in the Snape Building on upper campus.

Professor Rivett is the first woman to be appointed as a full professor in the Department of Information Systems in the Faculty of Commerce. She leads the iCOMMS research team, which focuses on understanding the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) for the benefit of society by engaging with government, municipalities and rural communities through implementing research findings and increasing impact beyond the boundaries of academia.

The introduction of technology and ICTs in seemingly unrelated fields – such as the health sector, service delivery and the water sector – has become an innovative way of providing under-resourced communities in rural areas with basic services such as water and sanitation.

In her work, Professor Rivett has been able to develop technologies that cross the conventional boundaries of knowledge, decision-making and stakeholder engagement. By connecting theoretical knowledge with everyday challenges, her contribution has shifted the developmental agenda of ICTs from a technology-driven approach to a people-centred one.

In her lecture, she will reflect on her research over the last 15 years and the influence of ICTs and mobile phones worldwide. She will also touch on the hopes that the mobile phone can accelerate Africa’s social and economic development and will examine how much has really changed after 20 years of mobile technology.

When: Wednesday, 4 October 2017

Where: Lecture theatre TS2B, Snape Building, Upper Campus, University of Cape Town

Time: 17:00 for 17:30

RSVP: Please reply online on or before Monday, 2 October. For enquiries, please email or phone 021 650 3730/4847.

Please note: Due to limited space, seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Sincerely

Dr Max Price
Vice-Chancellor