Making a Difference
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
FROM HOPE TO ACTION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE
www.uwc.ac.za I
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
We are proud of our strides in providing young people with an education that places excellence in teaching, learning, research and innovation at its centre.
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Working towards a better future MESSAGE FROM THE VICE-CHANCELLOR
Yet this institution was never supposed to succeed. It was birthed as a college offering limited training for lower to middle-level positions in the civil service intended for a minority population constructed by the apartheid regime. The government of the time could not have foreseen that the little college would bravely oppose its policies, gain university status and help shape a new democratic nation. UWC was built by forward thinkers and it continues to attract resilient, innovative students and staff who are not deterred by their circumstances. It is my honour to lead this dynamic institution which continues to work towards a better future for South Africa and to find solutions to problems plaguing our world.
Despite the obstacles that UWC has faced, the doors of learning have remained open to all – irrespective of race or socio-economic circumstances. Furthermore, we are proud of our strides in providing young people with an education that places excellence in teaching, learning, research and innovation at its centre. As a research-led university, we are committed to being a vibrant intellectual space where we engage with matters of real significance and constantly seek new ways of improving what we offer our students. We do this while being mindful of the society in which we are located and the communities around us. At UWC, we are eager to forge mutually beneficial partnerships that will assist us in realising our vision of being a place of quality and a place to grow from hope to action through knowledge. PROFESSOR TYRONE PRETORIUS RECTOR AND VICE-CHANCELLOR
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
T H E U NI V E RS IT Y O F T H E W E STE RN CAPE (UWC ) is a young institution barely six decades old, but it stands tall among the greatest higher education institutions on the African continent.
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The Plan U W C ’ S I N S T I T U T I O N A L O P E R A T I N G P L A N ( I O P ) 2 0 2 1–2 0 2 5
UWC ’ S IO P is framed as a broad and integrated strategic framework for UWC’s development as a public South African university in 2021–2025. The framework comprises eight
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STUDENT EXPERIENCE
LEARNING AND TEACHING
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
PEOPLE FRAMEWORK
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
CROSS-CUTTING AREAS:
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strategic goal areas intersected by four cross-cutting themes, namely digital transformation, an anchor institution, collaborative partnerships within an ecosystem, and internationalisation.
1. DIGI TA L T R A NSFORM AT ION
2. ANCHOR INSTITUTION
3. PARTNERSHIPS
4. INTERNATIONALISATION
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
UWC IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CAMPUS AND SURROUNDING AREAS
LEADERSHIP, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
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The Leadership Team UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
UWC was built by forward-thinking and progressive leaders and continues to attract leaders who are passionately committed to delivering our mission.
RECTOR AND VC
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PROFESSOR TYRONE PRETORIUS Rector and Vice-Chancellor
DVC
DVC
PROFESSOR JOSÉ FRANTZ
PROFESSOR MATETE MADIBA
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student Development and Support
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
REGISTRAR
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
MR MEKO MAGIDA
DR NITA LAWTON-MISRA
MR ABDURAGHMAN REGAL
Executive Director: Human Resources
Registrar
Executive Director: Finance, Innovation, Operations and Infrastructure
PROFESSOR MONWABISI RALARALA
PROFESSOR ANTHEA RHODA
PROFESSOR VEERASAMY YENGOPAL
PROFESSOR MICHELLE ESAU
PROFESSOR RAJENDRAN GOVENDER
PROFESSOR JACQUES DE VILLE
PROFESSOR BURTRAM FIELDING
Dean of Arts and Humanities
Dean of Community and Health Sciences
Dean of Dentistry
Dean of Economic and Management Sciences
Dean of Education
Dean of Law
Dean of Natural Sciences
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
DVC
PROFESSOR VIVIENNE LAWACK
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Facts and Figures 2023 UWC STATS AT A GLANCE
TOTAL STUDENTS
BY THE NUMBERS
3 24790 Undergraduates
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
19 321
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Postgraduates
10 7
18
5 469
First-time Entering Undergraduates
4 483
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION COLLABORATING CENTRES
in Oral Health, Health Systems Complexity and Change, and Bioinformatics and Human Health are hosted at UWC.
UWC ALUMNI served as Rectors
or Vice-Chancellors of South African universities to help shape the direction of higher education.
There are seven NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION (NRF) A-RATED RESEARCHERS at UWC.
MAINTAINS A GREENER CAMPUS
by recycling about 55% of its paper, cardboard and organic garden waste.
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SPECIES OF FLORA AND FAUNA
have been recorded in the UWC Cape Flats Nature Reserve, including 249 indigenous plant species, 268 animal species, seven lichens and mosses and 34 species of mushrooms.
A TOTAL OF 18 SARChI RESEARCH CHAIRS are held at UWC, providing leadership from Astrophysics to Health Systems Governance to Post-school Education.
52% OF SOUTH AFRICA’S DENTISTS
52%
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UWC REDUCES WASTE AND
are produced by UWC’s Faculty of Dentistry – Africa’s leading dental school and a WHO Centre of Competence.
12000 THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS from South Africa and other African countries who have participated in the UWC School of Public Health’s Summer and Winter School since it began.
As a research-led university, we are committed to being a vibrant intellectual space where we engage with matters of real significance and constantly seek new ways of improving what we offer our students.
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BY THE NUMBERS
600 2 500 2 673
8 401–600
NRF-RATED RESEARCHERS.
THE 33-YEAR PARTNERSHIP between UWC
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THE US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT
ranks UWC 625th overall and an impressive 113th globally in the space science category.
and the University of Missouri has seen over 600 ACADEMIC EXCHANGES between students and staff, strengthening international collaboration and research.
UWC’S RESEARCH REPOSITORY holds over
2 500 open access papers by researchers in a variety of fields.
ACADEMIC, PROFESSIONAL AND SUPPORT STAFF are employed by the university.
THE 2023 TIMES HIGHER EDUCATION UNIVERSITY RANKINGS place UWC in the
601–800 grouping globally, eighth in South Africa and 16th in Africa.
IN THE 2023 TIMES HIGHER EDUCATION IMPACT RANKINGS, which assess universities’ contributions to attaining the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UWC is rated in the 401–600 group.
62%
22%
of the permanent academic staff hold PHDs.
of the students enrolled in 2021 were studying towards
122 24500
POSTGRADUATE QUALIFICATIONS.
PHDs WERE AWARDED at UWC in 2021.
UWC ENROLLED more than 24 500 students in 2021 in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across seven faculties.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
170
UWC is home to 170
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Learning and Teaching AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
THE FOUR KEY PRIORITIES OF LEARNING AND TEACHING ARE:
Excellence and student success and retention; Research-led learning and teaching; Learning with technology (emerging technologies); and, Transformation and renewal of the curriculum. The university has invested in many support programmes and innovative interventions to enhance academic success.
