Celebrating UCT’s exceptional NRF-rated researchers

Dear colleagues and students

We can all be proud that four University of Cape Town (UCT) researchers have recently been added to the National Research Foundation (NRF) list of A-rated scholars, in recognition of their outstanding contribution to national and international research across a range of disciplines.

This brings the total number of A-rated researchers at UCT to 31 – the highest of any university in South Africa. These researchers are:

• Professor Linda-Gail Bekker of the Faculty of Health Sciences
• Professors Tommie Meyer and Timothy Egan of the Faculty of Science
• Emeritus Professor Dirk van Zyl Smit of the Faculty of Law.

I also congratulate the UCT researchers who have retained their A ratings this year.

The NRF rating system is a valuable tool for measuring the quality of South African researchers against the best in the world. In the NRF’s own words, the system is “a key driver in the foundation’s aim to build a globally competitive science system in South Africa…. NRF ratings are allocated based on a researcher’s recent research outputs and impact as perceived by international peer reviewers. The rating system encourages researchers to publish high quality outputs in high impact journals/outlets”.

Please join me in congratulating these exceptional UCT colleagues. They embody the pursuit of excellence that is one of the three pillars of the university, along with transformation and sustainability.

Yours sincerely

Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng
Vice-Chancellor

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements