Dear Alumni and Friends, As the
final days of summer are upon us, I reflect on a busy year as we came out of lockdowns, and many of us took advantage of travel opening up once again (but not without its challenges). This travel allowed for visitors from Cape Town, and in particular VC Kgethi Phakeng, the Chair of Council Babalwa Ngonyama, and a delegation from the Faculty of Health Sciences.
June saw a busy two weeks as Kgethi received an Honorary Doctorate in Education from the University of Ottawa, and also signed an exchange MoU with UOttawa further cementing UCT’s relationship with Canadian counterparts. The Faculty of Health Sciences team, attending the Towards Unity for health (TUFH) conference in Vancouver, also
walked away with partnerships being borne. In both instances alumni input and assistance was crucial in making these visits both exciting and worthwhile. Thank you! I enjoyed
getting back to meeting alumni in person, with four alumni events being held this year, and meeting many new faces. Head over to UCT Alumni Connect to see the pics of our Newbies Mix n Mingle held in April, the VC’s visits to Ottawa and Toronto in June, and the Faculty of Health Sciences sundowner event held at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club in August. I am also delighted to report that Health Sciences Alumni are directly impacting 22 MBChB scholars in a level of support for their fees. Thank you! Read more on Canadian UCT alumni support in the latest issue of Giving@UCT. Don’t miss our networking opportunity with the Canada Africa Chamber of Business at their Accelerating Africa 2022 conference – read more below. Wishing you all the best for the Fall season, and the festivities to
come as we near year end.
Di
Diane Stafford
Regional Director: Canada
Development & Alumni Department, University of Cape Town Postal Address: 2927 LakeShore Blvd West, Suite 227, TORONTO, ON M8V 1J3
Tel: 416 648 5801 Email: info@UCTcanada.ca; website: www.UCTcanada.ca |
Fast on the heels of her Honorary Doctorate in Education from the University of Ottawa,VC Mamokgethi Phakeng has been awarded the inaugural Africa
Education Medal, recognising the work of changemakers transforming African education. Read more on Kgethi’s achievements as a world leading scholar in mathematics education, and her dedication on her road to success. [Article courtesy of https://www.news.uct.ac.za] Tackling Sustainability Development Goals |
UCT has been ranked in the “101–200 band overall by the 2022 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings”. These rankings measure
the success of universities in delivering the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). UCT participated in six individual goals, and performed the best in
Goal 1 - no poverty and Goal 5 - gender equality,
coming 31st and 37th, respectively. UCT ranked in the top 100 for an additional two goals,
ranking 55th for SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals) and 95th for
SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions). [Article courtesy of https://www.news.uct.ac.za] Read more on UCT's Sustainability Project » |
PMHP impacting communities Through the impact of donor support, the Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP) continues its work in Hanover Park – successfully
bridging the gap between academic knowledge, research and community service, with a focus on the provision of mental health supports to new and young mothers and staff in under-resourced areas of the Western Cape. Their latest Annual Report
is available online. 'Memories are made of this" |
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Carol and Fred Turner with
Dean Lionel Green-Thompson, Vancouver.
At our recent Vancouver alumni event, Fred and Carol Turner
told me an intriguing story of their journey from Canada to Cape Town and across Africa in a 1966 Mustang – a car
which they still own. Fred has sent this YouTube link
to their adventure and a nostalgic video of their trip in the ‘pony car’.
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New Young Alumni Coordinator |
Samantha Mandigora has recently taken on the part-time task of coordinating our young alumni chapters in the aftermath of the successful visit of VC Kgethi Phakeng to Ottawa and Toronto.
The response to the VC’s
visit from younger alumni was overwhelming, and we decided to act on the momentum and
energise the connections from the visit. More to follow on future Young Alumni events. |
Canada Africa Chamber of Business strengthens ties with UCTCanada
In consultation with the Canada Africa Chamber of Business,
UCT Canada has looked at ways to increase value for UCT
alumni, and in particular meaningful networking opportunities
for our younger and newbie alumni in Canada. To this end, we
have formed a partnership with the Chamber to hold a dedicated UCT alumni / Chamber member networking event each year
under the banner of the Chamber. The Chamber also has UCT alumni amongst it’s members and in leadership positions. This includes Garreth Bloor, the President, Samantha Mandigora heading Operations, Mukani Moyo who is a Board Member and Bruce Shapiro, one of the Founders of Chamber. Of note is upcoming Africa Accelerating 2022: Leading from Africa: Towards a new global era enabled through Canada
-Africa Collaboration, October 25-27 in Toronto, in Johannesburg, and virtually. This event “brings together high-level leaders at venues in Canada and on the African continent, in-person and
virtually”, it is a fantastic gathering with some exciting topics! | |
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Planning a visit to Cape Town?
Save the Date -
UCT's Golden Graduation for those who graduated in or before 1972 will be taking place on campus on December 15th, 2022. This year's theme is an elegant Garden
Tea Party. Make sure you don't miss this opportunity to meet
former classmates, UCT executive leadership as well as the 2022 cohort of UCT graduates. Notices will be sent out soon, or email UCTCanada to receive an invitation. UCT Summer School will be happening again, in-person, on-campus during January 2023. You might want to take a course or two under the mountain, on the beautiful campus - reliving your university days. The team is putting the final touches to the 2023 program - keep checking this link for more info. |
Did you miss the UCT Alumni News?
I have a few hard copies of the 2022 UCT Alumni News.
Drop me
a line if you would like to receive a copy. Di Stafford |
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