Inaugural lecture by Professor Held and other updates

08 November 2023

Dear colleagues and students

Professor Michael Held will deliver the last inaugural lecture for 2023 in the UCT Inaugural Lecture Series on Thursday, 16 November 2023. Read about this and other developments on campus.

1. Inaugural lecture by Professor Held

Professor Michael Held will deliver his inaugural lecture on Thursday, 16 November 2023 in the Neuroscience Institute Lecture Theatre, Groote Schuur Hospital, at 18:30. The lecture is titled “Right Down to the Bone – Orthopaedic Training and Education”.

The lecture will unpack initiatives to improve and transform surgical education and training. Professor Held explores the intricacies of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) orthopaedic curriculum transformation process for medical students. This has led to student-centred content co-creation, nurturing a sense of ownership in their learning. Besides written content, he will touch on student-created visual media to simplify complex orthopaedic concepts and make video content accessible to a broader audience through an open access platform. Furthermore, he will highlight some challenges that orthopaedic registrars encounter in their training experience, exposure to surgeries, and their learning of surgical skills – and efforts to find solutions.

RSVP for the lecture by Professor Held.

2. UCT official merchandise shop’s Blue November pop-up sale

The UCT official merchandise shop will have a Blue November pop-up sale between 13 and 30 November 2023. Enjoy great savings of up to 60% off on selected items. The pop-up shop is located at the Steve Biko Students’ Union Building, Cissy Gool Plaza on upper campus. Trading hours are from 10:00 to 15:00 on weekdays, excluding public holidays. Please note that only electronic payments are accepted. Prices and combo specials are valid while stocks last. Returns can regrettably not be accommodated. Please visit UCT’s official social media pages for more information.

3. P&S workplace services portal maintenance

The P&S Workplace Services Portal will undergo routine maintenance and will not be available between 14:00 on Friday, 10 November 2023 and 22:00 on Sunday, 12 November 2023.

Staff will not have access to the portal during this time.

For any maintenance emergencies during this period, please contact the Maintenance and Operations Helpdesk on 021 650 4322/4321.

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.

4. UCT to co-host African Universities Gender Equality Forum

The African Universities Gender Equality Forum – to be co-hosted by UCT, the Shared Value Africa Initiative (SVAI) and the #ITSNOTOK movement – is almost here. It will be held on Thursday, 23 November 2023, via Zoom, from 14:00 to 15:30 CAT.

The speakers for the event include Simnikiwe Tuku from UCT; Kate Mwambo of the State University of Buea; Tiekie Barnard, founder and CEO of the SVAI and Shift Impact Africa; Hope Nabalayo, Chevaan Davids, and Lesedi Ngubeni of 16 Ways for 16 Days; and Ivana I Osagie, CEO of PWR Advisory.

The forum aims to cultivate awareness about sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and foster dialogue to introduce cultural norms that prevent SGBV and catalyse programmatic change in the higher education sector. It is intended to serve as a platform through which participants can work towards driving meaningful conversations and change to eradicate SGBV and increase gender equity within African universities.