STUDENT SUPPORT A total of 795 first-year students joined the First-Year Transition Programme in 2022, a mentoring programme that helps students transition to university life with the support of mentors who are senior students from the same faculty.
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
The Accelerated Excellence Programme (AEP) provides high-performing second-year students with essential skills for the changing world of work. Learning modules on presentation skills, interview techniques and CV development, entrepreneurship and community development and leadership skills are presented in monthly lunch-time meetings and four quarterly weekend residential sessions.
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The Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA) Programme involves postgraduate students working under the guidance of a lecturer, senior lecturer or head of programme to assist these academics in undergraduate module delivery, encompassing the whole planning cycle of learning, teaching and assessment. GTAs are attached to a particular lecturer and attend lectures for the module, arrange and oversee the tutorial programme and assist with the marking of assignments.
MIGRATION AND MOBILITIES INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLECTIVE IN AFRICA (MMICA) Migration and mobilities refer to the contemporary and historical movement of people, as well as to the circulation of ideas, objects and capital associated with this mobility. UWC’s Migration and Mobilities Interdisciplinary Collective in Africa (MMICA) was established in 2019 in the Office of the DVC (Academic) to promote critical approaches in research and further collaboration on this topic. The aim is to build an academic Centre for the Study of Migration and Mobilities at UWC to focus on the contemporary issues and global concerns in the field of migration studies and promote a new generation of South African and African academics to do research internationally that provides an African perspective.
CENTRE FOR INNOVATIVE EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (CIECT)
ZONELEARNING@UWC Styled as an experiential learning and incubation space for students, the ZoneLearning@UWC Programme integrates academic learning and community engagement through developing socially responsive graduates who can drive entrepreneurial activities in their communities. The model that was developed by Ryerson University in Canada was adopted by UWC after it signed an MOU with Ryerson to allow the model to be used to infuse entrepreneurial thinking in undergraduate studies. Zone learning has been implemented at the Economic and Management Sciences (EMS), Law and Arts faculties and consists of four clinics:
The CIECT team offered interactive training workshops in 2022 that focused on the use of various eTools and assessment activities as well as Google Applications (GAPPS). The team presented customised departmental workshops for specific staff members: 80 online workshops were conducted in 2022 and attended by 387 academics while 421 academics engaged in online consultations. An ‘eTools Kit for Tutors’ workshop was designed for tutors to engage in an online tutoring programme; 152 tutors accessed the workshop.
iKAMVA LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The CIECT manages iKamva, a platform that enables online learning for students and staff. iKamva provided invaluable support to the university community during the COVID-19 pandemic when much of the university’s academic programme was conducted virtually.
• Small Business Clinic – undergraduate students from the EMS Faculty work with community members to help them start businesses. • Entrepreneurial Law Clinic – focuses on the legal aspects of running a small business and assists students in the programme as well as community members to start and register their businesses. • New and Transmedia Clinic – focuses on telling the stories of students and communities surrounding UWC. The clinic offers a continuous education course, Transmedia for the Creative Economy, that equips participants with skills to ‘translate’ highly technical research accessible to lay persons and share it on public platforms to reach a broader audience.
• 1 320 learning modules were uploaded on the system in 2021 and 1 294 modules in 2022. • 2 368 students engaged in online student workshops on iKamva, Turnitin and GAPPS in 2022. • The average user accesses iKamva three times daily. • iKamva has a secure exams portal (that allows students to take tests remotely) and a marks accreditation system. • Lecturers can access the anti-plagiarism Turnitin tool on the platform, generate reports on student work and provide relevant feedback to students. • Thousands of students access digital media literacy training through iKamva. • The platform is used to train staff in multimedia presentation and course design.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
• Green Incubator – focuses on the green economy and sustainable development. The first 30 students are completing an incubation programme funded by BankSETA.
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Growing our Research Capacity PRODUCING RESEARCH WITH IMPACT
DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS)
DHET-ACCREDITED RESEARCH OUTPUT, 2008—2021 800 691
700
574
604 561
514
481
483
425
423
465
497 461
481 445
367 343
346 330
406 360
500 400 267 241
278 248
240 214
300
594
570
600
200 108 9
11
12
11
7
7
10
32
45
53
68
94
29
10 26
12 12
6 10
5 22
4 26
8 18
0
17 30
100
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021* Books and chapters (units) Conference proceedings (units) Journal articles (units) Total (units)
RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS IN RESEARCH
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
Technology Transfer Office (TTO)
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The TTO services all UWC researchers and departments involved in research and development to unlock the strategic value of innovation to sustain ongoing research. The TTO helps to protect intellectual property by facilitating patenting and registration processes in multiple countries. Thirteen provisional patent applications were filed in the UK in 2021–2022 and three patents were granted (one each in Europe, South Africa and the USA). The TTO is also involved in enabling funding through research contracts and investors. More than 50 innovation projects are lodged within the TTO portfolio.
The CoE-FS is jointly hosted by UWC and the University of Pretoria. It is the first DST-NRF Centre of Excellence to be hosted at a historically black university and involves over 100 researchers from South African and international institutions across various disciplines. In 2021, researchers in the CoE-FS published 83 papers in accredited journals and peer-reviewed books. There were 14 postdoctoral fellows in the CoE-FS. Our projects involved 83 students, 35 of whom were funded by bursaries awarded from the NRF grant. Women students comprised 68,7% and black students 63,9%. Researchers and students presented 66 papers and posters at national and international conferences. Thirty bursary holders graduated in 2021. The CoE-FS recently conducted a Rapid Food System Assessment funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). The place-based approach to the analysis of food systems was implemented at two pilot sites: the Breede Valley Municipality in the Western Cape and the Alfred Nzo District in the Eastern Cape. A new grant from the EU enabled the expansion of the work to include Nakuru in Kenya and Constantine in Algeria.
South African Research Chair Initiative (SARChI) The SARChI was established by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) in 2006, under the custodianship of the NRF. Its main goal is to strengthen and improve the research and innovation capacity of South Africa’s public universities to produce high-quality postgraduate students and research and
innovation outputs. The Chairs have all been enabled by NRF funding to build wide networks of academics, practitioners and researchers through virtual conferences and research forums for experienced and emerging scholars, resulting in significant knowledge exchanges as well as key interventions, including: • Prof Joy Papier, the Chair in Post-Schooling (TVET Studies), initiated the development and delivery of the Postgraduate Diploma: TVET, a new Level 8 (honours level) qualification that was accredited by the HEQC and taught from 2017. The Chair then led the development of a dedicated Master in TVET Studies degree (currently in its final accreditation phase). • Prof Stephen Devereux, the Chair in Social Protection for Food Security, is a strong advocate for implementing a basic income grant (BIG) in South Africa and served on a panel appointed by the Department of Social Development to investigate the feasibility of the BIG. • Prof Asha George, the Chair in Health Systems, Complexity and Social Change, has led important international work with the UN University International Institute for Global Health to advance research and policy on gender and health from a global South perspective.
