Developed by senior UCT students, tech projects and innovations that aim to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems were on display at the 2020 School of IT Showcase this week. The School of IT merges the innovative, technological and multidisciplinary capacities and knowledge of the faculties of Science, Commerce and Humanities. And the annual show-and-tell offers students an opportunity to showcase their best work.
Teacher, thought leader, policy influencer and founding director: these are some of the words that come to mind when one thinks of Professor Alan Hirsch. And these are certainly part of the legacy he leaves at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance when he retires on 31 December 2020.
Gender disparity in actuarial science at universities and in the workplace is a larger issue than number parity. Women are essential role models in a field lagging in representation. They also offer vital perspectives in a world where bias often undermines women in the design of everything – from healthcare products to pension benefits. Student-led Femmeact is working to change that.
UCT’s four female deans came together for the final round table in the A Women-led UCT webinar series to share insights from their leadership journey. Commerce dean, Associate Professor Linda Ronnie, highlighted that leadership is about values and being authentic. She pointed out that, in her experience, leadership is a service.
The 2020 Entrepreneurship Intervarsity national final is around the corner and UCT's regional winners are gearing up to pitch. Among them is second-year BCom Financial Accounting student Moeketsi Mashibini, the co-founder of Pantsula with a Purpose, a youth development non-profit organisation (NPO) that provides training and development programmes to youth in under-resourced communities.
Siyaphambili (We are moving forward), a project of the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) in the School of Economics launched a platform to monitor the proportion of South Africans between the ages of 15 and 64 years that have a post-school qualification. This data helps researchers to understand and create awareness around the type of skill sets that are lacking in the country and identify shortfalls that need to be addressed to fast-track economic growth.
In UCT’s first virtual inaugural lecture, Professor Hussein Suleman, head of the Department of Computer Science in the School of IT spoke about how Computer Science needs to return to the roots of the discipline and realign with societal needs. By removing the profit motive, he argued, computer scientists can provide increased value for society.
The Mail & Guardian (M&G) has announced their 2020 list of 200 Young South Africans, the young innovators who are already changing our world. Over 30 members of the University of Cape Town (UCT) community are on this year’s honour roll.
The toxic spill from State Capture and the Steinhoff saga has underscored the importance of business ethics. But how do you teach ethics to commerce students wired for hard facts and figures? Associate Professor Jimmy Winfield explored possibilities at the recent 2019 Teaching and Learning Conference.
Results for the final board exam for prospective new chartered accountants in South Africa show that students who completed the UCT College of Accounting Board Course APC Professional Programme did better than students who participated in other programmes.
Stock market investors are more likely to sell losses on Monday mornings, according to research published on the 23rd February 2019.
Overall, investors are reluctant to sell losses because of the anguish felt when a paper loss is crystallised into a real loss. However, this did not occur first thing on Monday morning when the market opened.
They come from far and wide: from Zimbabwe, Haiti, Latvia, Monaco and the Falkland Islands, a diverse enrolment of 605 new international students who will be studying at the University of Cape Town (UCT) this year.