The University of the Western Cape is a national university, alert to its African and international context as it strives to be a place of quality, a place to grow. It is committed to excellence in teaching, learning and research, to nurturing the cultural diversity of South Africa, and to responding in critical and creative ways to the needs of a society in transition.
Drawing on its proud experience in the liberation struggle, the university is aware of a distinctive academic role in helping build an equitable and dynamic society. In particular it aims to: advance and protect the independence of the academic enterprise.
Design curricular and research programmes appropriate to its southern African context.
Further global perspectives among its staff and students, thereby strengthening intellectual life and contributing to South Africa’s reintegration in the world community.
Assist educationally disadvantaged students gain access to higher education and succeed in their studies.
Nurture and use the abilities of all in the university community.
Develop effective structures and conventions of governance, which are democratic, transparent and accountable.
Seek racial and gender equality and contribute to helping the historically marginalised participate fully in the life of the nation.
Encourage and provide opportunities for lifelong learning through programmes and courses.
Help conserve and explore the environmental and cultural resources of the southern African region, and to encourage a wide awareness of these resources in the community.
Co-operate fully with other stakeholders to develop an excellent, and therefore transformed, higher education system.
For her, art was a weapon in the struggle and a tool for education. She used every opportunity to build movements and to archive experiences in writing.
This history covers twelve decades, from the surrender of Boer guerrillas in the Second Anglo-Boer War in 1902 to the July 2021 looting spree and violence.
Vaccination uptake is influenced by many factors and carries a variety of meanings – social, political, economic, ideological, moral as well as biological.
A secret plan to destabilise the new democratic government reveals the failed ambitions of the apartheid state security apparatus and confirms what is known about the brutality of the period.
Most jellyfish are “passive” feeders. This means that they float through the water eating whatever they happen to pass in the water and can fit in their mouths.
Farmer-herder conflict is taking its toll on productivity in northern Nigeria. Efforts to solve this problem must include all stakeholders and take into account their concerns.
Pre-COVID-19 dentists wore some sort of respiratory protection like examination masks, surgical masks or respirators. COVID-19 has elevated the number of personal protective equipment needed.
These organisations are ideally placed to contribute their fine-grained local knowledge. They intimately understand the specific needs of the most vulnerable in their communities.