Who are we?

UCT’s Communication and Marketing Department’s mandate, contribution to the university, and staff.

Our mandate

Why and what

The Communication and Marketing Department’s (CMD) mandate is to promote and protect the vision, mission and reputation of the university.

CMD supports the university and its strategic goals, with a focus on various internal and external stakeholders across South Africa, Africa and the globe. We are the main communication conduit of the executive, and create and manage the platforms on which we celebrate the achievements of our students, academics and PASS staff.

Our daily activities revolve around issues of executive communication, news management and distribution, media liaison, social media management, issues management, reputational management, crisis management, digital presence management, traditional media platform management, brand management, communication and marketing consultations, training, measurement and reporting, university-wide events and functions and the management of UCT’s online web presence.

“We work to profile UCT as a leading African university”

How

We work to profile UCT as a leading African university in local, national and international mainstream media and social media; distribute a wide range of news and audio-visual material with which we bring to life the institution’s many inspiring stories of excellence and groundbreaking research, celebrating the people behind the achievements; and provide online live streaming of many UCT events, including the annual graduation ceremonies.

We continuously develop and implement strategies that engage key internal and external UCT stakeholders through integrated marketing, communication and brand promotion campaigns, institutional events, coordination of high-level stakeholder relations engagements; and we conduct advisory sessions on appropriate government and diplomatic protocols. This, to ensure that stakeholders are aware of the university’s initiatives and priorities.

We aim to keep UCT’s four main websites  – www.uct.ac.za, www.staff.uct.ac.za, www.students.uct.ac.za and www.news.uct.ac.za – up to date, including the information architecture, usability, tracking of statistics and technical support; provide website support to other UCT website owners and content managers and manage the maintenance and development of the official UCT web content management system.

Our sustained communication ensures coverage of the focus areas underpinning the academic project: social responsiveness, excellence, transformation and sustainability.

Our contribution to UCT

We create and distribute a wide range of news, publications, audio-visual and media content, handle crisis communication and facilitate the production and distribution of all executive communication.

We coordinate university-wide events and manage stakeholder relations across campus on communication matters. We also update and maintain the university’s main communication platforms in order to promote UCT and advance its strategic goals, with a focus on both internal and external audiences across South Africa, Africa and the globe.

“Our sustained communication ensures regularly updated coverage of the focus areas underpinning the academic project.”

“CMD plays an essential role in promoting the university and its strategic goals, both internally and among our various external stakeholders. Our sustained communication ensures regularly updated coverage of the focus areas underpinning the academic project: social responsiveness, excellence, transformation and sustainability,” said Gerda Kruger, our executive director.

“CMD is the main communication conduit of the executive. It conveys the voice of the professional, administrative support and service (PASS) staff and remains a platform for celebrating the achievements of our students and academics, whether in research or in teaching and learning. Over the past two decades, I have come to rely absolutely on the professionalism, dedication and creativity of our increasingly diverse team of communication specialists.”

We are made up of five interrelated units:

• Newsroom and Video Production
• Media and Social Media
• Marketing and Stakeholder Relations
• Online Communications
• Executive Support.

Our comprehensive and integrated strategic marketing and communication programme includes:

• marketing
• brand identity
• promotional materials
• daily news
• publications
• videography
• photography
• campus TV
• media liaison
• social media
• online communications (including websites)
• live streaming of events
• event management
• strategic relationship building
• internal communication strategies
• executive communication.

Our staff

 

Who are we?

30 Sep 2021

 

Our people

30 Sep 2021

 

We are transforming

30 Sep 2021

 

What we have achieved

30 Sep 2021

 

The numbers

30 Sep 2021

 

An eventful year

30 Sep 2021

 

COVID-19

30 Sep 2021

 

2020 in pictures

30 Sep 2021

Feedback from colleagues

Dear Niémah

There is so much joy mixed with tears that I am holding back at the moment because I am at work. You have been a blessing to me and my family for embracing this story the way you did. Thank you, thank you, and thank you. These are the best words I can say, may you continue to do the excellent work you do. You touch UCT lives for the better. Gratefully so.

Niémah. You’ve been a delight to work with. Thanks to YOU for flying the department’s flag so high, and so well. Thank you SO MUCH!

Thank you so much for the article. I just saw my social media booming and I was wondering why. Thanks for sharing my story. It has helped me to heal.

Great job on this article. Just to let you know, I already received an offer to collaborate with another literacy programme, so time spent on this article is already well worth it. Thank you SO very much.

Dear Helen

I wanted to thank you for a really splendid article. I have had so much positive feedback – even from my old school principal we quoted! So many people have reached out to say how inspiring my story is and I have no doubt that is due to your brilliant writing.

What a lovely article! Thank you. It made me tear up with pride, transformative work with purpose and impact. A deeply appreciative moment.

I just wanted to congratulate you on the two news stories you did on Julius Okello (I read the 2016 one first and then the 2020 one). An incredible story beautifully told – when I read the end of the 2020 one ‘Here’s to you, Dr Julius Okello’ I started sobbing. That’s what good writing is all about.

Dear Aniqah and Justin

Congratulations on the excellent Vision2030 merchandise range. It looks absolutely stunning and is very consistent with the boldness of our Vision2030 massive transformative statement.

The Future UCT Graduate T-shirt makes for a very meaningful gift and I have no doubt that it will be very popular, not only with our first year students but also younger students whose parents may want to inspire them to dream bigger.

I would like to purchase more of the T-shirts in adult and children sizes. May you please send me details of prices and also whether I can make my purchase online.

Thanks again for the outstanding work!

Wow wow wow Roxanne and Lerato!! The Awards Ceremony video was OUTSTANDING!!!
Beautifully filmed and edited to produce a film with character and soul and life!!

A huge thank you to you and your team for producing a work of **art**!!

Siyabulela bethuna!

Dear Khanyisa

Trust that this email finds you well. I confirm receipt of my special gift. Many thanks. Greatly appreciated. Would you please be so kind to also convey my sincere thanks, appreciation, and gratitude to the UCT Executive and anyone else involved for this truly wonderful and awesome gift.

Once again, THANK YOU.

Thanks so much to the CMD exec for the lovely gift! It was such a pleasant surprise, it came on a day where I was seriously having a bad day, I was really irritated and frustrated that day, then I got a call to come collect a package. Thanks so much, brightened my day in the most beautiful way.