In February 2023, I had the pleasure of visiting the University of Cape Town, my alma mater but now as a staff member of the Development and Alumni Department (DAD) Canada office. Upon arrival, I was faced with the new reality that is load-shedding but quickly adjusted to carefully noting the daily schedules of the load-shedding to walking with a charger and ensuring all electronic equipment was always fully charged!
On the first day on campus, I had the opportunity to meet my colleagues within the DAD office, lower campus for the first time and to meet Sarah Archer, the new Executive Director at DAD. This was also an opportunity to meet international alumni office colleagues visiting from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. What followed was an action-packed week full of meetings with faculty, and staff, and field visits to some UCT-funded initiatives around Cape Town.
One of my first meetings that week was with the Dean of Humanities, Prof Shose Kessi, and Yusuf Omar, Humanities Manager: Communication, Marketing, & Alumni. From our conversations I learned of the positive developments within the faculty such as the work of the Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA), an entity with the faculty, to student support resources for students. An area we discussed was amplifying the voices of humanities alum and the importance of alumni telling their stories. This is a way to inspire hope and courage in those currently pursuing their studies within the faculty and those who recently graduated and open doors for those who were new to the workforce.
Samantha, Shozi Kessi, Yusuf Omar,
Faculty of Humanities
DAD staff and International Officers
DAD also hosted a Meet and Greet breakfast networking meeting with the Faculty Deans, Executives, and Project Leaders. This was a great opportunity to meet everyone at the same time and to hear about their work and faculty priorities. From my conversations with Prof. Maano Ramutsindela from the Faculty of Science, I learned of the Climate and Development Institute, their strategic plans, and crucial work in coordinating and centralizing resources to enable inter- and transdisciplinary research, and from a chat with Prof. Tracey Naledi Deputy Dean: Health Services within the Faculty of Health Sciences where we discussed the need to improve health systems and capacity through the development of learning networks, partnerships, and big data, all which contribute towards research excellence.
On the 3rd day of our campus visit, a library tour was facilitated by our UCT library colleagues Reggie Raju, Director: of Research & Learning, and Ujala Satgoor Executive Director: of UCT Libraries. Returning to the library almost 14 years later brought back a flood of good and bad memories!
From rushing to the book loan desk to secure one of the few prescribed organizational psychology books, finding a computer to edit, running Turnitin to check for plagiarism, and printing assignments before the deadline. It was beautiful to note how so much had changed structurally, and what was still the same. The mood however turned sombre as we entered and toured the Jagger library and got to understand the extent of the damage from the fire. The darkness of the space was a reflection of the despair and helplessness of the librarians who first entered the building, after the fire was put out, to those who contributed to unique research that was not recovered from the fire. Photographic art through the Photo Album: Tribute to the Human Spirit Exhibition outside of Jagger Library delicately captured the feelings surrounding the fire but was also able to capture an alternative narrative following the devastation. One of resilience, one of teamwork and collaboration towards a shared and important cause, to recover and restore materials that survived the fire.
This insightful visit to UCT libraries equally highlighted the importance of intellectual property law and technology in a digital age. Meeting with Prof.Caroline Ncube from the UCT Department of Commercial Law was the perfect segue as we discussed the impact of intellectual property from a copyrights perspective on patent law, and trade law where regional integration was concerned.
Meeting with the Director for the UCT Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance Faizel Ismail was another moment of inspiration and pride for me as an alum, as I learned of the crucial role this school has played towards regional integration through several of its AfCFTA-focused programs, implemented by the school to fast-track this work.
My takeaways from the trip were:
- There are many amazing things still happening at UCT despite what is sometimes reported in the media!
- We still have an important role to play as alumni and many of us are doing amazing things and sharing your story may help inspire or encourage someone. Connect with us to tell your story.
- Giving back does not always have to be monetary but can be through mentorship, using your expertise, research, and knowledge to add value to UCT projects that resonate with you.
- Connect with the faculties you graduated from to learn what they are doing and what initiatives you can support.
- Connect with us, your alumni representatives here in Canada to update your details and to learn more about how to give back in a way that resonates with you.