SELECTED RESEARCH FACTS
1 395
8 8
18+35
in South African universities: the UNESCO Chair in Geohydrology, which was established in 1999, is held by Prof Yongxin Xu; the UNESCO Chair in African Food Systems established in 2017 is held by Prof Julian May; and the most recent, the Chair in Sport, Development and Peace (SDP) and Olympic Education awarded in 2023, is held by Prof Marion Keim. UWC HAS A LONG-STANDING TRILATERAL PARTNERSHIP with Ghent University (18 years)
and the University of Missouri (35 years) that has resulted in many jointly initiated and funded research collaborations between the institutions.
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THE SOUTH AFRICAN-GERMAN CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH (SA-GER CDR), a 20-year partnership between UWC and the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy at the Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany, has resulted in 117 scholarships for researchers from 11 SubSaharan countries to pursue their postgraduate studies at UWC (88 masters and 27 PhDs).
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PROCEEDINGS, 4 BOOKS, 70 BOOK CHAPTERS and
THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL BIOINFORMATICS
1 156 JOURNAL ARTICLES in 2021 (1 249 in total).
INSTITUTE (SANBI) at UWC developed Baobab
NEW RECORDS were uploaded to the research
repository in 2021. NATURE INDEX 2022 RATED UWC EIGHTH IN AFRICA
for Physical Science. UWC HAS EIGHT RESEARCH CENTRES, nine research institutes and seven research units.
LIMS, a Laboratory Information Management System for biobanking. Designed for the collection, processing and storage of human biospecimens, Baobab LIMS allows researchers to trace what happens to a biological sample or where it is located. It’s free and open source, can be customised to the specific needs of any laboratory and is already used in a dozen African countries.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
1 249 The university published a total of
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UWC HOLDS THREE OF THE 16 UNESCO CHAIRS held
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Innovating for the Future
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
BRINGING POSITIVE CHANGE TO THE WORLD
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TECH REDUCES THE RISK OF DIABETIC ULCERS Approximately 60% of the 436 million adults (in 2019) diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (DM) will develop diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). A common symptom of DPN is loss of cutaneous sensation in the feet, which can lead to foot ulcers and subsequent lower limb amputation. Except by trained health professionals using expensive diagnostic equipment, sensory loss is difficult to diagnose before an ulcer develops and misdiagnosis easily occurs through interpretive errors. UWC’s Physiotherapy Department is refining a prototype to serve as a diagnostic, monitoring and therapeutic device with an associated smartphone app that could track a patient’s cutaneous sensation over time. The device is expected to be cost-effective and accessible with the potential of providing more consistent and reliable results. This could allow patients the opportunity to self-diagnose and monitor sensory loss as well as potentially improve cutaneous sensation.
Poor people living in rural settings often lack refrigeration and electricity, which makes long-distance delivery of fresh perishable food and pharmaceutical supplies (e.g. ARVs and insulin) that require refrigeration challenging. UWC’s SA Institute of Advanced Materials Chemistry believes one solution could be a lightweight, insulated, solar-charged battery-powered coolbox. This coolbox can be used to maintain the cold chain for food and medical products from the factory to the market, as a point of sale or as a small fridge. People living beyond the extensions of the electrical grid will benefit from the flexible design, as the multipurpose 48V battery pack can be removed and used to run small household appliances. A third prototype has been refined that has proven to be both compact and efficient in its cooling capabilities.
UWC is a dynamic institution working towards a better future for South Africa and to finding solutions to problems plaguing our world.
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MAKING A DIFFERENCE
USING SUNSHINE TO STAY COOL
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iBATECH iBATECH is a natural biostimulant developed for the agricultural input industry under the leadership of Prof Jeremy Klaassen of the Department of Medical Biosciences. The product is derived from extracts of the indigenous kraalbos plant (Galenia africana) that contain a combination of several flavonoids that display antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Trials show that applications of iBATECH significantly increase chlorophyll, nitrogen and flavonoid content in the leaves of various crops while increasing the natural defences of pests and diseases. iBATECH will be commercialised in the agrochemical industry as a registered group 3 fertiliser that improves overall crop health and food quality.
FAMILY RESILIENCE STRENGTHENING PROGRAMME
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
BIOSURFACTANTS
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Surfactants (or surface-active agents) are special molecules that can reduce the surface tension of liquids and therefore assist substances that don’t normally mix, like water and oil, to come together and mix more easily. Surfactants are among the most versatile chemicals used in the food, biomedical and pharmaceutical industries but do not degrade easily. Biosurfactants are surfactants made by microorganisms like bacteria or fungi that have the added advantage of being biodegradable and environmentally friendly but the disadvantage of achieving low yields. The Institute for Microbial Biotechnology and Metagenomics (IMBM) at UWC has patented two genetic constructs that not only significantly increase biosurfactant yield but also enable the user to control the type of biosurfactant that is produced by E.coli bacteria. IMBM boasts an extensive collection of bacterial strains from diverse and extreme environments across South Africa and the resulting genetic libraries may yield other biosurfactant compounds.
Rural and low-income families have difficulty accessing psychological services despite a great need for more familyfocused interventions due to the impacts of a lack of life skills, poor education, economic deprivation and social problems in communities. Resources such as private psychologists or programmes are associated with unaffordable fees, a commitment of often months or years and locations in resourcerich areas. The Family Resilience Strengthening Programme developed by the Department of Psychology is a four-module, strengths-based, psycho-educative intervention to increase the family resilience of multi-challenged families. Participants will engage with fictitious family case studies to better understand family dynamics, identity and roles and acquire practical life skills and a better sense of where to access resources to assist their ongoing development.
INDIGENOUS PLANT RESEARCH More than 700 plant species are traded as traditional medicine in informal markets in southern Africa. Some of the species and applications from South Africa’s rich botanical resources and indigenous knowledge currently investigated at UWC include:
In traditional medicine, the leaves of Lippia javanica (fevertree) and Myrothamnus flabellifolus (resurrection bush) are used to treat a wide range of ailments, including asthma. Research shows positive preliminary results of the potential anti-asthmatic properties of L. javanica and M. flabellifolus. UWC researchers are investigating the anti-cancer properties of Galenia africana (kraalbos). G. africana was used in Khoi medicine to treat wounds, toothache, venereal disease, ringworm, eye inflammation, various skin diseases, asthma and even tuberculosis.
PAEDIATRIC HIV An estimated 1,8 million children (0–14 years) globally are currently living with HIV. If untreated or poorly treated, the paediatric HIV mortality rate in children under the age of two years may increase to 50%. A major challenge in the management of HIV in children is poor adherence to treatment regimens due to the lack of child-specific dosage forms. Children resist swallowing tablets and capsules and the liquid forms of antiretrovirals (ARVs), which are bitter. Improving drug palatability will improve ARV therapy adherence. The School of Pharmacy is investigating child-friendly dosage forms through the preparation of natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) that will act as powerful solubilising agents for the identified ARVs, allowing dosages to be reduced in volume and administered in a better-tasting liquid form.
