a global response to global challenges As part of its strategy to internationalise its research, the University of Cape Town has been a member of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) – a partnership of 17 research-intensive universities – since 2009. In 2014, the WUN came closer to home than usual because UCT hosted the annual […]
Highlights
Making integrity integral to research
The multi-sited, collaborative nature of contemporary academic research, combined with the expanded compliance requirements of funding agencies and research sponsors, has resulted in heightened concerns about research integrity for individual researchers and the university. Recognising these trends, UCT has adopted a comprehensive approach to research integrity as integral to scholarly success. The Office of Research […]
Not business as usual
The Graduate School of Business (GSB) has created a new space at the heart of its Waterfront campus that seeks to break the mould of a traditional business education, in order for more holistic and creative responses to African challenges to emerge. Dubbed the Solution Space, the area is meant to serve as a link […]
UCT student team wins top innovation prize
A student team from UCT won a top prize at the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC), which is held annually at the University of California, Berkeley, in the USA. The UCT team was named one of the top five initiatives worldwide for their project, Khusela – a low-cost fire-detection device for informal housing – and […]
UCT spin-off prepares to launch novel diagnostic tool
A UCT spin-off company is in the final stages of launching a first-of-its-kind, rapid extra-pulmonary TB (EPTB) diagnostic tool to tackle the TB crisis in Africa. IRISATM-TB (InterGam Rapid Immuno Suspension Assay) is the first commercial product to emerge from Antrum Biotech, a company that grew out of the research led by UCT’s Professor Keertan […]
Young innovators slam the opposition
John Woodland, a PhD student in the Department of Chemistry, took second place in South Africa’s first Science Slam competition in January 2014, wowing the audience with his enthusiasm, lack of jargon, good diagrams and effective animations. Woodland spoke about his research into the development of a fluorescent probe to detect free haem, an iron-containing […]
Carnegie scholars: The next generation
A fourth generation of Carnegie scholars was welcomed to UCT in 2014 as part of the Next Generation of Academics in Africa Project. Funded by the Carnegie Corporation, which recognised the importance of preparing young potential academics for university careers, this extensive programme runs at four major universities in Africa: UCT, the University of the […]
postdoctoral and postgraduate stars
Each year UCT welcomes increasing numbers of postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows, who play a vital role in supporting existing research and driving new research across the university. Dr Verena Bitzer joined the Graduate School of Business during 2013 as a postdoctoral fellow looking into the role of cross-sector partnerships and co-innovation in solving complex […]
Researcher rising
Dr Alison September is a pioneer in a pioneering field. A senior research officer in the UCT/Medical Research Council (MRC) Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine (ESSM) in the Department of Human Biology, Dr September is at the forefront of genetic studies geared towards identifying the hereditary risk factors underlying soft tissue injuries […]
Knowledge for Africa
The Africa Knowledge Project provides grants that are aimed at promoting African collaboration, interdisciplinary collaborative research and the production of Africa-centred knowledge. The Andrew W Mellon Foundation is funding the 2014 grants through the Research Office’s Programme for the Enhancement of Research Capacity (PERC), with the condition that the principal investigator must be based in […]
An outspoken advocate of African research
Among the Mail & Guardian’s 2013 list of 200 Young South Africans was Dr Shadreck Chirikure, a senior lecturer in the Department of Archaeology and 2014 Research Associate of the Programme for the Enhancement of Research Capacity (PERC). Singled out for his contribution to changing the way Africans think about their own continent, Dr Chirikure seeks […]
February in the Cederberg
One of South Africa’s most iconic climbers has directed his passions at researching the Cederberg’s iconic trees. Edmund February, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cape Town, has turned his attentions to the endangered cedar tree, the only tree species growing among fynbos and endemic to the Cederberg mountains. Associate Professor February […]
A voice against violence
South Africa is one of the most violent African countries not currently in a state of war. In 2013, it was ranked 121 out of 162 countries on the Global Peace Index, having slipped 27 places since 2008. The Safety and Violence Initiative (SaVI) at UCT continues to draw attention to the need to address […]
NSTF-BHP Billiton Awards 2013/14
From Asthma to Aeronautics: the 2013/14 NSTF-BHP Billiton Awards. Three academics from the University of Cape Town were honoured at the 16th Annual National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF)-BHP Billiton Awards for their contributions to the fields of science, engineering, technology and innovation in South Africa. Eight other UCT academics were among the 56 finalists […]