UCT News July 2014 From the Vice-Chancellor's desk Issue 01

Dear friends, colleagues, students and staff

Fresh from hosting an enormously successful Africa Month, being crowned the Cup rugby champions and celebrating 20 years of Democracy with a memorable concert and commemorative event on our rugby fields, we are proud to congratulate the achievements of all of our June graduates. This June, we had a total of 1 508 graduates of which 110 were doctoral graduates. As many of our alumni have become leaders in their fields of expertise, we believe that our latest graduates will do the same.

UCT reached a critical milestone in its admissions policy for 2016 when it was ratified in principle by Council earlier this month. The adjusted policy is expected to help advance the university's redress and diversity goals.

I am pleased to introduce this first issue of UCT News. It is a regular publication that will keep you in touch with UCT's news and developments whether you are on campus or already out in the world making your mark.

You can share it with colleagues and friends by forwarding it to them and asking them to subscribe to our two e- newsletters: UCT News and Research at UCT.

Dr Vice-Chancellor

Featured in this issue

1. Celebrating 20 years of freedom 2. take home the 2014 FNB Varsity Cup 3. UCT Council approves 2016 admissions policy 4. UCT Rejects SBux Scheme 5. Perseverance and hard work always win out

Campus life

1. What does Democracy mean to you? 2. A new Carnegie cohort assembles 3. AWARD grows women in agricultural research 4. Medical students launch Inclusive Healthcare Innovation Celebrating 20 years of freedom

23 May 2014

The UCT community gathered on the Green Mile on Thursday, 22 May 2014, to celebrate twenty years of freedom in , and to commemorate the life and legacy of the nation's late great leader, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Thandabantu Nhlapo opened proceedings with a call for "sombre reflection" – on the state of our society and the legacy of the fight against apartheid – before the evening's celebrations.

UCT's Chair of Council, Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane received huge applause when he told the company that they were gathered "to honour one of the greatest men that ever lived: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela".

"We're gathered here after twenty years of freedom, and what a freedom it is," said Ndungane. "Here is a man that gave his life for the greatest cause – the liberation of humanity.

"We take pride in his single-minded conviction that education is the greatest engine for self-development, where the child of a mine-worker can become the owner of the mine, and the child of a domestic worker can become a doctor, and the child of peasants can become the president of a great nation."

The 20 Years of Freedom event served as an opportunity for the university to honour the late statesman by renaming Ring Road, which encircles Upper Campus, as Madiba Circle / iSekile kaMadiba / Madiba Sirkelpad.

The university dedicated the road to Mandela instead of building a statue in his image, said Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price, as the famous path was "an avenue that embraces multiple activities and people, that holds diversity in its arms, whose name will be frequently on people's lips as they move from venue to venue, and each time will remind people of the values for which Madiba stood".

Twenty years can fly by in a heartbeat, as those who were around in 1994 can attest. With this in mind, the university had decided to capture a little slice of 2014 in a time capsule, explained Nhlapo, which would remind future generations of what twenty years of democracy meant for UCT. Objects such as the special Monday Monthly edition in commemoration of Madiba's passing, a rugby ball signed by this year's champion Ikey Tigers team, and a T-shirt from the university's "We Say Enough" march against violence were just some of the items that would be placed in the capsule for posterity.

Celebration followed the official ceremony, with Vusi 'The Voice' Mahlasela's sounds reverberating through the crowd. He was followed by an energetic PJ Powers, joined on stage by the Indigenous Dance Academy from Tembisa.

An all-star ensemble was completed by local acts Freshlyground and Mi Casa, who thrilled the crowd with smash hits and covers that had students dancing like exams were not around the corner.

Despite the last note being belted out at 23h30 sharp, the concert had Capetonians buzzing well into the early hours of Friday morning, with #UCTFreedomConcert trending on Twitter in the Mother City.

Story by Yusuf Omar. Image by Nardus Engelbrecht. ^ Back to top Ikey Tigers take home the 2014 FNB Varsity Cup

7 April 2014

Rugby fans were left with an overwhelming sense of 'sjoe' as UCT claimed the 2014 FNB Varsity Cup trophy in surreal circumstances.

The Ikey Tigers came back from eighteen points down to claim a 39-33 victory over NWU-Puk with a converted try in the dying seconds of the final at the Fanie du Toit Stadium in on Monday night.

The spine-tingling action justified the pre-match fanfare many times over. Warren Brosnihan summed up the festive atmosphere after being caught "busting a move" to some pre-match tunes by his co-host: "I have a head like a sewing machine, but I'm no singer, or no dancer!"

UCT put the pedal to the metal from the first whistle and soon turned their territorial dominance into points.

Centre screamed past Puk defenders to finish off a flowing backline move that stretched the home barricade past breaking point. Flyhalf Dean Grant's touchline conversion-attempt bounced off the upright, leaving UCT 5-0 ahead.

Three penalties

The home side soon turned on their own afterburners, forcing UCT onto the back foot and winning three penalties into quick succession. But despite an early warning from the referee to keep their discipline, the Ikey defence held firm.

Pukke were eager to give the ball air, to the equal delight of home fans and Ikey defenders, who responded with some thunderous tackles

But the pressure told in the 14th minute when Puk flanker Rhyk Welgemoed recovered from one of those monster hits to bulldoze his way over the try line to level the scores. Captain Tiaan Dorfling held his nerve with his conversion, giving NWU-Puk an 8-5 lead.

The deficit was stretched a few minutes later. Wing Luther Obi's pace was enough to round off another phase of powerful play by Pukke. Dorfling's acute attempt was wide, but the home side still took a 13-5 lead into the first strategy break.

Pukke kept up the heat after the pause, but better breakdown play from the visitors and a stunning clearance kick from Grant took the game all the way back into the NWU 22. With the momentum his side's way, scrumhalf Liam Slatem gave his backs quick ball to attack the try line, but sterling defence kept them at bay.

That passage at play did not end without casualties, though. Dorfling's game ended early when he had to be stretchered off after appearing to tear knee ligaments in his left leg while making a try-saving tackle.

Ikey rugby at its regal best

Richard Stewart was having none of it, though. The Ikey winger gratefully latched on to a pass from his fullback Ross Jones-Davies to score his side's second try. Jones-Davies's pass was the sixth in a lethal counter-attack that started some 70m out. This was Ikey rugby at its regal best.

The gap was narrowed to 13-10, and the wind was back in UCT's sails. Slatem lead his backline across the width of the pitch, and only ill-discipline tripped up the team as they edged towards scoring a third try. The momentum was constantly shifting and Obi was a constant thorn in UCT's side with his speed and quick hands. But it was scrumhalf that stunned Ikeys with a searing counter-attack that ended with him dotting down under the poles. But the 'try' was disallowed when the referee called play back for an earlier foul, sending Pukke centre to the sin bin in the process, much to the home crowd's irritation.

UCT came within inches of making the extra man count only for flank Jason Klaasen to lose the ball over the line under a heavy tackle.

But the number that counts is the one on the scoreboard, and Puk hooker Armand van der Merwe added five more with a bullocking try, leaving a dazed Slatem in his wake.

The home side kept playing the numbers game, though, and moments after Deysel returned to the pitch, Pukke lost another man as tighthead prop Lucky Ngoama was shown yellow for a cynical foul.

Yellow card

Ikeys needed no second invitation to turn on the style and made steady yards with some slick handling and disciplined rucking.

And the powerful pack inflicted maximum damage. They drove over the try line from an attacking line-out, and Klaasen made no mistake this time as he grounded the ball. Grant, so reliable with his kicking throughout the tournament, missed his third attempt of the evening, leaving a five-point gap between the teams going into the final twenty minutes.

UCT also lost a man when wing Lihleli Xoli was shown a yellow. Van der Merwe nearly scored his second, only to be penalised for a double-movement in his efforts to squirm over the line. They wouldn’t be denied for long, though.

Smit darted through a gap to add five before converting his own try, with the home team now leading by thirteen points.

Pukke looked to have wrapped up the trophy when lock Francois Robbertse scored his team’s final try. UCT now needed to score thrice in just over ten minutes to get something out of the game.

Bruising encounter

The trophy seemed out of reach, but nobody told the Ikeys that.

It was a bruising encounter, and Ikey prop Joel Carew became the second player to be stretchered off after receiving a painful blow to the head. In a fantastic show of sportsmanship, the Pukke crowd rose to their feet to applaud Carew as he was carried off for treatment.

Ikey number 8 Michael Botha crashed over for UCT's fourth try, and Grant added a glimmer of hope by converting to bring his side within ten points with five minutes remaining.

An electric run from replacement Ikey back Martin Sauls sparked desperate defence from the home side, who just managed to usher an attack that had 'try' written all over it into touch mere metres from the promised line.

Stealing the Pukke lineout allowed Dean Grant to dance over the line before converting his own try.

Two points behind with one minute left to play.

When UCT knocked on in their 22 with seconds left, it looked all over. But the courageous Ikeys charged down what would have been the final Pukke kick of the game and set in motion a counter-attack that dazzled and silenced a stunned home crowd. and Nathan Nel

Breaking down the left wing, the ball fell to replacement hooker Chad Solomon, who forgot that he was not a backline player and flicked an offload to a flying Nathan Nel that the best centres in the business would have been proud of.

Nel sprinted under the posts to score the try that sent the Ikeys into raptures. The scenes could best be described with a whispered 'wow'.

UCT Ikey Tigers were the champions. Having pulled a victory out of the fire, Kevin Musikanth's side maintained its extraordinary record of being unbeaten away from home this season.

From finishing seventh last season, Musikanth has spurred his side to top-dog status in South African university rugby in just one season. Indeed, it was smiles all round powerhouse as Ikey lock Shaun McDonald was honoured as the top forward for this Varsity Cup season.

It's a victory that will go down in rugby folklore.

Story by Yusuf Omar. Images by Michael Hammond and SASPA.

^ Back to top

UCT Council approves 2016 admissions policy

7 April 2014

New admissions policy to advance transformation goals includes race among other indicators of disadvantage

The University of Council voted on Saturday, 14 June 2014, to approve in principle a new admissions policy model that will incorporate race as one of several factors to be considered in assessing an applicant's historic disadvantage.

UCT Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price said the adjusted policy was expected to help advance the university's redress and diversity goals. He said: "We believe the new policy will allow us to achieve higher transformation targets in all UCT faculties. The policy will assist us to increase the number of black students while not being dependent on their race classification in the majority of cases."

The difference in the new policy (which will only apply to applications for the 2016 student intake) is that race will no longer be the only indicator of disadvantage UCT will consider. The additional indicators will include the applicant's home language, the education of his or her parents and grandparents, the applicant's school, and whether the applicant’s family depends on social grants. Dr Price said, "We believe that by considering these additional factors, UCT will be able to address the issue of disadvantage and inequality in present-day South Africa on a more intelligent and nuanced basis than by simply considering an applicant's race. Of course, the majority of these disadvantaged students are black."

Dr Price said UCT still believes race is necessary in the admissions policy to acknowledge the on-going challenges that learners of colour still experience, regardless of their school or socio-economic background. It is also a legitimate basis for redress. He said: "Keeping a portion of the intake to be selected based on race also ensures that we can achieve the targets we set if we do not admit enough black students through the other routes."

The Council's vote to approve the move towards an adjusted admissions policy took place after years of consultation, debate and discussion involving students, staff, alumni, government and others. There are strongly held positions that race should not be used at all, and also that race is the only relevant basis for redress. "I believe the hybrid model balances these competing views and finds a middle path that is appropriate to current circumstances and will hopefully find maximum support across our constituencies," Price said.

Media release issued by Pat Lucas, UCT Communication and Marketing Department. Email: [email protected].

^ Back to top

UCT Rejects SBux Scheme

24 February 2014

On December 4th, 2013, the UCT Student Representative Council (SRC) was notified of the roll-out of a new sBux system in 2014 by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). NSFAS planned to pilot the programme in 12 universities and FET colleges this year.

The motive behind the scheme is to reduce corruption at institutions and to ensure that the financial aid reached the intended students by cutting out third parties.

The SRC took a decision on January 16th of this year to reject the sBux scheme in its entirety, following this up with a circular to all UCT students explaining the reasons for their decision.

Included in the reasons given by the SRC against the scheme was the lack of consultation by NSFAS with affected students, as well as the creation of a “NSFAS experience” versus a “Student experience”, thus deepening the distinctions between students.

Rebecca Dallas, a third-year Commerce student, stated, “I feel that this program could create a divide between financial aid and non-financial aid students. Many financial aid students I know don’t particularly like disclosing their financial aid status, and with this system financial aid students will be easily identifiable.”

SRC President, Nommangaliso Gondwe, explained, “Steps have been taken through the Vice Chancellor, who is the one that is communicating with the CEO [of NSFAS], and there is an agreement to not implement the system for this semester. But we are still in the negotiating phases of ensuring that it actually does not get implemented.”

She emphasized, “The motive is good, but the remedy goes against a lot of fundamental principles.”

“We are speaking with other universities to gain support,” added Gondwe.

On February 19th, the SRC sent out an online petition against the sBux system to all UCT students: “The SRC requests that all students support us as we continue to ensure that NSFAS students at UCT are protected.”

The new scheme will work on a system of vouchers: NSFAS pays tuition directly to the university, and pays allowances for books, food, accommodation and transport in the form of sBux vouchers sent to the student’s cell phone. The vouchers can only be redeemed at registered sBux merchants, limiting the stores that a financial aid student can buy from. The current system, by contrast, works by transferring these allowances directly into the student’s bank account.

A contract is signed between NSFAS and the student involved, tying the student into a loan that must be repaid when they are earning more than R30 000 a year.

“I am largely against the idea of using a mobile voucher banking system,” states Dallas. “Although I do not qualify for the NSFAS allowances, I am a financial aid student and can identify with the concerns of students who do qualify. My two main issues are the following: inconvenience and distrust. sBux is a hassle as it dictates where students shop, eat, how they travel etcetera. Secondly, it puts forward the idea that students cannot spend their money wisely. This is a childish notion – we are at an age where we should be trusted to take full responsibility for our financial decisions.”

In a statement on January 30th, 2014, Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education and Training stated, “The Department and NSFAS are continuously engaging with all stakeholders in this pilot phase to ensure that the lessons learnt and challenges raised are acted upon. It must be remembered though, that this is a pilot based at a few institutions and therefore feedback is required in order to improve the systems as we move forward.”

Story by Clare Garrard. Image by Khanyisa Pinini.

^ Back to top

Perseverance and hard work always win out

13 June 2014

Good science, hard work, dogged determination and perseverance led to the breakthrough that allows women to protect themselves from the HIV, said Professor Salim Abdool Karim upon receiving an honorary Doctor of Science in Medicine from UCT.

"It took us 18 years, eight magnificent failures, millions of dollars [and] thousands of hours of research to show that we could find the technology to empower women to protect themselves against HIV," Abdool Karim said at the opening ceremony of the June graduation on Thursday 12 June 2014.

Abdool Karim and his wife, Dr Quarraisha Abdool Karim, are credited with discovering the effectiveness of tenofovir gel in preventing both HIV and genital herpes. They embarked on this journey to safeguard women from HIV infection after establishing that "young women (16-24 years) share a disproportionate burden of the HIV disease in South Africa and most other countries in Southern Africa".

According to Abdool Karim the traditional prevention tools, the so-called ABCs – abstinence, be faithful and use a condom – are not effective in protecting young women involved in sexual relationships with older men, explaining that HIV is not as prevalent among young men aged 16-24 years and that women must therefore be contracting the disease from older men.

He related the many failures encountered by him and his team – the opposition they received from the scientific fraternity, exemplified by a damning article in the prestigious journal Nature titled HIV trial doomed by design.

Abdool Karim and his team ploughed ahead and in 2010 presented their results at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna to wide acclaim. Their achievement was among the City Press Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2010, proving that perseverance and hard work do pay off.

Record number of PhDs

This year's two-day graduation season will see a bumper crop of 110 PhD candidates graduating (compared to 2013's cohort of 75). They are part of the total of 1 508 graduates (2013: 1 374) who will be capped over the four ceremonies.

Though the mid-year graduation may be more modest than its December sibling, it's no less of a celebration and has always been marked by the predominance of postgraduate degrees awarded. The Faculty of Science produced the lion's share of 42 PhDs, followed by the Faculty of Health Sciences with 29, and the Faculty of Humanities with 20. The 10h00 ceremony on 12 June was devoted to the Faculties of Commerce, with 759 students graduating (2013: 612), and Health Sciences, with 154 students graduating (2013: 138).

UCT Book Award

At the morning ceremony on 12 June, the UCT Book Award was presented to Professor Nicoli Nattrass (School of Economics), while Professor Alan Morris (Department of Human Biology) collected a Meritorious Book Award.

In her book, The AIDS Conspiracy: Science Fights Back, Natrass argues that AIDS conspiracy beliefs (such as HIV being deliberately created by scientists) are strongly mediated by local history and culture. This will be the second time that she scoops this award; the first was in 2005 for her book, The Moral Economy of AIDS in South Africa.

In his book Missing & Murdered, Morris debunks the "CSI effect" caused by the unrealistic expectations that popular television raises in the minds of the lay public and specifically in the victims of crime.

Story by Abigail Calata. Image by Michael Hammond. ^ Back to top

What does Democracy mean to you?

29 April 2014

Portia Ngcobo Siyabona Fihla

“Democracy is a system of government determined by the people, implemented for the people. Democracy means that I have the power to choose who rules over my country. Freedom, unity, equality, choice." Erin Wright, Jeremy Phillips, Lauren Davison

Vanessa Rubombora Velani Mboweni “Democracy is a theorised freedom. It's the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from times to time. Democracy is the new type of oppression.” Luthando Mili, Zukiswa Zono, Fern Harris

^ Back to top

A new Carnegie cohort assembles

3 June 2014

It is no longer enough to "work, finish and publish", a new generation of Carnegie scholars were told at a gathering last week.

The competition is not just faced by individuals, but by universities, countries and entire continents, argued Professor Danie Visser: "You can't be competitive as a country or a continent if you don't have strong universities that drive research."

It was to meet these challenges that the Next Generation of Academics in Africa was formed. Funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the project is intended to strengthen postgraduate research and training through the partnership universities: UCT, Makerere University (Uganda), the Universities of Ghana and the Witwatersrand.

Over the length of the project almost 100 new academics will be produced for the continent, Visser told the assembled scholars. "We are trying to foster a community of people so that we can get that sense that we are doing something very important for our continent."

While the speakers at the event stressed how tough it is forging an academic career in today's climate, they also urged the scholars before them to step back and appreciate it. "It involves a lot of travel, new ideas, some prestige and a huge opportunity to contribute to your community and your country," said Warner, a Carnegie supervisor.

A quick scan of Africa-specific research being undertaken by current Carnegie scholars demonstrates the importance of the work for the continent. Projects range from the economics of tobacco control in Zambia, to property rights in Nigeria; from climate change vulnerability in Tanzania to the relationship between health and the labour market in South Africa, and include multiple research projects on malaria, TB and HIV/Aids.

There was no doubt from the speakers that the Carnegie programme has multiple benefits. Dr David Ikumi, a graduate of the Carnegie programme who has recently been offered a post as Senior Lecturer in UCT's Department of Civil Engineering, attested to his own involvement: "I often get asked at conferences about Africa and how we are progressing with our research, and I realise the importance of all these research communities that are being formed in Africa to deal with the unique conditions we have here, and the importance of our role as academics to facilitate such communities."

The Carnegie experience had also benefited him as an individual, he said: "It has propelled me towards the achievement of my career ambitions and I wish the same luck to you, that as Carnegie scholars you may come to achieve your academic and career goals." Story by Carolyn Newton. Image by Michael Hammond.

^ Back to top

AWARD grows women in agricultural research

28 May 2014

The highlands of the Mount Elgon region on the border of Kenya and Uganda, where researcher Jacqueline Kariithi is doing her fieldwork, is a protected area of natural habitats. It's also lush with wheat, maize, and coffee, many of the smallholdings farmed by women.

It's a gender-specific pattern common to most of sub-Saharan Africa. But, the trend isn't reflected in agricultural research and development, where women are thin on the ground. The recipient of a two-year African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Fellowship, Kariithi is part of an initiative to change this.

AWARD a catalyst for innovation

AWARD is a career-development programme for women agricultural scientists in East and Southern Africa. Core to this programme is the development of mentoring partnerships, science skills, and leadership capacity. As a catalyst for innovation, the fellowship programme contributes to the prosperity of women smallholder farmers.

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development, and the Alliance for a Green revolution in Africa, the capacity-building programme has already groomed 390 women in 11 sub- Saharan countries since 2008.

Kariithi, a PhD researcher from Kenya in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at UCT and currently supervised by Professor Michael Meadows, is one of 70 women in the 2014 cohort of AWARD Fellows.

The AWARD fellows' specialisations span everything from plant pathology and water management to poultry science and cattle fodder production.

"It's a highly competitive process and the fellows must demonstrate that their research will bring fruit to the daily lives of smallholder farmers," says Kariithi.

Ecotourism in the Mount Elgon region

Kariithi's specialisation is ecotourism, a field that includes agritourism and nature-based tourism and which, like other forms of niche tourism, has become a growth industry in many parts of the world. (A strong agritourism sector in the , for example, is the wine industry.)

Her research is about managing natural resources via an integrated approach to nature-based tourism in the Mount Elgon region.

One of the world's largest intact calderas (where the top of a volcano has collapsed into itself), Mount Elgon is also renowned for its hot springs, caves and climbing. UNESCO declared the Mount Elgon ecosystem a Biosphere Reserve in 2003. "Communities living in the protected area are encouraged to diversify their farming incomes through agritourism," says Kariithi. "My PhD will create a mechanism that can provide recommendations for stakeholders in the region, to show how responsible agritourism can provide an alternative livelihood for many of the farmers."

Kariithi became interested in ecotourism while working on her master's degree at Bradford University in the UK. Her undergraduate degree was in environmental sciences, which served as a foundation and later a bridge to her current specialization: "I'm keen to explore the links with agriculture so that, as tourism grows, so does a growth in visits to farming communities, bringing revenue back to these farms and stimulating the growth of cottage industries, creating employment and additional markets."

Importantly, agritourism also incorporates forms of indigenous knowledge of managing farming resources, with the aim of preserving the wealth of crop-plant species and livestock breeds in the region.

The importance of mentorship

Mentorship is integral to the success of AWARD fellows. Each of the fellows is assigned a mentor working in their specific research interests. In turn, Kariithi will 'share forward', by mentoring a junior researcher over the next two tears.

Kariithi gained first-hand experience of the value of mentorship during her undergraduate studies when she interned for her role model, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and founder of the Green Belt Movement, the late Wangari Maathai*.

"She inspired me to stay in the field and inspired a commitment to the environment; she was one of several people who taught me how people and the environment go hand-in-hand."

Coming to UCT has been an important decision for Kariithi; she had wanted to do her PhD research at a leading African institution with an international reputation. What has impressed her has been the rigour of scholarship here.

*Maathai delivered the Vice-Chancellor's Open Lecture at UCT in July 2005.

Story by Helen Swingler. Image by Michael Hammond. ^ Back to top

Medical students launch Inclusive Healthcare Innovation

4 Jun 2014

On Thursday, 15th May 2014, Farah Jawitz, Richard Burman and Eldi van Loggerenberg, medical students and unapologetic optimists, launched a student-led movement with the aim to ignite student participation in healthcare innovation.

The project is an extension of Inclusive Healthcare Innovation, a joint-initiative of the UCT Graduate School of Business’ Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the UCT Faculty of Health Sciences.

Despite the cold and rain, delegates gathered to hear UCT medical graduate and Director of the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Dr Francois Bonnici, speak about how innovation can transform healthcare.

Overall 80 students and professionals across all faculties at UCT filled the Graduate School of Business’s Solution Space, a recently opened innovation and entrepreneurship hub. Dr Max Price (VC) attended in support of this student movement. Throughout the evening, the participants brewed an air of possibility and hope. Playful elements were incorporated in order to facilitate creativity and participants were asked to suspend disbelief and reimagine a different healthcare reality.

Dr Bonnici painted a sobering picture of current problems within the health sector, but offered a strong vision of the potential for innovation in healthcare delivery, sprinkled with insights from his personal journey of activism - as a long- haired community service doctor, implementing Kangaroo Mother Care across South Africa and who completed his MBA at Oxford and became a fellow of the World Economic Forum. He emphasized that the buzz word ‘innovation’ is not a magic bullet, but rather one useful tool among many.

It was clear that solutions should develop across spheres such as service delivery, technology, financial models, medical management, infrastructure and relational spaces. During the evening, themes emerged such as the importance of inclusivity, effectiveness, affordability, co-creation, human-centred design, and ground-up transformation.

The project coordinators believe that one area of potential for co-creation and ‘ground up’ thinking is through student engagement. Their aim is that iHI > Powered by Students will foster critical thinking around issues in healthcare, and allow students to engage with others from different areas of expertise.

Going forward iHI> Powered by Students will host activities that serve as a meeting point for students and professionals from various departments to explore and be exposed to healthcare innovation. These activities will include:

 A speaker series  Workshops  An online health innovation platform  Electives and opportunities within current projects in health innovation

For more information

Sign up for the iHI > Powered by Students mailing list, email or visit their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter.

^ Back to top

News you may have missed Upcoming events

Plan around Africa's great urban The endless expansion of space Zoobots Eco Film Festival 2014: migration with just two metrics is not beyond science 22 July - 7 August

Social impact bonds can help Unequal education: preparing Postgraduate Funding Roadshow government drive vital job students to deal with poverty for 2015: 23-30 July creation and inequality

Bring Nobel Prizes home to Celebrating Africa and our New Appointees Orientation Africa: Dr Bernie Fanaroff continental connectedness Programme: 30 July - 20 August challenges UCT's graduands

African scholars and activists Low-cost computer training at Social Equality conference: 15-17 tackle rising homophobia on the SHAWCO community centres August continent

^ Back to top

University of Cape Town

This email is subject to the UCT ICT policies and email disclaimer published on our website at www.uct.ac.za/about/policies/emaildisclaimer or obtainable from +27 21 650 9111. This email is intended only for the person(s) to whom it is addressed. If the email has reached you in error, please notify the author. If you are not the intended recipient of the email you may not use, disclose, copy, redirect or print the content.

University of Cape Town, Welgelegen, Upper Chapel Road, Rondebosch, 7700 Privacy policy