BLACK SOLDIER FLY The Department of Chemistry has collaborated with a commercial partner to develop uses for material extracted from black soldier flies, including a solvent-based process for extracting lipids that may be used in the food and pharmaceutical industries; nonwoven textiles from chitin (a polysaccharide in the exoskeleton) and chitosan (a compound also found in crustacean shells) for possible use as disposable wipes or mask filters; and nanofibres from chitosan that could be used to filter heavy metals.
FUEL CELL FORKLIFT Forklifts powered by hydrogen fuel cells offer several advantages over electric battery-powered counterparts, including no loss of charge while operating and a much shorter and more labour-efficient refuelling time. Commercially available fuel cell-powered forklifts have required high-pressure storage and refuelling at 350 bar, which is achieved with expensive mechanical compression. UWC-based HySA Systems integrated a fuel cell unit with metal hydride hydrogen extension tanks, allowing a reduction of the hydrogen storage and refuelling pressure to 185 bar. HySA Systems designed, built and installed
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Leonotis leonurus (lion’s tail or wild dagga). Infusions of the plant are traditionally used in the Eastern Cape to treat neurological disorders. Using modern bioinformatic human proteomecompound interaction techniques, UWC’s research shows that many of the chemical constituents of L. leonurus can potentially interact with enzymes and proteins that are involved in the development of mental health disorders.
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a hydrogen-fuelled forklift and hydrogen refuelling station at Impala Platinum refineries in 2016, which is still in use. The refuelling station is considerably cheaper to operate and can be custom designed for the number of forklifts that need refuelling.
ANTI-HIJACKING APP Computer Science master’s student Taahir Patel and his supervisor, Prof Clement Nyirenda, are developing an app using Twitter data to pinpoint and map car hijackings. With 23 000 hijacking cases reported nationally in 2022, hijacking is a concern for South African drivers. Reasoning that victims or witnesses of hijackings would be moved to immediately alert people on social media platforms like Twitter, Patel realised there was a wealth of information that would be helpful to drivers and police if it could be connected and easily available. He is considering expanding the design of the app to include other social media platforms and the possibility of using the app without directly accessing social media platforms.
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
TACKLING TB WITH NANOTECH
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A research group at UWC’s School of Pharmacy led by Prof Admire Dube is developing a treatment for tuberculosis that involves applying nanoparticles to achieve immunotherapy by targeting drug delivery to the cells hosting TB bacteria in the lungs. This not only enhances drug delivery (normally delivered drugs would go anywhere in the body while the nanoparticles target the lungs where antibiotics are most needed) but triggers the body’s immune system to fight the infection, raising the possibility of a faster recovery.
PAN-AFRICAN BIOINFORMATICS COLLABORATION A prototype has been readied for the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Africa PGI) Data Management and Exchange Platform, a virtual repository to store genomic sequencing data on disease-causing pathogens in Africa. The platform is an initiative of the Africa Centres for Disease Control
and Prevention (Africa CDC). More than a database, it will give users access to bioinformatics tools that allow researchers to run critical analyses of the data on the platform itself to determine what kind of virus or bacterium they’re dealing with. According to Prof Alan Christoffels, Director of UWC’s South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI) and a senior advisor to the Africa PGI, the pan-African platform will foster the collaboration needed to fight disease outbreaks in Africa.
COVID-19 ANTIGEN TEST Despite the World Health Organization announcing the end of the global emergency status of COVID-19, the virus is still present. People with comorbidities are particularly at risk and still need to consider taking vaccine boosters and getting tested for the virus when they exhibit symptoms. Medical Diagnostech, a company founded by UWC alumnus Ashley Uys, has developed the first COVID-19 antigen test in Africa with the help of Audere, a global digital health non-profit organisation. The home test kit, HealthPulse TestNow, produces a result within 15 seconds. It is the first African-manufactured COVID-19 test to be approved by SAHPRA.
Historical Milestones U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E W E S T E R N C A P E 1 9 5 9–2 0 2 3
1960: UWC opens its doors to its first cohort of 166 students. 1970: The university gains independent status and begins awarding its own degrees and diplomas. 1975: Professor Richard van der Ross is appointed as UWC’s first black Rector.
1995: Prof Cecil Abrahams succeeds Jakes Gerwel as Vice-Chancellor. UWC launches its website – joining the internet age before other universities in the Mother City. UWC launches the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) to engage in research, training, policy development and advocacy in relation to land reform, rural governance and natural resource management.
1978: UWC’s Cape Flats Nature Reserve is declared a National Monument (now known as a provincial heritage site).
2001: Prof Brian O’Connell is appointed UWC Vice-Chancellor.
1987: Professor Jakes Gerwel is appointed Rector and Vice-Chancellor.
2002: UWC averts government attempts to merge it with Peninsula Technikon and retains its autonomy.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu is inaugurated as UWC Chancellor, a role he would fulfil for 25 years. 1990: UWC is the first university to award Nelson Mandela an honorary doctorate after his release from prison. 1993: UWC students help launch Bush Radio as a pirate radio station. It was the first community radio station to be licensed in democratic South Africa. 1994: Prof Gerwel is appointed as Director-General in the Office of the Presidency by President Nelson Mandela. The South African interim Constitution and final Constitution are drafted at UWC.
UWC hosts the only Dentistry Faculty in the Western Cape after merging with Stellenbosch University’s School of Oral Health. 2003: In a major boost to research capacity in biotechnology, UWC acquires the first protein X-ray crystallography facility in South Africa. 2005: The UWC Statute is published in the Government Gazette. 2008: The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship is introduced to UWC, promoting an international postgraduate education experience. The first cohort of Fellows is accepted in 2009.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
1959: UWC is established as the University College of the Western Cape, a constituent college of UNISA.
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2009: UWC academic and writer Meg Vandermerwe initiates UWC Creates, the only South African creative writing programme operating across English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa. 2010: Ten SARChI chairs are awarded to UWC, the highest number awarded to any university in SA that year (UWC hosts 18 SARChI Chairs). 2012: UWC launches its Technology Transfer Office to promote the development and protection of the intellectual property of its research community, staff and students. UWC is declared Africa’s Greenest Campus in the inaugural African Green Campus Initiative Challenge. 2014: UWC student enrolment exceeds 20 000. 2015: Prof Tyrone Pretorius succeeds Prof O’Connell as Vice-Chancellor. Prof Pretorius is the third alumnus (after O’Connell and Gerwel) to take the reins. 2016: UWC’s Centre for Humanities Research is awarded the Flagship on Critical Thought in African Humanities by the NRF.
2018: The UWC Science Learning Centre for Africa (UWCSLCA) installs nine new science learning centres (SLCs) at Western Cape public schools, bringing the total SLCs installed in the Western and Eastern Cape to 71. 2019: UWC Rugby makes its debut in the Varsity Cup, the premier national university rugby competition. 2020: UWC celebrates its 60th anniversary. UWC’s South African National Bioinformatics Institute and researchers from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases sequence the first SARS-COV-2 genome (COVID-19) in South Africa. 2022: Prof Russell Kaschula is appointed Research Chair in Forensic Linguistics and Multilingualism – a first in Africa. The UWC Main Hall is renamed the Jakes Gerwel Hall to honour the iconic leader. UWC launches the first football league for young girls called She-Bobo. 2023: The new Education Precinct is opened at UWC.
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
UWC is ranked first for Physical Science in Africa in the 2016 Nature Index.
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2017: A group of UWC students, led by Prof Nico Orce, conduct the second major African-led experiment at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland. Former UWC Vice-Chancellor, Prof Brian O’Connell, receives the National Research Foundation’s highest honour, the NRF Lifetime Achievement Award. 2018: UWC’s Faculty of Dentistry launches a state-of-the-art video conferencing system that allows students on or off-campus to observe live surgeries – a first in South Africa.
UWC opens its Unibell Residence. The 2 720-bed residence brings the total number of UWC students that can be accommodated in UWC-owned residences to 5 800. UWC is crowned as 2023 Women’s Varsity Football champions.
Community Engagement CREATING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
L I K E OT H E R UN IV E RS IT IE S , UWC sees community engagement as part of its exercise of social responsibility, which includes making its infrastructure, expertise and resources available to communities, both on and off campus.
However, UWC seeks community engagement that goes even beyond this and promotes equitable partnerships with communities and community-based organisations. The Community Engagement Unit (CEU) of UWC recorded 106 separate community engagement activities in 2022 involving 351 partnerships between local organisations and UWC staff and students.
The School of Nursing received a donated ambulance furnished with medical equipment and a gurney in 2020 that allows the School to engage in community outreach activities such as health promotion. The UWC Mediclinic Health Promotion bus is staffed by supervisors and third-year students. After a delayed start due to COVID-19, the programme began offering health promotion services in communities around Cape Town in 2021.
MOBILE DENTAL AND NURSING SERVICES
FIRST INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION (IPE) CLINIC The Faculty of Community and Health Sciences organised the first IPE clinic in May 2023 to improve access to health and wellness services and information. The three-day programme involved patients in Mitchell’s Plain receiving health and wellness interventions from students studying nursing, physiotherapy, natural medicine, social work, psychology and occupational therapy.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
A new mobile clinic was initiated in 2019 for community outreach services consisting of three surgeries mounted on a six-ton truck. The surgeries are equipped with the latest technology, including dental chairs and intra-oral digital cameras. The mobile clinic enables fourth and fifth-year dental students to receive supervised clinical training while helping to provide much-needed dental and oral health services to needy communities on the Cape Flats. The dental clinic operates on the premises of an existing clinic or a school. Additionally, outreach weekend clinics are conducted five times a year in rural towns in the Western Cape such as Ceres, Prince Alfred Hamlet, Tulbagh and Vredenberg. Final-year dentistry students also spend a two-week rotation on the Phelophepa HealthCare train managed by the Transnet Foundation. Along with other programmes, the Dentistry Faculty treats almost 3 000 patients in its outreach services annually. The Department of Oral Hygiene also conducts separate health advocacy and screening at Tygerberg Hospital and community sites.
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FACULTY OF LAW The Law Faculty is an enthusiastic proponent of outreach programmes that both provide community services and enable students to acquire professional skills and experience. Senior law students at the UWC Law Clinic provide legal assistance to the indigent on cases ranging from divorce, domestic violence, maintenance and custody issues, to lease agreements, evictions, drafting of wills, deceased estates, consumer protection in contracts and employment matters. The Clinic also represents indigent accused in criminal matters at the Fezeka and Mitchell’s Plain community courts; provides legal services, legal support and legal education programmes to community-based advice offices in the Metro, Boland and West Coast regions; and operates paralegal advice offices in Athlone, Elsies River, Heideveld, Langa and Mitchell’s Plain.
FACULTY OF COMMUNITY AND HEALTH SCIENCES (CHS) The CHS regularly collaborates with other faculties to present wellness and advocacy programmes in communities. Recent activities included:
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
• Students and staff from the CHS, Dentistry, Law and Natural Sciences faculties provided health screenings and wellness services in the Bellville CBD. Activities included health screening, wellness talks, and therapeutic, dental and legal counselling services.
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• CHS delivered outreach services in Genadendal soon after the pandemic restrictions were lifted with the Natural Sciences and Law faculties. • Physiotherapy students collected and distributed sanitary towels to youth in the Fisantekraal community in Durbanville. • Postgraduate students and staff from the Department of Psychology worked with youth organisations from Fisantekraal to launch a futsal soccer tournament for children in June 2022.
The Faculty’s Street Law programme participates in numerous public education programmes such as career expos and wellness programmes, promoting youth, worker and gender rights as well as providing practical legal advice such as assistance with drawing up a will.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT UNIT (CEU) The small staff of the CEU and its dedicated community liaison officer perform a key facilitation role between UWC units and communities, often serving as the communities’ interface with charitable organisations and initiatives. The CEU Community Substance Misuse Training Programme offers training based on current theory and research on substance misuse as part of interventions involving various community organisations. The Community Liaison Officer equipped community leaders in three sub-districts to respond to the Sexual Offences Bill. The CEU collaborated with Change Agents South Africa in Women’s Month and provided court support training to 60 people from the Langeberg area. The unit facilitated the distribution of food parcels in Touwsriver and dignity packs to women in West Coast villages; collected and distributed donations of goods (from UWC staff ) to victims of fires in informal settlements; and organised donations of clothing for hospital patients, meals at old age homes, and books and stationery for schoolchildren.
Situated in the office of the DVC (Research and Innovation), the UWC Samsung Future-Innovation Lab is a multi-year collaboration between UWC and Samsung’s Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP) and is one of the projects of the CoLab for e-Inclusion and Social Innovation at UWC. The CoLab was established in 2012 to work towards an inclusive approach for maximum participation in the competitive global digital society and economy. The Future-Innovation Lab offers disadvantaged unemployed young people the chance to develop digital skills (software development and digital innovation) with the aims of finding work, starting businesses or continuing their studies. This programme simultaneously addresses the problems of youth unemployment, the shortage of scarce skills in the economy and the digital exclusion of disadvantaged communities.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
FUTURE-INNOVATION LAB
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UWC in the Global Landscape BROADENING OUR HORIZONS
UWC HAS F O ST ERE D long-standing research, learning and teaching, and community engagement collaborations with institutions in Africa and has formalised many research collaborations, service learning agreements, scholarships, mobility scholarships and research agreements with higher education institutions globally.
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
COLLABORATORS IN AFRICA
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Ardhi University and the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (Tanzania); Eduardo Mondlane University and the Ministry of Health (Mozambique); Frantz Fanon University (Somalia); Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, the University of Eldoret and the University of Nairobi (Kenya); the National Centre for Petroleum Research and Development (Nigeria); the National University of Rwanda (Rwanda); University of Namibia (Namibia); the University of Science and Technology – Omdurman (Sudan); and Woldia University (Ethiopia).
University of North Georgia, Emory University, Howard University, Washington, DC, Columbia University, University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), Indiana University, University of Virginia, University of Kentucky, Marquette University, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, University of Missouri System (Columbia, Kansas City, Rolla, St. Louis), University of Minnesota Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Global Change, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Winston-Salem State University, Northwestern University and West Virginia University.
South America GLOBAL COLLABORATIONS North America Ottawa University and the University of Toronto Jackman Humanities Institute (Canada); Albany State University,
EST Colleges, State University of Feira de Santana, Federal University of Espirito Santo and the University of Sao Paulo Faculty of Humanities (Brazil); and the University of Chile.
University of Antwerp, Ghent University, Howest University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium); National Institute for Demographic Studies and the University of Paris-Seine (France); Humboldt University of Berlin, Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences and Ruhr University Bochum (Germany); University of Bergen, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, University of Oslo, University of South-Eastern Norway, VID Specialized University and Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (Norway); West University of Timişoara (Romania); Leiden University, Utrecht University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Netherlands); Coventry University and University of Leeds (United Kingdom); Trinity College Dublin (Ireland); Universita degli Studi di Napoli L’Orientale (Italy); University of Cyprus; Copenhagen University (Denmark); Jyvaskyla University (Finland); University of Basel and University of Bern (Switzerland); University of Madeira (Portugal); and Moscow State University (Russia).
Asia Zhejiang Normal University (China), SYLFF (Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund) (Japan); University of Malaya (Malaysia); Christ University (India); and Ahmad Dahlan University (Indonesia).
Middle East Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute (Iran).
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Ghent University UWC has enjoyed a strategic institutional partnership with Ghent University (UGent) for 18 years. UGent ranks as a global top 100 university and is one of the major universities in Belgium. UWC offers a joint PhD with UGent in the Arts and Humanities.
Vrije Universiteit Brussels UWC’s relationship with the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB) has seen many collaborations in research, innovation, teaching and learning. Along with staff and student exchange programmes, the institutions collaborate to build online international learning programmes. UWC, VUB, UGent and the Universities of Antwerp
and Leuven engaged in a successful 10-year cooperation programme called ‘The Dynamics of Building a Better Society.’
Tri-Continental Partnership The Tri-Continental Partnership is a strategic relationship between UWC, the University of Missouri System (UM) and Ghent University (UGent) that began with the Memorandum of Agreement signed in 2013 at UWC. The partnership has initiated many joint research and scholarly engagements over the years in fields such as linguistics, plant sciences and public health, astronomy, neurosciences, law, humanities and urban planning, and psychology.
University of Missouri System The partnership between UWC and UM began in 1986 with the University of Missouri South African Education Programme (UMSAEP), and originally aimed to aid South Africans disadvantaged by the apartheid system. The partnership continues to advance mutual understanding between the institutions’ faculties and foster cooperative teaching, research and service projects.
SANORD The Southern African-Nordic Centre (SANORD) was founded to further academic cooperation between Southern Africa and the Nordic region and to strengthen the capacity of member institutions to address local and global challenges of innovation and development. The founding universities were UWC, the University of Malawi, the University of Namibia, Aarhus University (Denmark), University of Bergen (Norway), University of Turku (Finland) and Uppsala University (Sweden). The Centre is based at UWC.
SASUF The South Africa Sweden University Forum (SASUF) involves researchers, teachers, students and university management representatives from 40 partner universities in the two countries. SASUF encourages collaboration in six thematic areas: Climate change, natural resources, and sustainability; Education for a sustainable society; Social transformation through change; Health; Sustainable urbanisation, travel, and tourism in the 21st Century; and Digital technologies, big data, and cybersecurity.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Europe
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Equipping and Empowering the Student PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
UWC ’ S CA RE E R S E RVICE S department, part of the Student
Development and Support Division (SDS), performs a key role in delivering the institutional strategic focus of Graduate Employability through programmes that prepare students for job search readiness to successfully transition to the world of work. Career Services organises career opportunities for students, including job search skills workshops and boot camps, career expos, company presentations and showcases, and hosts promotions by leading South African recruiters and UWC alumni. The department also annually publishes a Career Update Handbook that includes articles on how to navigate the rigours of a job search, alumni success stories and adverts highlighting graduate trainee opportunities for the coming year.
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
STUDENT ORIENTATION PROGRAMME
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To ensure that first-year students have a good sense of supportive resources and services on campus, Career Services facilitates the induction, transition and adjustment of new first-year undergraduate students to the campus environment and university life. Besides orientating students to the physical campus environment, the programme informs students about the realistic pressures of academic study and the electronic and human resources the university provides to assist them to maintain progress.
UWC CAREER XPLORA The UWC Career Xplora is an online platform that provides students and alumni with access to job search support resources via the UWC VPN. The portal logs over 50 000 students accessing the system annually. Recruiters can create company profiles, upload opportunities and register for recruitment events via the system. The students receive weekly job blasts and event newsletters and push notifications via the app. The UWC Career Xplora portal won the Best Work Readiness Initiative award at the SAGEA Awards in November 2019.
CENTRE FOR STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES (CSSS) The CSSS provides multifaceted, student-centred, professional support services with opportunities for student agency for holistic development and growth through co-curricular and in-curricular engagement. Therapeutic services are provided within a ‘whole university’ wellness environment governed by the Integrated Student Mental Health and Wellness Policy of the university.
STUDENT LEADERSHIP ACADEMY Through three key initiatives – the Emerging Leaders Programme, the Extended Emerging Leaders Programme and the Advanced Leaders Programme – the academy trains students in general leadership, self-development, networking and practical project skills to prepare them to develop their leadership capacity to serve as citizen leaders. The academy operates within the CSSS under the broad directorship of the DVC (Student Development and Support).
GRADUATE COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (GCDP) The GCDP is a new work-readiness support service that is a continuation of graduate career development. The first group recruited in 2021 completed their 18-month internship in December 2022 and have either been absorbed into junior roles within departments in SDS or roles in the corporate sector. The second cohort will complete their placement in 2023.
