UCT VC candidate presentations and other updates 2024
Dear students and colleagues
This campus announcement aims to inform the University of Cape Town community about:
1.Candidate presentations for the position of Vice-Chancellor
The selection committee for the appointment of the new Vice-Chancellor of UCT has reached a final shortlist of two candidates: Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng and Professor Vivienne Lawack. The two candidates will make presentations to representatives of various campus constituencies on Wednesday, 21 February 2024, between 10:00 and 12:00. The presentations will be live-streamed and can be viewed on any computer with a stable internet connection. A recording of the presentation will be available for viewing on the same link until 16:00. Feedback is invited by emailing brief comments to Sikho Mgweba by Wednesday, 21 February 2024 at 16:30.
2. Financial aid for 2024
Applications for financial aid are managed centrally by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). The closing dates for first-time-entering students to apply for NSFAS financial assistance is 22 February 2024. Late applications will not be accepted as this is a once-off concession due to the changes in NSFAS funding policy resulting from the announcement made by President Zuma in December 2024.
NSFAS applications are open to new students as well as to staff members who have dependants entering public higher education for the first time in 2024, and who meet the gross income qualifying criteria. Application forms are available from the Student Financial Aid Office.
The Department of Higher Education and Training fee grant is open to all students, irrespective of year of study or academic programme. The government grant has been made available to ensure that eligible students pay fees equivalent to 2024 for the same courses. The deadline for applications is 29 March 2024.
3. Accommodation update
All first-time-entering students who have received offers of accommodation have been placed in residences. As of 14 February UCT residences were 97% full, with about 200 beds still available. Student Housing & Residence Life is aware of only 35 students with housing offers who still need to be placed in campus residences. UCT has added additional housing capacity by signing two lease agreements with off-campus residences, which makes an additional 380 beds available. The university assists students who cannot be accommodated on campus through the Off-Campus Student Accommodation Services, which has information on off-campus accommodation at prices similar to UCT’s.
4. SAX Appeal’s Mad Sax perspective on Day Zero
Copies of SAX Appeal 2024 are available for R30 in the UCT Campus Store and around campus. Sales are in support of the work done by more than 2 000 UCT students who volunteer through SHAWCO – the Students’ Health and Welfare Centres Organisation, whose projects assist thousands of people annually across Cape Town. UCT Remember and Give (RAG), which publishes SAX Appeal, aims to equip UCT students with the fundamental skills, perspectives and experiences required to develop their careers and become leaders within an African context.
5. Vice-Chancellor’s Inaugural Lecture to be delivered by Professor Maano Ramutsindela
Professor Maano Ramutsindela, the deputy dean of the Faculty of Science, will deliver the first Vice-Chancellor’s Inaugural Lecture for the year. Titled “Remapping Africa through peace parks: What future for the continent?”, the lecture will take place on Wednesday, 21 February 2024, at 17:30 in Lecture Theatre 2 in the Kramer Law Building on middle campus. Professor Ramutsindela’s work on peace parks has been featured in the New York Times and in the Conversation. He is the author of Transfrontier Conservation in Africa: At the confluence of capital, politics and nature.
Communication and Marketing Department
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