Nominations open for VC’s Excellence Awards 2024

Dear colleagues and students

In a world where constant change and major transitions are often inevitable, the University of Cape Town (UCT) continues to stand tall, resilient and unwavering in its pursuit of excellence. Building on lessons from 2023, UCT continues to be a celebrated beacon of hope in higher education, propelled by the efforts and hard work by each of our valued staff.

Our vision remains undeterred: to unleash human potential to create a fair and just society. It is you – our dedicated staff – who bring this vision to life every day. Your creativity, commitment and passion not only drive the success of UCT but reverberates into the wider world, making a meaningful impact.

As we reflect on the challenges and achievements of the past year, we recognise that excellence is not just an outcome but a continuous journey. This is echoed in the words of our very own former UCT Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mamphela Ramphele: “Excellence is not a singular act but a habit, born from persistent dedication to growth and self-improvement”.

Throughout the year, the leadership of the institution has endeavoured to acknowledge your hard work in many ways, and the upcoming UCT Annual Awards in November 2024 present another opportunity to celebrate those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Awards committee has expressed that at the heart of our university’s success lies teamwork, collective effort, collaboration and strong leadership. These are the pillars that are necessary to support the well-being of our colleagues and the long-term sustainability of UCT.

We invite you to nominate individuals or teams who have made a profound impact – whether through transformative change, outstanding service, or by embodying the spirit of global citizenship.

We particularly encourage nominations for our professional, administrative support and service (PASS) staff for the Global Citizenship Award and the Service Excellence Award. All staff engaged in transformation work are invited to apply for or nominate colleagues for the Transformation Award. Nominees can be individuals or teams.

A brief outline of each of the categories is as follows:

• Service Excellence: celebrates and recognises outstanding service by staff, including activities, initiatives, practices and/or projects that have contributed to the delivery of exceptional or significantly improved services to UCT’s staff and students (an award for PASS staff).
• Global Citizenship: recognises individuals or teams who have demonstrated excellence in living out the UCT mission through areas of service, the pursuit of knowledge, the dignity of the human being and contributions to the common good (an award for PASS staff).
• Transformation: aligns with the strategic plan of the university and our vision for excellence, transformation and sustainability, and is aimed at recognising and encouraging individuals, teams or any collective taking an active role in driving institutional culture change at UCT (an award for all staff).

We are proud of the incredible work done across UCT, and through these awards, we hope to highlight the individuals and teams who continue to inspire and lead by example. Let’s take this opportunity to honour their contributions.

The deadline for submission is Friday, 11 October 2024.

• Read more on the guidelines and criteria for the awards.
• Download the nomination form.

Please submit nominations to vc@uct.ac.za.

Sincerely

Professor Mosa Moshabela
Vice-Chancellor

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements