Virtual December 2020 graduation

Dear UCT graduand

This remains one of the most bittersweet moments for the university. We would normally have celebrated students’ achievement in a regular graduation ceremony, but as we all know 2020 has presented unprecedented challenges that have required a different approach to what otherwise would have been the case.

Graduation ceremonies are among the highlight events on the university’s calendar in any given year. They are joyous celebrations of academic achievements after years of toiling hard. The elation among family members is always wonderful to witness.

Although we remain saddened that the prevailing circumstances have not made it possible  to celebrate your graduation at a physical ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic as communicated by the university recently, we have worked on arranging a special virtual graduation.

Your graduation celebration, for the December 2020 cohort of graduands, is scheduled for Tuesday, 15 December. It will commence at 18:00 and will be streamed online via the UCT website and social media platforms.

The names of the graduates will appear on the university’s graduation page. We ask all graduates who would like to, to please send us their pictures ahead of the virtual graduation so that we can share in your celebrations albeit virtually.

Graduation-specific media assets will be made available, which we encourage you to use on graduation day to produce your own images and share these on your own social media platforms. Please look out for related details to be shared via the UCT social media platforms closer to the time of the virtual event. We look forward to you being part of the big wave of online celebrations by very many UCT graduates by using #UCTGrad2020 and tagging @UCT_News when sharing your pictures and graduation stories on social media.

You may request a hardcopy degree certificate and transcript to be delivered to you via courier. Certificates will only be dispatched after the virtual graduation ceremony has taken place on Tuesday, 15 December 2020.

We recognise that students and their families would have preferred the regular on-campus graduation ceremony. So too would we. I reiterate though that your health and safety, and that of your family members, as well as UCT staff members, will continue to be a priority and is the overriding reason for deciding on the alternative of a virtual event. I ask that you join the UCT community as we undertake to make the virtual celebration a memorable one.

On behalf of UCT I convey our very best wishes, and thank you for your perseverance, patience and support of your alma mater.

Sincerely

Royston Pillay
Registrar

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements