TB Davie Memorial Lecture nominations and other updates

Dear colleagues and students

The TB Davie Memorial Lecture hosted by the Academic Freedom Committee is an opportunity to affirm and clarify the values of academic freedom in a contemporary context, and to stimulate debate. Speaker nominations for the annual lecture have been extended to 22 February 2023. Read about this and other recent developments on campus.

1. TB Davie Memorial Lecture - call for nominations extended

The Academic Freedom Committee has extended the nomination date of speakers for the 2023 lecture. Nominations should not exceed three pages, and should include a brief curriculum vitae of the nominated speaker.

Please submit nominations to Dee Benjamin by no later than Wednesday, 22 February 2023.

• View the list of previous speakers.

2. UCT Shuttle service closing time for SONA

Please note that due to the City of Cape Town’s notice of road closures published ahead of the State of the Nation Address (SONA), the UCT Shuttle service will be suspended from 17:00 on Thursday, 9 February 2023. In previous years, when the UCT Shuttle attempted to operate a scaled-down service in the evening of SONA, users of the service experienced major delays that were outside the control of the UCT Shuttle service. This year, the last buses departing from campus on Thursday, 9 February will be between 16:30 and 17:00. We apologise for the inconvenience, and we encourage commuters to travel as early as possible, and to consult the UCT Shuttle timetables for exact departure times from campus. Passengers travelling after 17:00 will need to make alternative transport arrangements

3. First-year students welcome festival

The Department of Student Affairs’ (DSA) Student Development Cluster will host a Welcome Festival for first-year students as well as returning students on Thursday, 9 February 2023 from 9:00 to 17:00 at the UCT Rugby Fields. UCT Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, and the Executive Director: Student Affairs Mr Pura Mgolombane will welcome students and introduce the Student Representative Council (SRC) to students. The day-long festival will be filled with lots of entertainment and performances. New students will also be introduced to UCT societies, development agencies and sports clubs.

4. P&S workplace services portal maintenance

The Properties and Servcies (P&S) Workplace Services Portal will be suspended on Thursday, 9 February 2023 between 16:00 and 20:00.

P&S will perform essential maintenance on the site during this time. Staff will not have access to the portal for this period of time.

Staff are thanked for their patience while this important maintenance update is undertaken.

For any queries, please email the P&S technical support team.

Communication and Marketing Department

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements