Grow our own: (From left) Mohohlo Tsoeu, Prof Paul Bowen, Fatima Williams, Prof Paula Ensor, VC Dr Max Price, and Gina Ziervogel.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price welcomed members of the New Academic Practitioners Programme (NAPP) at a function on 12 October, praising the programme as "innovative" and "well-established".

Launched in 2004 by the Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED), NAPP serves as a support structure for newcomers to academia at UCT. In addition to an introduction session and a retreat later, NAPP also hosts workshops on topics related to research, teaching and learning. These are presented either by CHED or the university's Research Office.

"NAPP is part of the university's transformation process, forging international links with Africa," said Price. "It is foremost an academic programme for the disadvantaged, and intended to accelerate familiarity with the university.

"We are short of black academics, so the university's strategy is to grow our own," Price quipped.