The new RSMS residence system was fully implemented in January 2023. The application process was automated and revamped to be more user-friendly. Students can access the system to trace the progress of their application, selection and allocation of bed space. They can appeal decisions, request room changes, and cancel or swap rooms via the student portal.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
RESIDENTIAL SERVICES MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (RSMS)
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UCDG GENDER EQUITY AND EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME (GEEP) The GEEP is a CSSS initiative funded by the University Capacity Development Grant (UCDG). It aims to provide practitioner-based research to enhance a more holistic institutional response to gender inequality and gender-based violence for students to cope better and feel safer on campus.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES While the physical barriers to students with disabilities have largely been addressed in UWC’s infrastructural development and renewal projects and progressive policies, the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSwD) identified a need for improvement in attitudinal barriers, where people have skewed views of disability and make limited efforts towards inclusivity on campus. The OSwD launched an advocacy and awareness campaign on campus to highlight the various impairments categorised as disabilities, the impact disabilities have on a person’s everyday life, and the need to create a more inclusive campus culture for diversity and, specifically, those living with disabilities. Most importantly, the OSwD used the campaign to be more visible, so that students would be confident and informed enough to seek support for their needs from the OSwD and reach their full potential. An immediate result was an increase in the number of students with different impairments requesting support from the OSwD.
OTHER STUDENT SUPPORT
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
UWC Work-Study Programme
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The university provides on-campus work opportunities and skills training for full-time students in tutoring, research, administration and other support services. Students get to build skills and learn about the working world while receiving remuneration, a percentage of which they are contractually bound to use to fund their studies. The valuable work experience that they gain will form part of their co-curricular record and aid their transition into the world of work after graduating. For their part, departments get willing and talented students contributing their time and skills as needed.
Co-Curricular Record (CCR) Programme The CCR is a means of officially recognising students’ active participation in co-curricular activities, including experiential learning, transfer of skills and demonstrating attributes that facilitate their development, especially attributes that prepare students to be critical and responsible citizens contributing to society. Students must apply for a CCR and provide evidence supported by competent referees of activity in areas such as participation in sport or culture, student governance (SRC, Sports Council, CHC, House Committee and Student Faculty Councils), the Leadership Development Programme, and peer facilitation. Once the application has been adjudicated, successful applicants receive an official university co-curricular certificate or record.
Celebrating UWC Sport A HEALTHY DIVERSITY
S P O RT BUILD S camaraderie among students, breaks down
barriers and unites athletes for a common purpose. Success in sports also helps the university to portray itself as a winning brand and, as a co-curricular endeavour, assists in developing valued attributes like discipline, confidence and perseverance that translate into academic and career excellence. In boxing terms, UWC has always been a small university that punched way above its weight in sporting achievements despite being deprived historically of resources. We are building a university that invests in developing sporting standards, both on the field and behind the scenes and the returns on our investment are evident in our student and alumni achievements across sporting codes as well as academically.
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MEMBERS OF THE 26-MEMBER BANYANA BANYANA NATIONAL TEAM that competed in the 2019 FIFA tournament were from UWC. OF THE 23 PLAYERS in the victorious Banyana Banyana squad that won WAFCON 2022 are UWC alumni or current students.
BANYANA’S ASSISTANT HEAD COACH, THINASONKE MBULI, is the
UWC women’s football team head coach.
VARSITY MEN’S FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS VARSITY BEACH VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONS USSA DANCE SPORT CHAMPIONS VARSITY SHIELD CHAMPIONS VARSITY WOMEN’S FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS 2022 VARSITY MEN’S RUGBY 7s CHAMPIONS
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
2015 2015–2016 2015–2022 2017–2018 2021 2022
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UWC BCom Accounting alumnus ZUBAYR HAMZA made his Test debut for the Proteas against Pakistan in 2019, captained the South African A team in their tour of Zimbabwe in 2021 and made his international ODI debut against the Netherlands in November 2021.
THE UWC RUGBY MEN’S SQUAD made their debut in the premier
Varsity Cup tournament in 2019, were relegated in 2022, and bounced back to be promoted to Varsity Cup by winning their third Varsity Shield in 2023! UWC RUGBY PLAYERS HAVE GONE ON TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CAREERS. Among the more recent were Branden de Kock (Cheetahs), Lyle Hendricks (Stormers), Herschel Jantjies (Stormers, Springbok World Cup winner), Shaunique Hess (Women’s Springbok), Kurt-Lee Arendse (Blue Bulls, Blitzboks, Springboks), Babalwa Latsha (Women’s Springbok) Justin Theys (Femi-CZ Rovigo), Lukhanyo Vokozela (Stormers) and Godfrey Muzanargwo (Griquas). KURT-LEE ARENDSE blazed his way into the record books by
becoming the first Springbok to score a try in seven consecutive games.
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
UWC HAS PRODUCED MANY TRACK AND FIELD STARS, like Rogail Joseph, the young speedster from Worcester who won the under-20 400m hurdles at the South African Championships in 2019 and the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles at the African Junior Championships in Cote d’Ivoire. She recently took bronze at the senior SA Championships.
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UWC made a unique investment in youth and women’s football development by initiating the SHE-BOBO LEAGUE for 8 to 10-yearold girls. A successful one-day festival was held at UWC in October 2022, which saw 280 girls participating in under-8 and under-10 divisions. The plan is for the league to be run in 2023 with at least 10 teams participating. UWC has also partnered with the British Council and English Premier League’s Premier Skills programme to coach the club coaches.
Long-term Sustainability CAMPUS IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
At UWC, this means continually optimising existing infrastructure while taking opportunities to develop new vibrant spaces to enrich our students’ experience and contribute to academic excellence.
After initiating a new phase of expansion of our healthcare facilities with the development of the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences building in the Bellville CBD which houses the Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Natural Medicine departments, the university implemented several renewal projects at the main campus as well as key projects that expand our footprint across metropolitan Cape Town.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
T H E LO N G -T E RM S USTA INAB IL ITY O F A M O DE RN UNIVE RSITY
requires that it constantly revisits its offerings and challenges to ensure that it can meet present and future demands.
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UNIBELL STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
Unibell is a 2 720-bed student housing project in Belhar, adjoining the main Bellville campus. The property features communal cooking, dining and study areas; its own gym and laundry, landscaped gardens, and secure, access-controlled grounds and parking. Care has been taken to ensure access to facilities by differently-abled students. The project was completed at a cost of R670 million and was officially opened on 24 April 2023 by Dr Blade Nzimande, the Minister of Higher Education.
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NEW EDUCATION PRECINCT UWC’s Faculty of Education produces many of the teachers working in the basic education sector in schools and early learning centres in South Africa. Following the consolidation of several departments of the Faculty of Natural Sciences in a new purposebuilt building, the university seized the opportunity to consolidate its education facilities and resources in one precinct on the main campus. The South Campus Education Precinct was completed in 2023. It will accommodate the projected growth of the Faculty and encourages academic excellence by providing students with authentic learning spaces for practical vocational training and teaching programmes. The complex project involved the refurbishment of the old Chemistry and Computational Sciences buildings and adding a new three-storey building, a courtyard linking the three existing buildings and two classrooms for general use. The project was accomplished at a cost of R268 million.
GREATMORE STREET
The project will accommodate CHR programmes like artists-inresidence studios, a Laboratory of Kinetic Objects and Puppetry Arts (LOKOPA), a gallery, seminar rooms and workspaces to accommodate visitors from international partner institutions. The final project cost at completion is projected at R85 million.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Work on the Greatmore Street Project is nearing completion. This exciting arts education initiative in Woodstock is sited at a decommissioned school near the former District Six area of Cape Town that was obliterated during apartheid. The project will create a physical and cultural connection between UWC and the city by housing the UWC Centre for Humanities Research (CHR), a much-admired flagship initiative that brings together scholars and students from South African universities, public institutions, and national and international research bodies, in initiatives and collaborations that respond to the demands of building the post-apartheid South Africa.
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The UWC Senate building is also being refurbished, to allow centralised storage of all UWC (DRAMS and CHR) and Robben Island Museum archives, records and artefacts, for preservation, academic research and public exhibitions.
STUDENT COMMUTER SHELTER
UWC SPORTS PRECINCT
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
UWC has a long history of initiating sports development in the communities of Cape Town and is deeply invested in providing its students with co-curricular experiences as competitors and administrators, and even academic offerings in physical education and sports science. Our engagement with provincial sports bodies, administrators and local community organisations inspired us to not only serve the university and its sports codes. As a locus of development in sports science and training, we must provide our athletes and the surrounding communities with a highstandard sports precinct that will enable them to reach their full potential. Resurfacing and upgrading the old UWC athletics tartan track to ensure compliance with national and global standards was crucial to achieving this objective. The new track that was installed achieved a Class 2, Construction Category 5 facility classification by World Athletics. The grass infield of the track was also reconstructed to ensure that it would accommodate not only athletics field events but Varsity rugby and soccer matches as well. The estimated final project cost is R20 million.
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REPURPOSING OF EXISTING BUILDING STOCK The old CHS building was refurbished to accommodate the Centre for Student Support Services. Following the concept of Universal Design, the project improved the functionality of the area to facilitate interactions between the operational staff and differently-abled student clients. The project was completed at a final cost of approximately R10 million.
An amenity was installed in 2021 for students in the Residences precinct to safely access commuter transport. This project included appropriate security technology, a new vehicular access route, a parking area for shuttles, a public plaza and a sheltered waiting area for students using the shuttles.
INNOVATION HUB Scheduled for completion by December 2023, this R80 million project involves the conversion of an existing two-storey building in Voortrekker Road, Bellville, into a three-story technology and innovation hub. The ground floor digital equipment showroom will showcase the latest Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) technologies. A software development studio will house students developing AR/VR software and programmes. The hub will provide corporate clients, school learners and university students with exposure to and training in digital technologies.
Building a Legacy UNIVERSITY SUSTAINABILITY
dependent on financial support such as bursaries, grants and family networks to cover study expenses. These sources have all been constrained in recent years by poor economic growth and recently exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Given these pressures, the sustainability of the university requires significant and consistent support in the form of government subsidies,
infrastructure grants, corporate sponsorship and donations, and a range of philanthropic support from donor agencies, alumni, friends of the institution and even staff. Without this support, the cost of a university education would rise far beyond the means of most South Africans to access. The university has initiated several ongoing campaigns to raise the funds required to safeguard our proud legacy and continue our mission.
#NoStudentWillBeLeftBehind
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
M O R E THA N 8 0 % OF T H E C URRE NT STUDE NT B AS E of UWC is
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ACCESS TO SUCCESS The Access to Success campaign began in 2016 with a collaboration between UWC and the SABC and a successful radiothon appeal to individual small donors. The focus of the campaign was (and still is) on assisting financially needy students. In successive years, students were trained to conduct phonathons targeting UWC alumni and the campaign was broadened to include a staff appeal, since many staff members are also UWC alumni. Access to Success also inspired other campaigns, such as the #NoStudentWillBeLeftBehind campaign in 2020, which provided 6 000 laptops and data to students during the COVID-19 pandemic when the university had to close the campus and incorporate online learning for students to access from home. Funds are also raised for this campaign through the annual UWC Golf Days in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
JAKES GERWEL EDUCATION, ENDOWMENT AND DEVELOPMENT FUND
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
The primary aim of the Fund is to provide comprehensive bursaries to academically deserving students from disadvantaged backgrounds to enable them to study at UWC. The Fund was established in 2012 in memory of the late
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Professor Jakes Gerwel who, during his term as Rector of the University of the Western Cape, consistently championed access to higher education for disadvantaged students and broadened access to UWC.
LEGACY FUND Working towards the institution’s 100th anniversary in 2060, the UWC Legacy Fund aims to raise R1 billion to fund infrastructure development and growth into the future. Our short-term target is to raise R200 million by 2033. UWC’s rich legacy is shared by more than 60 000 alumni across the globe. Despite historically challenging societal pressures, we were always able to provide our students with a solid educational foundation from which to launch their careers and aspirations. The Legacy Fund is conceived as an opportunity for our alumni, supporters and stakeholders to pay it forward by contributing to the development of teaching, learning and research infrastructure for the generations to come. As a structured endowment fund, the Legacy Fund accepts donations (taxdeductible) of any size, which will be invested wisely to ensure capital growth. In this way, even a small donation will add and grow value over time.
Make a Donation TO THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
The university recognises and appreciates the generosity of individuals, businesses and organisations that invest in our students, programmes and services to help the university fulfil its ethos and mission. Many innovative sponsorship options are available to donors, including public-private partnerships in the development of university infrastructure and sustainability, research collaboration, training and development, capacity building and skills development.
CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS: If you’d like to support UWC by making an online donation, please visit our website: http://uwc.devman.co.za/Devman/web/giving
Prospective donors wishing to find out more about the above projects are invited to contact the UWC Donor Relations Office at Tel: +27 21 959 2627 or Ms Vera Adams Fundraising and Donor Relations Manager E-mail: vadams@uwc.ac.za All donations to UWC are tax-deductible in accordance with Section 18A of the Income Tax Act, Act 58 of 1962.
DONATION VIA EFT: Account Name: University of the Western Cape Name of Bank: ABSA Bank Branch Code: 560810 Account No: 4050893930 Reference: Name of Donor Branch: Epping Swift Code: ABSAZAJJ
Please email proof of payment to esadien@uwc.ac.za. Should you have any questions or queries regarding donation options, please contact Mr Essa Sadien at Tel: +27 21 959 3141 or email esadien@uwc.ac.za.
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
www.uwc.ac.za
