UCT climbs in world rankings and other updates

Dear colleagues

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has climbed 23 spots in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings and remains ranked top in Africa on all five major international rankings. Read more on this and other updates below.

1. UCT moves higher up on THE rankings

UCT climbed to 160th position and retained its top spot on the continent in this year’s rankings published by THE on Wednesday, 12 October 2022. The university was ranked 183rd in 2021.  

The latest ranking means that in all five major international university rankings, UCT is ranked best in Africa. This year, UCT took the continent’s top place in the Centre for World University Rankings, Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings and ShanghaiRanking’s Academic Ranking of World Universities. UCT is also Africa’s top university in the US News & World Report Best Global Universities Rankings, the most recent issued in 2021. A new release is expected later this month.

• Read the web article: UCT leaps up in international rankings.

2. Dr Stuart Saunders Memorial Lecture postponed

The annual Dr Stuart Saunders Memorial Lecture, which was scheduled for Tuesday,18 October 2022, has regrettably been postponed. The lecture was to be delivered by Distinguished Professor Philippe-Joseph Salazar under the title: “The Nine Circles of Scholarship”. A new date will be announced at a later stage.

3. Launch of anti-racism conversation series

In June 2022, UCT released the new anti-racism policy and related procedures. The university will now launch its Conversation Series on 24 October 2022 from 10:00 to 12:00, with a focus on anti-racism. The series will run until 27 October 2022. It is through scholarly debate and intellectual engagements that UCT as a leading academic institution can advance social justice. Please join the launch of the conversation series on 24 October 2022.

• Join the conversation (from 10:00 on 24 October).
• Read more: Launch of the UCT Conversation Series: A focus on anti-racism.

4. VC’s Excellence Awards deadline extension

Staff who wish to nominate themselves or other colleagues for the prestigious Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Awards have only two days left before the extended closing date of Friday, 14 October 2022. The VC’s Excellence Awards will be made in the three categories: global citizenship, service excellence and transformation. The upcoming UCT Annual Awards, to be hosted in November, are an opportunity to recognise teams or individuals who have gone beyond the line of duty to make a difference.

• Read the VC Desk: Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Awards 2022.
• Read more on the guidelines and criteria for the awards.
• Download the nomination form.

5. Update on UCT governance-related matters

Following the special Council meeting of 6 October 2022 where a decision was taken to constitute a sub-committee that will look into governance and procedural matters relating to the recent Senate meeting as well as the departure of former Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning, the Chair of Council Babalwa Ngonyama has called for an independent investigation into allegations made. The investigation is to be led by a retired judge.

• Read the Chair's Desk: A call for independent investigation.
• Read the Deputy Chair’s Desk: Report from Special Council Meeting of 6 October 2022.
• Read UCT's response to an inaccurate media article of 3 October 2022.

6. ICTS maintenance to impact UCT services

The Information and Communication Technology Services (ICTS) department will perform important data centre maintenance from 13:00 to 24:00 on Saturday, 15 October, and from 08:00 to 24:00 on Sunday, 16 October 2022. This critical work aims to reduce the risk of loadshedding impacting services on the scale it has done recently.

As a result, many UCT services will be unavailable during this period. If you need to use any of the affected services, please do so either before or after the maintenance.

• Learn more about the maintenance.

7. P&S workplace services portal maintenance

The Properties and Services (P&S) Workplace Services Portal will be suspended on Thursday, 13 October 2022 between 17:00 and 20:00. P&S will perform essential maintenance services on the site and staff will not have access to the portal for this period.

The P&S department thanks staff for their patience while this important maintenance update is being undertaken. For any queries, please email the P&S technical support team.

8. Parking arrangements for Sanlam Cape Town Marathon

The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon will take place on Sunday, 16 October 2022. UCT’s parking areas P1 and P6 will be used as a park and ride facility. Participating runners will park their vehicles in this area and be transported to the city for the race.

Marshalls will control access to the relevant parking areas and no roads on campus will be closed. All other parking will be available for use by the UCT community.

Communication and Marketing Department

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements