University of Cape Town chancellor Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe wants to see the institution grow even further as an inclusive centre of excellence, nurturing compassionate citizens and helping to prepare Africa to take its rightful place in a technology-oriented world.
Moloi-Motsepe was officially installed as chancellor at a prestigious event held at the Cape Town ICC on Friday.
She said the university is ideally placed to help SA, Africa and the world negotiate the next few decades.
Moloi-Motsepe said some of the key themes that will take UCT into the next decade are inclusion, the fourth industrial revolution, climate change and value shift.
“A key challenge of our time is surely that of inclusion, the extent to which all people can participate equitably in the life and work and leisure of their society. We were not doing so well in this regard before the pandemic in recent decades. Inequality has increased in many countries, conflicts and social tensions have flared up and escalating climate impacts have threatened livelihoods and generated large migrant populations,” she said.
She said there is a need to ensure they have a university where all our students can excel regardless of the circumstances they come from and where all students feel welcome and supported.
“For many reasons, black students face more obstacles, do less well and take longer to complete their studies, if they manage to get to university at all. In SA right now only four out of 100 students who complete matric attend university, not a high enough figure if we want a high productivity, innovative economy and a knowledge-based society,” Moloi-Motsepe said.
Moloi-Motsepe acknowledged UCT alumni, the government, business and foundations for supporting students who are struggling financially.
“In 2020, UCT and its funders made R1.4bn available in funding for students in need of financial assistance, an important achievement.
“I think there is scope to reimagine some aspects of higher education using technology to foster inclusion and entrepreneurship, and I think these will be important conversations going forward. Digital technologies could play a role in ensuring students are better prepared when they arrive at university, get the right support whilst at university and link graduates better with employment opportunities,” she said.
She said taking local experiences and finding local solutions using technology cannot only improve domestic circumstances but can also make leaders and innovators globally in many fields such as recycling, and universities like UCT have an important contribution to make.
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