UCT's research profile

• Twenty seven Chairs awarded through the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) South African Research Chairs Initiative.
• Two DST/NRF Centres of Excellence: Birds as Key to Biodiversity Conservation, at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute, and the Centre of Excellence in Catalysis, c*change.
• One DST Competence Centre in Hydrogen Catalysis.
• UCT has five research Signature Themes: African Centre for Cities, Brain and Behaviour Initiative, Drug Discovery, Marine Research Institute, and Minerals to Metals.
• 62 research groupings recognised by UCT.
• Formal strategic partnerships with: Human Sciences Research Council, South African Astronomical Observatory, Mintek and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
• New focus areas in 2009: The establishment of the African Climate and Development Initiative.

2009 research highlights

• Total research income: R771.3 million (research contracts: R519 million; private sector grants and donations: R50.1 million; government-related grants: R157.7 million; internal grants: R44.6 million).
• 322 NRF rated researchers at UCT.
• Funding from the NRF as at the end of 2009: R189 million.
• Funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC): R13.5 million.
• Publication count submission to the Department of Higher Education and Training: 1086.15 units (for output published in 2008).
• International rankings: Number 107 in the Times Higher Education Thomson Reuters World University Rankings 2010. In the top 200 to 300 group of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Academic Ranking of World Universities 2010.
• Doctoral candidates capped: 186.
• Funding to postgraduate students (honours, master's and doctoral): R97 million, through 3 659 awards to 2 052 students. Sources of funding: NRF (R26.1 million); MRC (R830 000); investments (R4 million); donations (R14.2 million); departmental scholarships (R40.4 million); UCT (R11.6 million).
• Funding to Postdoctoral Research Fellows: R28 million, through 284 fellowships to 189 fellows.