UCT shines in various rankings and other updates

Dear colleagues and students

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has been ranked among the top universities in the world, and in particular as the best in Africa, on several recent international university rankings. Read more about this and other recent developments on campus.

1. UCT shines in various rankings

UCT has continued to earn accolades across a range of international rankings, including yet again being ranked first in Africa by US News & World Report Best Global Universities Rankings.

UCT has also been placed in the top 100 for five subjects in the US News & World Report Best Global Universities subject rankings. Other international accolades for UCT these past few days include:

• five UCT subjects have been ranked in the top 200 by the Times Higher Education (THE) subject rankings;
• the UCT Graduate School of Business’s (GSB) Executive MBA has been placed in the top 20 on the Financial Times rankings; and
• 135 UCT researchers have been included in the University of Stanford’s list of Top 2% Scientists in the World.

Early in October, UCT climbed 23 places and retained its top spot on the continent in this year’s THE world university rankings. The university now sits at 160th globally. The latest rankings by THE and US News & World Report Best Global Universities Rankings 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.

• Read more about UCT’s performance on the US News & World Report Best Global Universities Rankings.
• Read more about UCT’s performance on the THE subject rankings.
• Read more about UCT’s GSB ranking by the FT.
• Read more about UCT’s researchers’ inclusion on the University of Stanford’s list of Top 2% Scientists in the World.

2. UCT to host webinar series on climate change

UCT’s Environmental Sustainability Directorate in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor invites staff and students to a webinar series to be hosted by the university’s African Climate Development Initiative (ACDI). It will be hosted in support of one of the Khusela Ikamva Sustainable Campus objectives to grow a community of practice on campus that is more conscious about local and global environmental issues, including climate change.

UCT, through its researchers and students, is well-known for making important contributions to the global body of knowledge on climate change. A number of UCT academics have contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) reports. These authors will contribute to a webinar series to explain what their research findings mean for UCT, across all campuses.

The webinars are scheduled for 3, 7 and 22 November. The details are as follows:

Topic 1: Findings from the IPCC’s Africa chapter and their relevance to UCT

Speakers: Professor Mark New, Dr Chris Trisos and Luckson Zvobgo
Date: 3 November 2022
Time: 11:00–12:00

• Join the meeting.

Topic 2: The IPCC’s WG1 report – Changes in the physical climate science and its relevance to UCT

Speakers: Professor Bruce Hewitson and Dr Izidine Pinto
Date: 7 November 2022
Time: 12:00–13:00

• Join the meeting.

Topic 3: Mitigation and equity: The relevance of IPCC WGIII report for UCT

Speakers: Professor Harald Winkler and Professor Harro Von Blottnitz
Date: 22 November 2022
Time: 12:00–13:00

• Join the meeting.

Staff and students are urged to contribute questions on any of the topics. Questions and any other queries can be sent to sustainablecampus@uct.ac.za.

3. DHET curriculum change grants recipients

UCT’s success as an institution in embracing Vision 2030 will largely depend on academics being supported in the development and implementation of a contextualised, relevant future-oriented curricula that centres Afrika. The Department of Higher Education and Training curriculum change grants align with this strategic vision to develop a transformative curriculum focused on academic excellence and equity, while promoting and celebrating students’ cultural and social diversity.

UCT congratulates the following recipients of the curriculum change grants:

• Dr Asanda Benya, Dr Ruchi Chaturvedi, Associate Professor Elena Moore and Associate Professor Amrita Pande (Sociology)
• Professor Michael Held (Orthopaedic Surgery)
• Ms Sumaya Gabriels (Health and Rehabilitation Sciences)
• Dr Amaal Abrahams (Human Biology); and
• Ms Sarah Crawford-Browne (Primary Health Care Directive).

We wish these recipients and their multiple collaborators all the best.

• Read the DVC Desk: DHET curriculum change grants recipients.

4. Working towards an accessible publishing landscape

UCT Libraries, in partnership with the South African National Library and Information (SANLiC), and other member institutions are working to shift ownership of, and access to, knowledge.

In June 2021, SANLiC members adopted principles with the intention of transforming the existing journal reading subscription agreements of the libraries within South African universities. South Africa has opted for a new model for negotiating with publishers. The transformational agreement uses the “read and publish” approach as a base with negotiation for greater investment by the publishers in the development of South Africa’s next generation of researchers and the country’s research agenda.

• Read the DVC Desk: Working towards an accessible publishing landscape.

5. Reminder: Examination period planning and logistics

The Student Affairs and Properties and Services departments have collaborated in planning the logistical arrangements for the upcoming examination period. Logistical arrangements have been made in respect of study spaces, security services, UCT Shuttle services, parking, loadshedding, COVID-19 health and safety protocol, and medical assistance.

• Read the Campus Announcement on examination period planning and logistics.

6. 2021 Year in Review

The year 2021 was not only very challenging; it was also a period of growth for UCT. Staff and students took to heart the view that challenges can be welcomed as opportunities to adapt, lead and grow.

The recently released 2021 Year in Review captures this resilience by UCT community members who continued to make strides in the higher education sector with ground-breaking research and other work that ensures UCT remains the best in Africa and one of the top-ranking universities globally.

• Read the 2021 Year in Review.

Communication and Marketing Department

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements