UCT’s level 4 B-BBEE status and other updates

Dear colleagues and students

The University of Cape Town Council (UCT) has attained a level 4 B-BBEE status, becoming one of the top three B-BBEE compliant universities in the country. Read about this and other recent developments on campus.

1. UCT attains a level 4 B-BBEE status

Five years after being ruled as B-BBEE non-compliant, UCT has moved up the ranks to become one of the top three B-BBEE compliant universities in South Africa. A level 4 status is testament to the university’s unwavering commitment to the Vision 2030 project, which is anchored by the three pillars of excellence, transformation and sustainability. The status also improves the chances of successfully partnering with the private sector and government. In addition, this status will open up new opportunities for UCT’s collaboration with industry, particularly in research, human resources and skills development.

• Read the VC Desk: UCT attains a level 4 B-BBEE status.

2. Feedback from UCT Council meeting

Council’s first ordinary meeting of 2022 was held on 12 March. Chair of Council, Ms Babalwa Ngonyama expressed appreciation to UCT staff and students for the various roles they play in supporting the functioning and continued success of the university.

Some of the key issues that Council considered at the meeting include but not limited to the vaccine mandate, environmental sustainability, and divestment from fossil fuel.

• Read the Chair’s Desk: Feedback from UCT Council of 12 March 2022.

3. Webinar on social media risks in learning institutions

The UCT community is invited to a webinar with one of South Africa’s leading experts on social media law, Emma Sadleir on Wednesday, 23 March, at 18:00 on the Microsoft Teams platform. Sadleir will discuss ‘The legal, disciplinary, and reputational risks of social media in learning institutions’.

• Join live at 18:00.

4. World TB Day art exhibition

The Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa) is currently hosting an art exhibition at the Institute of Infectious Disease & Molecular Medicine (IDM) as part of the efforts to raise public awareness on TB. The exhibition began on Tuesday, 22 March and runs until Friday, 25 March at 17:00.

The IDM is situated in the Wolfson Pavilion Building, Faculty of Health Sciences.

The exhibition will display images from a project called 'Patient Journeys in Tuberculous Meningitis Research', co-led by Angharad Davis, Wellcome Clinical PhD Fellow and research engagement champion and Mpumi Maxebengula, study coordinator at CIDRI-Africa. The exhibition is funded by a Wellcome Public Enrichment project to CIDRI Africa (PI Robert J Wilkinson).

For more information, please contact Brandon Ferlito, Angharad Davis or Mpumi Maxebengula.

• Read more on the exhibition.

5. UCT POPIA staff information sessions

The university has scheduled a series of engagement sessions on the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) for staff and researchers to provide an overview of these policies. The POPIA came into effect on 1 July 2021. The protection of the personal information of students, employees, research participants, other individuals and organisations is a key requirement and important to the functioning of UCT.

The sessions are scheduled for:

• 12 May 2022 – POPIA for researchers
• 23 June 2022 – New rights in terms of POPIA
• 28 July 2022 – When can you share personal information?
• 25 August 2022 – When the POPIA hits the fan: Who is going to jail?
• 22 September 2022 – Securing personal information: The basics

Read a message from the Registrar:

• UCT staff information session: POPIA.

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements