December 2021 graduation celebration

Dear colleagues and students

We are once again filled with extreme pride as we say congratulations, veels geluk and siyavuyisana nani to the 2021 graduands on reaching this great achievement. We celebrate an exceptional cohort that has overcome so much to get to the finish line, having persevered and shown commitment despite the pandemic we find ourselves in. For this, I have nothing but admiration for all our graduands.

As always graduation is an exciting time of the year when all the hard work our graduands have put in culminates in a celebration with friends and family.

However, we still find ourselves battling the pandemic that brought many physical events to a stand-still and we must continue to implement all the precautionary COVID-19 protocols while under the current level 1 lockdown regulations to ensure the health and safety of the UCT community. For these reasons the December 2021 graduation ceremonies will be virtual events on 13 and 14 December.

We do still want to be able to celebrate with our graduands in a fitting manner and we understand that being on campus one last time is an important step in our graduands’ journey. Because of this, all December graduands are invited to a live ‘walk of celebration’. This is not a graduation ceremony but an opportunity where graduands can 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 I and their loved ones congratulate and celebrate with them.

Each faculty has a specific time slot for the graduation walk of celebration:

• Commerce:
  Monday, 13 December between 13:30 and 14:30
• Humanities:
  Monday, 13 December between 14:30 and 15:30
• Engineering & the Built Environment, and Science:
  Tuesday, 14 December between 10:15 and 11:15
• Health Sciences and Law:
  Tuesday, 14 December between 14:30 and 15:30

Please remember that the walk of celebration does not replace the virtual graduation, but is just our way of honouring graduands under the lockdown circumstances. The pre-recorded graduation ceremonies will be broadcast on UCT’s social media platforms: Facebook and Twitter, and on the UCT News website (accessible from the UCT graduation web page) on 13 and 14 December as follows:

• Commerce:
  Monday, 13 December at 17:00
• Humanities:
  Monday, 13 December at 19:30
• Engineering & the Built Environment, and Science:
  Tuesday, 14 December at 17:00
• Health Sciences and Law:
  Tuesday, 14 December at 19:30

Graduands are encouraged to please visit the graduation information page on the UCT Students website for important specific details about graduation December 2021.

I have no doubt that the December 2021 cohort will go out and achieve wonderful things as UCT graduates. The UCT community joins me in congratulating and sending our well wishes to all students who will be graduating in December.

Sincerely

Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng
Vice-Chancellor

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements